CANADA: Société de transport de Montréal and Transport Québec announced on January 22 that the procurement of a new fleet of rubber-tyred Métro cars would be put out to tender again.
According to Montréal Mayor Gérald Tremblay, STM will now invite bids for 765 cars with an option for up to 288 more, with a total contract value that could top C$3bn. Tendering will last 30 days, to comply with World Trade Organisation rules.
The move reportedly came as sole-source negotiations with a consortium of Bombardier and Alstom were almost completed. However, a government source said the decision to start again was made because the project had evolved so much. Several new contenders may decide to bid for the contract, including Siemens and Chinese manufacturer CSR Zhuzhou. However, CSR Zhuzhou has so far only built steel-wheeled vehicles.
The acquisition of a new fleet has been a long and troubled process. STM first announced in July 2005 that it would issue a tender for 342 new cars. But in May 2006 the agency said it would negotiate exclusively with Bombardier, after deciding it was the only company equipped to supply the cars. Alstom challenged this in June 2006, and its case was upheld 18 months later by the Québec Superior Court. This could have forced STM to re-bid the C$1·2bn acquisition but, following pressure from various levels of government, the two firms decided in November 2008 to work together and submit a joint bid.
Whereas the original intention was to replace only the 45-year-old MR-63 cars, the increased size of the tender would allow STM to scrap their MR-73 cars as well. The optional cars would be required if a proposed 20 km expansion of the Métro network goes ahead.
