|
|
|
The damning thing in this for Bombardier is that the "fairly advanced processes" are supposed to be methodically and diligently applied in qc'ing the fabrication. How production reached 60+ cars before this became an issue just astounds me. The techniques may be complex, but the principle of QC'ing welds thoroughly is Quality Management 101 material.
The CR4000s also use fully rotating bogies with a quasi-Jacobs bogie for the articulation. They are much more akin to the ALRVs than to the Flexities in terms of their dynamics and interface with the track.
No doubt. It makes one wonder why they simply assumed that the first cars through were fine, and why it appears that they have not been used to assure the processes and training in place were adequate for the whole project.
Maybe they had the same trouble finding/training/keeping qualified QA inspectors at the Sahagun plant as they did for welders.
If car 4604 is coming from Kingston - that would be the 205th car.
In a rush and 4604 should be 4603, but you never know what that last number will be until 2019. TTC should be getting an extra 15 cars to cover BBD mess.
Why wasn't x-ray testing done on the welds in the beginning, as it would highlighted then, not now, when issues first surface for joining sections?? There are other test that can be done before x-ray to determined if the welds are good or not. Seen too many welds that look good on the surface, only to find no penetration (fusion) or impurity in the weld.
You keep saying that like compensation would come in the form of new cars. Yet there is no concrete prove that will happen.
There's no concrete proof, but the last public vote on the issue that I know of, the TTC board did direct staff to take the compensation as new cars.
It has been assume that TTC will option for extra cars like they have on buses and other things in place of cash where the supplier has fail to live up to the contract.
That's easy to answer. Bus service on 1 or more routes with tracks between ~2020 through 2024 (if they order immediately from someone else; otherwise 2024 gets later).
More likely 2027 if they keep the very optimistic schedule! The schedule in that June 2018 report was based on a Q3 2018 start on tendering for 100 more vehicles. Then an RFP in Q3 2020, award in Q4 2020, prototype delivered in Q2 2020, and final delivery didn't start until Q2 2024 - continuing for 2 years of deliveries. Which seems highly optimistic!
I don't see the same thing happening on an order not going to BBD as note. Based on what I know, we will see a prototype car 18 - 24 month once a contract is awarded and close to 18 months by a couple supplier.
You may want to check on what you know then, Drum. There are very, very few parallels to this order. The one that comes closest to mind is the Helsinki order that resulted in them getting the now Skoda (formerly Transtech) Artic trams. That took them over 30 months from the time of signing of the contract to the delivery of the first of two test vehicles. And then another 24+ months to deliver the first production vehicle. And by the way, those first two test vehicles were never accepted by the Helsinki transit agency and were returned to Transtech.
