The City of Quebec confirms the selection of Alstom to design and manufacture the trains for its future tramway. The announcement does not come as a surprise, since the French multinational was the only one in the running to obtain the contract after the withdrawal, this fall, of the German Siemens.
“The parties have substantially agreed to an agreement, writes the City in a press release. They can make minor adjustments to the contract and finalize the legal documentation leading to its signature. »
The amount of the contract negotiated over the counter since October with Alstom Transport Canada remains unknown: some details still require clarification and the final invoice may still fluctuate. “It’s a price that reflects the state of the market,” said Mayor Bruno Marchand. The total cost of the trains will represent, added the elected official, less than 25% of the overall tram bill.
In addition to building the wagons, Alstom will also be responsible for maintaining them for 30 years.
The manufacture of the oars will take place entirely in La Pocatière, a news welcomed with enthusiasm by the mayor of the municipality, Vincent Bérubé. “It guarantees work for our people. It also confirms the sustainability of Alstom in the region. “The factory of the French multinational in Bas-Saint-Laurent, specifies the mayor, employs “between 300 and 600 people” according to the volume of its order book.
Alstom had won the contract for the Azur trainsets and had also manufactured them at La Pocatière. It is also this same company that must design the railcars of the Metropolitan Express Network. The assembly of these will however take place in India.
“We have already been part of Montreal’s history when the first metro was built,” says Vincent Bérubé. We are happy to write another page in the history of transportation in Quebec and in Quebec. »
Alstom’s selection is the culmination of a bumpy journey for the tramway. The former administration of Régis Labeaume had decided to split the site in two, in June 2021, after the failure of a first call for proposals where only one bidder had expressed interest at the finish line.
The administration of Bruno Marchand seemed condemned to agree with Alstom after the withdrawal of Siemens from the adventure. Two consortia are still competing to obtain the lucrative tram infrastructure contract, which should represent around 80% of the total bill. The City is to announce the successful bidder this summer.
According to the latest estimates available, the price of the largest project in the history of the City of Quebec is approaching four billion dollars. This valuation, calculated before the surge in inflation, already seems underestimated due to the unfavorable economic climate for major projects. Mayor Bruno Marchand is due to present an update on tram costs in the coming weeks.