Bombardier 'Toronto Legacy'

'Toronto Legacy' Streetcar
Delivered	2011-2025 (ongoing delivery)
Numbered	4400-4603 & 4604-4663
Length	30.2 metres
Width	2540 millimetres
Track gauge	1495 millimetres

Alstom (which acquired Bombardier Transportation) is in the process of building and delivering 60 more 'Legacy' low-floor light rail vehicle (LFLRV) streetcars to the City of Toronto. Bombardier has already built 204 cars from 2011 to 2020. The 30.2-metre-long, five-module cars are designed to operate on the Toronto Transit Commission's (TTC) existing streetcar network. These were the first fully accessible streetcars in the fleet.

History

The order

By the early 2000s, it came time for the TTC to look for their next generation of streetcars. The Canadian Light Rail Vehicles and the Articulated Light Rail Vehicles would be reaching the end of their lifespan in the next decade. The Commission approved the procurement of the new streetcars through a competitive bidding process on October 19, 2005. A request for information (RFI) was issued in 2006, followed by a request for proposals (RFP) in 2008. The two manufactures who responded, which included Bombardier, failed to qualify. The RFP was subsequently cancelled, and the Commission entered into a negotiated bidding process using the same technical specifications. Siemens and Bombardier each submitted bids which both met the TTC's requirements. Bombardier, the lowest bidder, was selected by the TTC in April 2009 to manufacture the new streetcars. The order was approved by city council and the $851 million contract was signed in June 2009.

Public consultation

Mockup of the LRV for the legacy network on public display at Hillcrest.

In 2007, the TTC began public consultation on the design of the new streetcars. Websites were launched for input and mock-ups from Bombardier and Siemens were displayed. A mock-up for Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Transit's Bombardier Flexity Swift model was displayed at Yonge-Dundas Square on June of that year. This mock-up was previously displayed in 2005 in front of the Hummingbird Centre. At the 2007 Canadian National Exhibition, the TTC displayed the Bombardier mock-up again along with a Siemens Combino Plus mock-up built to Metro Sul do Tejo specifications. Promotional material from Bombardier used the image of the Flexity Outlook built for Brussels.

In May 2010, the TTC solicited the public's help again with the launch of a new Website which asked the public to design and submit their own livery and interior scheme for consideration. They were also asked to submit names for the new streetcar.

A soft mock-up, constructed of wood and foam board, was completed by the end of the summer of 2010 at the TTC's Hillcrest Complex. A final mock-up, set to be displayed for the public in early 2011, was displayed at the Hillcrest Complex from November 12 to 15, 2011.

Delivery and service

The streetcars are manufactured in La Pocatière, Quebec, with final assembly taking place in Thunder Bay and Millhaven, Ontario. Originally, manufacturing began in Sahagun, Mexico. The streetcars are transported by train to the Hillcrest Complex via a rail spur. The first streetcar was transported by truck from the CP Rail yard as the spur had not been completed due to a delay in construction.

Three prototypes were initially scheduled to be delivered in late 2011, however the first prototype did not arrive in Toronto until September 25, 2012. The other two were delivered in 2013. The first two new streetcars, 4400 and 4403, entered service on August 31, 2014 with a ceremony at Spadina Station. The cars were introduced on the route 510 Spadina first.

A workers' strike part way through the construction of 4404 and 4405 delayed delivery of the cars. The strike lasted from July to September 2014. In addition to the labour disruption, Bombardier has experienced production and quality assurance issues that have significantly delayed delivery of cars 4405 and above. By the end of 2014, the TTC should have had 37 cars delivered. Only three cars were formally accepted by year's end.

Persistent problems with quality, which included welding and electrical work, at the manufacturing plant in Sahagun lead to further delays with deliveries. In May 2016, with 17 vehicles accepted by the TTC, Bombardier announced that they would shift manufacturing from Mexico to their La Pocatière, Quebec facility. A second assembly line in Millhaven, Ontario dedicated to the TTC's streetcars would commence in early 2017. In October 2017, Bombardier was still behind in deliveries and blamed supply chain issues.

The addition of a second production line in Millhaven was announced in February 2018. Bombardier plans to deliver 65 vehicles by the end of 2018 and 77 more in 2019, completing the order. The first car from Millhaven was expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2018. On October 3, 2018, Bombardier Tweeted that their first car was completed on the second production line and ready for testing. The final streetcar of the 204 car order was delivered in 2020.

With funding from all three levels of government, the TTC was able to purchase 60 more streetcars to meet future demand. These cars are being built in Thunder Bay by Alstom and are being delivered between 2023 and 2025.