Toronto: The Ontario Government announced that Metrolinx, the province’s regional transportation agency, has agreed to buy 36 more Bi-Level cars from Bombardier Transportation.
The agreement will enable Metrolinx to add 31 standard and five accessible cars to its existing order, which will provide more than 6,000 additional seats for GO Transit customers.
The cars will be manufactured by workers at Bombardier’s Thunder Bay plant.
The new cars include Bombardier’s Orbita system that will allow Metrolinx staff to see real-time performance data and pinpoint issues relating to things like doors, the HVAC system, and electrical equipment, to give commuters a better, safer journey.
“This is great news for our customers. More Bi-Level cars allow us to add seat capacity as we continue to rapidly expand GO train service,” said Phil Verster, President and CEO of Metrolinx. “In addition, trains with improved on-board diagnostic tools allows us to improve customer experience and generate savings on maintenance, which is great for our business, and which will keep more trains performing at peak service levels for our customers.”
“The safe, comfortable and reliable BiLevel cars for GO Transit have been built by Ontarians for Ontarians in our Thunder Bay facility for over 40 years, and we are pleased that this announcement adds to our historical relationship,” said David Van der Wee, Chief Operating Officer, Americas Region, Bombardier Transportation.
Since June 2018, Metrolinx has grown its passenger train services by 18.2 per cent representing 359 new weekly train trips on Lakeshore East, Lakeshore West, Barrie, Kitchener and Stouffville lines.