Toronto — Streetcars On Display
Rail Transit Online, September 2007
Two of at least five companies that are
planning to bid on an order for 204 new Toronto streetcars displayed their
products at the annual Canadian National Exhibition beginning Aug. 17.
Siemens Canada showed its double-articulated Combino Plus, which the
company’s director of business development, Mario Péloquin, described as a
“…world class, environmentally friendly streetcar.” He said Siemens wanted
“…the community to experience the uniqueness of the Combino Plus for
themselves.” The high-capacity car features a 100-percent low floor and
regenerative braking. Bombardier Transportation presented its Minneapolis
LRV, although a spokesman said it’s slightly larger than the design being
considered for the Toronto Transit Commission. If the cars make a good
impression on residents, company officials no doubt believe, it could help
influence commissioners when they make a decision. The order could cost up
to C$1.4 billion and reportedly would be the largest North American LRV
order in history.
Seven firms initially showed an interest
in the job but three have since decided not to participate. That leaves
Bombardier, Siemens, Skoda from the Czech republic and Vossloh-Kiepe of
Germany, all of which are studying a massive 600-page draft specification
released last month by the TTC. “We’ve got a very unique environment
compared with typical light rail operations, even for streetcar operations,
because our system is very mature and very old and it goes around in very
tight areas and neighborhoods,” Stephen Lam, the city’s superintendent of
streetcar engineering, told the National Post. |
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