Federal funding for new TTC cars good news for Thunder Bay Alstom plant: union
Cost of new Line 2 cars to be split between federal and provincial governments, and City of Toronto
The union representing workers at Thunder Bay's Alstom plant says recently announced federal funding for new subway cars could mean good things for the facility.
On Friday, the federal government announced $758 million in funding for new cars for the Toronto Transit Commission's (TTC) Line 2.
The overall cost of the project is expected to be about $2.3 billion, with the federal government, provincial government, and City of Toronto splitting the cost equally.
"It's been a long time coming," said Justin Roberts, president of Unifor Local 1075, which represents workers at the Thunder Bay plant. "A contract came up before, but because the federal government didn't pledge their share, they had to pull the bidding process."
"We've been waiting on that federal share for months and months now."
Roberts said Friday's announcement was "great to hear."
"I'm happy to hear that all three levels of government are supportive of the Thunder Bay facility," he said. "It's very nice that the federal government has finally come through with that funding to start that bidding process."
While Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said she expected the cars to be built in Thunder Bay, other media reports state the TTC will following a bidding process in awarding the contract.
The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TTC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TTC</a> will have new trains for Line 2 thanks to an investment of more than $2.3 billion split equally between the federal, provincial and city governments. The City previously committed funding for an $880 million modern signalling system, bringing the total Line 2 investment… <a href="https://t.co/zncZ5lVPvP">pic.twitter.com/zncZ5lVPvP</a>
—@TTCNewsroom"The bidding process normally takes about a year," Roberts said. "I believe there are ways that the government could shorten that time frame, but the regular time is about a year before we get awarded it officially if we're successful."
Roberts said there are currently about 400 Unifor members employed at the Thunder Bay plant, but layoffs are expected in the spring.
"We could potentially lose almost half of our members," he said. "This future contract is the livelihood of many of our members, and it could likely bring even some more back."
"Right now they're asking for 55 car sets, I believe," Roberts said;. "Those car sets are normally six cars per set if it's going to be the same style. And that could be, I think, anywhere from five to 10 years of work for our facility."
In a media release, the province said the trains currently used on Line 2 are 30 years old, and "nearing the end of their expected life, which would significantly increase costs to maintain safety if they continue in operation."
In a statement to CBC News, an Alstom spokesperson said the federal government "coming to the table" with funding is a "very encouraging development for the people of Toronto."
"Alstom is very proud to have provided high-quality and reliable subway cars to Torontonians, built right here in Ontario, for decades and is clearly ready to do so again," the statement reads. "We are eagerly awaiting further details and proposed next steps."