05-13-2015, 07:35 AM
This doesn't bode well for our LRT cars to arrive on schedule and to work properly: TTC’s new streetcars plagued with manufacturing problems
Quote:The first vehicles in Toronto’s new $1.2-billion streetcar fleet were so poorly manufactured, the TTC wouldn’t accept them for fear they would break down on bumpy city streets, transit CEO Andy Byford has revealed.
The European design for the streetcar parts simply wasn’t translating to the Mexican manufacturing facility that is supplying parts to the Thunder Bay assembly plant...
There should have been about 50 of the new streetcars running on Toronto streets by now, according to the original schedule. But there are only five, with two more expected to come online shortly...
Bombardier is retooling its Mexican operation and the production line in Thunder Bay is getting new quality-assurance processes that catch problems before they get to Toronto. But Byford said he’s made it plain the TTC is not a happy customer...
Byford said he was sharing the extent of the quality assurance issues so that TTC riders would understand why they’ve been waiting so long for new vehicles that were ordered in 2010.