Toronto — Streetcar Bids Sought 

Rail Transit Online, February 2008

The Toronto Transit Commission on Jan. 17 issued a tender notice seeking 204 accessible low-floor light rail vehicles that can operate on the city's existing 118-route-mile (190 km) streetcar system. They will replace a deteriorating fleet, some of which is nearly three decades old.
According to agency procurement documents, there are "...challenging demands relative to curvability, gradeability, single point trackswitch operation, dynamic envelope, axle load, ground-borne vibration and general vehicle performance."

Specifications call for a 100-percent low-floor, single-ended design with doors on one side only. Air conditioning — not installed on the current fleet — will be required and Canadian content must total at least 25 percent.
So far, six companies have indicated an interest in participating, including Alstom, Bombardier, Inekon Trams, Mytram Consulting, Inc., Peter Keyser Consulting and Siemens Canada Ltd. Bids are due on Apr. 11 and TTC hopes to award the contract, which could be worth around CS1.25 billion, late this year.

The TTC proposal advises potential bidders that it may have a future requirement for additional vehicles after the initial purchase. These would be"...low-floor light rail vehicles which would be a modified version of the base light rail vehicles" and may be procured through a contract amendment. They would equip the proposed C$6-billion, 74.6-mi. (120 km) "Transit City" rail expansion program that would create seven new routes and bring rapid transit to areas of Toronto that are currently underserved.

www2.ttc.ca/html/frameset.htm