Bombardier has faced backlash across the country over missed deadlines on projects but on Friday morning in Edmonton, the company celebrated the arrival of the city’s newest public transit vehicle.
Edmonton’s first low-floor Light Rail Vehicle is now on display at Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre. Members of the public are invited to come tour the vehicle until next Wednesday. (Hours listed below).
The LRVs will be used on the new Valley Line LRT, which will connect downtown to Mill Woods. The train cars are different from those currently used on Edmonton’s other LRT lines.
“You really can see that it’s a different kind of train that’s going to hug the ground and integrate into the environment. Low-floor platforms and the signal system is going to be different too,” said Mayor Don Iveson, who brought his kids to check out the train on Friday.
“Everything is different about this line than what people are used to and maybe frustrated by with our older lines.”
The LRV was built in Kingston, Ont. and left for the cross-country trip to Edmonton via CN Rail on June 27.
The Kingston facility has been plagued by production problems on other Light Rail Vehicle orders. As such, Bombardier wanted to show that it is on time and on budget for the Edmonton project.
In a dramatic promotional video released by Bombardier, the company made sure to tout the fact the vehicle arrived in Edmonton “on time, as promised.”
“When I was here last time I said you’re going to see the best of Bombardier. So clearly we’ve made significant investments to not only deliver this project but any other LRT project across America,” Bombardier Transportation president Benoit Brossoit said Friday.
Watch below: Edmonton’s first low-floor Light Rail Vehicle is now on display at Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre. Bombardier released this promotional video about the LRV.
TransEd, the company behind the Valley Line project, has said the Flexity Freedom model is the latest version of Bombardier’s modular LRV platform.
In June, a spokesperson for TransEd said Bombardier is “fully committed to deliver all 26 cars on time and on budget.”
In Edmonton on Friday, Brossoit echoed the commitment to have all 26 cars delivered to the city by 2020, but would not pinpoint exactly when they would arrive.
“Don’t worry, we’re going to be there,” he said.
Iveson is confident Bombardier will deliver, adding the city has learned from previous contracts and its interests are “really well protected in this contract.”
“I’m confident that we’re going to have all the trains here on time,” he said. “Our contract really strongly motivates all of the vendors to deliver on time, including Bombardier, not just for the first one but for all 26 (trains).”
One LRV has 82 seats and can hold up to 275 people. TransEd expects to start installing rail on the southeast leg of the Valley Line next month. Dynamic testing of the LRV is expected to start next year.
The Valley Line to Mill Woods is expected to be open by late 2020.
The LRV will be on display in the east parking lot at Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre on the following dates:
Friday, July 27: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, July 28: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday, July 29: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Monday, July 30: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Tuesday, July 31: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 1: 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Comments