The curious part is Garneau's explicit quote that no one should assume that nothing will happen for three years.
It's quite possible that there are in fact investors interested, and after the go-slow budget they gave Ottawa a poke and suggested that things should get moving or their money would go elsewhere.
I thought same, this is a polka game, and a lot of what is appearing in the press is prodding. Some of it just plain doesn't make sense unless put into that context. I just re-read the stories for a third time, to try and find anything directly quotable and when it was made, most is re-hash from earlier stories, but this struck me as absurd, especially in light of the timings just published that you queried:
Desjardins-Siciliano’s plan envisions the construction of dedicated passenger rail lines for trains that would travel at an average speed of 110 kilometres an hour, initially along a corridor from Toronto to Montreal, with stops in several communities along the way.
Huh? That's driving speed, or less! Author must have dug that out, it's stale. Why bother at that speed? HSR has been dropped, sensibly so, but even for HFR, that's abysmal.
It's also possible that Ottawa is favourably inclined to throw Bombardier an equipment order, in lieu of a more blatant handout.
I mentioned there was "only one reader comment" at the Globe in a prior post. (there's now two, second one is pathetically off-target) First comment is actually a really apt one, and echoes your comment and what I read recurring in these stories:
MartinMac1 36 minutes ago
If you put your ear to the ground by the rail track, you can just about hear the Bombardier contract coming ...
He got a thumbs up from me!
Edit to Add: Alex writes:
I know this is entering speculation territory, but do you guys think that VIA would order off the shelf equipment from Bombardier
It is speculation, but very apt, and probably right. And probably consolation for the CSeries being a "no". But consider this: Open Competition applies only to governments signed to trade deals. Since the pension funds mentioned already have ties (in some cases) to Bombardier, there's certainly an 'in' already, and private companies can buy from whomever they want for whatever reason they like, shareholders agreeable. The Gov would *love* that! It gets them off the hook of doing another "F-35" "open" competition that only L-M could possibly win (The Libs made a real issue of that in Opposition) so they've got to tread carefully.
Bombardier *have* screwed up royally on a number of issues when they've been 'sole suppliers' the most obvious one being the TTC Flexity fleet...but in all deference, it was a difficult contract (Siemens quoted almost double the price, realizing gauge, tight turning radius, and Cdn content rules made the deal undesirable) and if I were running a company with a tried and trued design from my other factories abroad, I'd have to think long and hard before committing, especially to local jobbers not up to the required competence)...so there are lessons to be learned, not the least to stick to *standard off-the-shelf designs* with an *offset production* clause, not a content clause. Get them shipped *complete* from Europe, and perhaps assembled here, albeit even testing is best done at the production facility.
So yes, Bombardier are a slam dunk on this, but they'd better be at their best!
Paul writes:
...it's possible that some small bits that were in VIA's hope chest are shovel-ready even now. That would be enough for a few photo ops.
This is the case for Metrolinx too on the Bramalea to Union Corridor, and if D-S (and whatever org gets the project off the ground) get a shovel in somewhere on the Union-to-Montreal corridor, then Metrolinx had best be ready to jump too on the Bramalea electrified connecting corridor. It would allow a run-through east of Union, and a serious start to RER. The silence is deafening!
