roger1818
Senior Member
I suspect that Alstom realized that there are more consortiums than equipment manufacturers, so not associating with any of them initially gives them a better chance of being involved with the winning bid.
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VIA Rail
- Thread starter ehlow
- Start date
I suspect that Alstom realized that there are more consortiums than equipment manufacturers, so not associating with any of them initially gives them a better chance of being involved with the winning bid.
smallspy
Senior Member
Allandale25
Senior Member
Not sure if that means he's still going to stay on his Minister of Transportation.
cplchanb
Senior Member
Not going to miss him....he's been more press conferences than actual substance
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robmausser
Senior Member
Hes like the federal Del Duca
crs1026
Superstar
Actually, he's the anti-Del Duca.... a bland guy who doesn't self promote, or who has failed to get much public attention or Cabinet enthusiasm for stuff that he was trying to advance.
On his watch, an awful lot of back room plodding has gotten done. Not sexy, and not nearly as fast or as far as we need.... but there is more momentum behind (the continued study of) HFR than when he took office.
The risks are that a) a new minister will have to come up to speed, and may redirect things that creates rework or pause and b) their boss is only interested in attention seeking and glamour - and the plan may become more grandiose at the expense of efficiency, quick delivery,, and just getting on with something.
- Paul
On his watch, an awful lot of back room plodding has gotten done. Not sexy, and not nearly as fast or as far as we need.... but there is more momentum behind (the continued study of) HFR than when he took office.
The risks are that a) a new minister will have to come up to speed, and may redirect things that creates rework or pause and b) their boss is only interested in attention seeking and glamour - and the plan may become more grandiose at the expense of efficiency, quick delivery,, and just getting on with something.
- Paul
Northern Light
Superstar
I can't agree to this bit (Above). He's held a very large number of pressers, and milked them thoroughly,
Minor progress on HFR or new Rolling stock had had 4+ press events, one in Quebec, one in Ottawa, one in Toronto and another South-Western Ontario; and maybe one in Ptbo for good measure.
I don't think he's announced any Tim's Kiosks for VIA stations, but he's certainly attended some pretty minor non-events.
This may be the case, though in the most recent RFP announcement there was actually a slippage in the projected timeline for delivering a new service by several years.
What credit he deserves, if any, given that we're nowhere near real, tangible action is TBD.
That much is certainly true. Though, given a file to which 12B or more may be allocated, I expect this file is likely managed by the PMO, or a senior cabinet committee, likely chaired by Freeland. That kind of money is rarely managed directly by a Minister.
Freeland, and Anand might be among the few who would get that kind of rope.
crs1026
Superstar
In quantity, I agree.... but somehow his pressers seem to slip beneath the radar screen where others have gotten more play. Timing, maybe, or lack of partnership, or no real action initiated..... the arrival of the new Siemens trainsets could have been promoted much more effectively. The whole lack of profile on HFR - somehow he's been overseeing the process without ever being seen as championing it. He gives the impression that if Cabinet decides in the end to do nothing, he's OK with that.... notwithstanding team playership, I would hope that a Minister would at least have a hissy fit if their lead project gets dumped.
We have a somewhat credible RFQ process, at least, that will lead to concrete proposals on a level that slopes towards a decision. The changes in timing are because a) that process was imposed rather than just giving VIa a mandate to do something and b) when they opened the door to grander proposals, they had to accommodate more time to build. Again, not much sense of urgency, and really a downplaying of the need for results.
I would credit him for adding Southwest Ontario to the HFR vision and there are signs that Ontario and Ottawa agree on a need and are at least open to planning jointly. The need to replace the Long Distance fleet is on the table. And the Siemens contract is delivering trains, perhaps a bit slowly.
I'm not praising the guy, but he has tended the fire, and I don't see him doing so primarily for his own agrandissement, as Del Duca certainly did.
Well, there is no real proposal to spend yet, but certainly when the bids come in I would expect a Cabinet level management of that decision.
- Paul
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Northern Light
Superstar
I think the decision to go the RFP route and to take this away from VIA's direct ambit was made at a level above the minister.
crs1026
Superstar
No doubt..... and that kind of dis-empowerment would leave an ambitious Minister wondering whether the role is worth it.
- Paul
Allandale25
Senior Member
Confirmed. He's stepping away from cabinet
allengeorge
Senior Member
Apparently Pablo Rodriguez (of C-18 ‘fame’?) was tapped to be Minister of Transport.
www.theglobeandmail.com
Several ministers out as Trudeau set to unveil major cabinet shakeup
A Liberal government source says David Lametti, Marco Mendicino and Mona Fortier will leave cabinet, along with four other ministers who have said they are not running in the next election
www.theglobeandmail.com
Allandale25
Senior Member
Apparently Pablo Rodriguez (of C-18 ‘fame’?) was tapped to be Minister of Transport.
Several ministers out as Trudeau set to unveil major cabinet shakeup
A Liberal government source says David Lametti, Marco Mendicino and Mona Fortier will leave cabinet, along with four other ministers who have said they are not running in the next election
Speculation is fun. The Star says the rumour is Marc Miller will go to Transportation.
EnviroTO
Senior Member
I'm curious to know if the fourth bidder that was removed from consideration was from Asia because not seeing a Japanese, Korean, or Chinese consortium is surprising, although I can imagine a Chinese bid being problematic considering the currently strained political relations.
Cadence: Aligned to SNCF operations, CDPQ financing, SNC Lavalin construction. I would imagine CDPQ and SNC Lavalin are leading this. Interesting overlap in who is in this bid and who could make a quality connection at Gare Centrale possible.
Intercity: A real interesting group including Renefe, First Rail (UK) operations, and RATP (Paris Métro). Kilmer which is a trucking company? I would imagine this is really a bid Ellisdon is leading. This looks like a strong engineering and construction team that invited operators onto the team because that was the gap in their skill set.
QConnexion: Deutsche Bahn operations, Fengate financing, and Bechtel construction. Fengate taking the lead perhaps.
Not surprised that rolling stock and equipment partners are not included (like Alstom) personally because this team is going to design, build, and operate so having an equipment manufacturer at the table might limit the ability to get the best deal.
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Cadence: Aligned to SNCF operations, CDPQ financing, SNC Lavalin construction. I would imagine CDPQ and SNC Lavalin are leading this. Interesting overlap in who is in this bid and who could make a quality connection at Gare Centrale possible.
Intercity: A real interesting group including Renefe, First Rail (UK) operations, and RATP (Paris Métro). Kilmer which is a trucking company? I would imagine this is really a bid Ellisdon is leading. This looks like a strong engineering and construction team that invited operators onto the team because that was the gap in their skill set.
QConnexion: Deutsche Bahn operations, Fengate financing, and Bechtel construction. Fengate taking the lead perhaps.
Not surprised that rolling stock and equipment partners are not included (like Alstom) personally because this team is going to design, build, and operate so having an equipment manufacturer at the table might limit the ability to get the best deal.
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Urban Sky
Senior Member
This is unfortunately the best speculation I can offer:
The following poll was posted on the Rail Fans Canada Discord server:
Which of the 4 HFR RFQ consortiums got eliminated? | StrawPoll
What is your opinion? Vote now: CDPQi, SNC Lavalin, Systra, Keolis, SNCF, Teachers Pension Fund, Bechtel, John Laing, WSP, DB, Fengate, Hitachi, Siemens, Meridian, EGIS, EllisDon Capstrawpoll.com