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VIA Rail

Shortlist of manufacturers has been released. Full details here.

MONTREAL, June 18, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) announced today the names of the shortlisted applicants that will participate in the Request for Proposals (RFP) to manufacture the rolling stock to replace the current fleet that operates in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Today's announcement is the result of a request for qualification (RFQ) process launched on April 16, 2018 seeking the interest of world-class manufacturers. Qualified companies will have until October 5, 2018 to submit a proposal. The new trainsets will come into service starting in 2022.


Qualified companies

  • Bombardier Transportation Canada Inc.
  • Siemens Canada Limited
  • Stadler US Inc.
  • Talgo Inc.
Evaluation of qualification applications

In accordance with its day-to-day business practices, VIA Rail conducted a rigorous, fair, open, transparent and free of conflicts of interest confidential analysis of all qualification applications. P1 Consulting, a Canadian leader in fairness monitoring, ensured that the RFQ process was executed with the utmost diligence and fairness.

Three evaluation committees, comprised of internal and external evaluators, conducted the application analysis process:

  1. Technical Committee: Responsible for assessing the technical quality (Applicant Experience; Proposed Solution; and Deliverability) of each application.
  2. Financial Review Committee: Responsible for assessing the financial capability of companies that submitted an application.
  3. Conflict of interest Committee : Responsible for managing conflict of interest situations, if any
Ethics Commissioner Appointment

In the pursuit of the most rigorous governance practices for large procurements, VIA Rail also announced today the appointment of Patrick A. Molinari as the Ethics Commissioner for the Corporation's procurement process for the Corridor Fleet Renewal. The Ethics Commissioner's role is to review and investigate allegations of misconduct, suspected wrongdoings or unethical behavior, including fraudulent activities or financial irregularities, misuse of public funds, or allegations of violation of the Corporation's Code of ethics, and to assist with the fair, equitable and expeditious resolution of these matters related to the Corridor's Fleet Renewal procurement process.

Patrick A. Molinari is professor emeritus of the University of Montreal where he pursued a career from 1977 to 2010 and held the positions of Vice-Rector, Administration, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Director of the Public Law Research Center. He currently practices Government Affairs and Public law with Lavery, a Montreal based firm, and is the President of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice.

Quote

"By inviting four world-class train manufacturers to participle in the RFP to replace our corridor fleet, we have reached an important milestone of our transformation plan to lead Canadians towards a more sustainable future. With a brand-new fleet of modern trains to service the Quebec City-Windsor corridor, we will be able to offer our customers a renewed and improved travel experience that will help us convince them to make the smart choice to travel by train. We are also proud to be able to count on the expertise of Patrick A. Molinari to ensure that VIA Rail maintains the level of trust and accountability that Canadians expect from VIA Rail in such an important public procurement."

Yves Desjardins-Siciliano
President and Chief Executive Officer, VIA Rail Canada
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The usual suspects then. It's a bit of a shame that CRRC didn't get the chance since they are the largest in the world. I suspect a bit of politics played into this shortlist
 
Well now that we know the manufacturers what are the possible products are they pushing for in their bids?
Seimens has the charger
bbr has the alp-45
talgo?
stadler?
 
cplchanb said:
Well now that we know the manufacturers what are the possible products are they pushing for in their bids?
Seimens has the charger
bbr has the alp-45
talgo?
stadler?
Click to expand...

The 4 manufacturers have until October 5th to figure that out. That's when their proposals are due. For all we know, none of them may not be offering a previously existing product.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
 
cplchanb said:
The usual suspects then. It's a bit of a shame that [XXX] didn't get the chance since they are the largest in the world. I suspect a bit of politics played into this shortlist
Click to expand...

raptor said:
Seriously...what are the odds [YYY] is not winning this one?
Click to expand...
  • What are the odds that those responsible for the fleet renewal are unaware that the same city they work in has lost more than four years by lacking a transparent procedure when awarding the construction of the new generation of its Metro fleet which is now finally entering service?
  • What are the odds of letting rigging the procurement process in favour of any of the four successfully qualified bidders go unnoticed?
  • What are the odds that the current level of passenger rail service can be sustained if the construction of the new fleet is delayed by multiple years?
  • What are the odds that such a risk is deemed acceptable in any way?
  • What are the odds that fairness monitoring contractors would risk their reputation (and thus the base of their entire livelihood) for signing off a rigged bid selection?

The promises for a "rigorous, fair, open, transparent and free of conflicts of interest confidential analysis" are not for the gallery, they are a necessity which can't be overstated in importance...
 
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Allandale25 said:
Shortlist of manufacturers has been released. Full details here.
Click to expand...

This is good to hear and will quickly lead to good results for VIA. IMO at least. Sometimes I think of things on a basic level. Shiny new fleets equates to a quantifiable uptick in ridership and general satisfaction. Seeing dated, faded, older equipment... doesn't register the same as clean, crisp, modern. All about perception. Wouldn't at all doubt if some percentage of GO's ridership increases could be attributed to the rollout of cab cars and the newer locos with the curved front. Seeing new equipment while stuck in traffic on QEW or 401 and one could do a double-take at how sharp they look. Could be 0.01% attributable, or 1%, but I'm sure there's some connection.
 
Urban Sky said:
  • What are the odds that those responsible for the fleet renewal are unaware that the same city they work in has lost more than four years by lacking a transparent procedure when awarding the construction of the new generation of its Metro fleet which is now finally entering service?
  • What are the odds of letting rigging the procurement process in favour of any of the four successfully qualified bidders go unnoticed?
  • What are the odds that the current level of passenger rail service can be sustained if the construction of the new fleet is delayed by multiple years?
  • What are the odds that such a risk is deemed acceptable in any way?
  • What are the odds that fairness monitoring contractors would risk their reputation (and thus the base of their entire livelihood) for signing off a rigged bid selection?
The promises for a "rigorous, fair, open, transparent and free of conflicts of interest confidential analysis" are not for the gallery, they are a necessity which can't be overstated in importance...
Click to expand...

Forgetting about rigging, would BBD be more likely to get the contract with the tariffs? Or would the supply chain go through the States anyways?
 
White Pine said:
Forgetting about rigging, would BBD be more likely to get the contract with the tariffs? Or would the supply chain go through the States anyways?
Click to expand...

Regardless of who wins the tender, a significant portion of the components will have to come from US suppliers. That's the nature of the industry.

Dan
Toronto, Ont
 
White Pine said:
Forgetting about rigging, would BBD be more likely to get the contract with the tariffs? Or would the supply chain go through the States anyways?
Click to expand...
This remains an open point.
Trade dispute could leave U.S. firms out of the running to sell military equipment to Canada
Trump’s tariffs come at a time when European firms are courting the Canadian government, particularly on big-ticket defence items such as aircraft and warships
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
June 13, 2018
7:07 PM EDT

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tirade against Canada and threats to punish the country could undermine efforts by American firms trying to sell fighter jets and other military equipment to the Canadian Forces, warn defence and industry analysts.

One European firm, Airbus, has already been talking with Canadian officials to pitch its plan to build fighter jets in Quebec as it positions itself to win the $16-billion deal to replace CF-18 aircraft.

An Italian aerospace firm, Leonardo, is looking at building helicopters in Nova Scotia as it moves towards negotiations for a search-and-rescue aircraft modernization project the Department of National Defence says will be worth between $1 billion and $5 billion.
[...]
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http://nationalpost.com/news/politi...urce=article_page&utm_medium=related_articles
 
Reecemartin said:
Unfortunately besides the Charger with nose cone all our locos seem to look super utilitarian :/
Click to expand...
These aren't for HFR, these are to replace the existing Corridor Fleet. And max speed is limited by a number of factors, and unlikely to be increased any time soon, let alone electrified. A diesel hauled single ended loco consist with a driving trailer the other end perfectly satisfies the need for "push-pull" and (gist) "later electrification" as although not ideal, an electric loco can be added onto the consist in place of the Driving Van Trailer later when and if needed.

These locos travel faster in Europe than they will here, so looks are deceiving. Brightline is running their loco either end consist with one loco dead-heading at this time until the number of coaches is increased. Ideal? Far from it, that's dead weight compared to a Driving Trailer, but it's to provide for future needs. VIA can do that with a DVT. For dependable loco performance, twin prime motors can be used. One model offered has four, but one wonders on the added cost per diminishing utility of doing that.
 
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Reecemartin said:
Unfortunately besides the Charger with nose cone all our locos seem to look super utilitarian :/
Click to expand...
I don't really think looks really matter in this sense. As a railfan, sure, it's nice, but I'd rather have a dependable locomotive that doesn't break down and works in the North American Market than one at risk of falling apart or not being delivered on time.

Side note: Any idea of what is to replace the RDCs on the White River Line, if there is any replacement planned?
 
steveintoronto said:
These aren't for HFR, these are to replace the existing Corridor Fleet.
Click to expand...

Fleet renewal is considered the prelude to HFR, and thus these new trains will indeed be the ones running on a future dedicated tracks line. The RFQ/RFP has an option to order more trainsets (HFR will mean more trips), and the provision of trains running on electrified lines is also included if HFR is electrified.

Streety McCarface said:
Side note: Any idea of what is to replace the RDCs on the White River Line, if there is any replacement planned?
Click to expand...

VIA recently rebuilt the RDC on this line, so I assume they're here to stay for a while.
 
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