The Ford government is putting some pressure on the city to ensure new, sorely needed subway cars for Line 2 are built in Thunder Bay.
In a letter to Mayor Olivia Chow viewed by the Star, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria is asking the city — in the face of  the economic uncertainty caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs — to “recognize this historic opportunity and consider a sole-source procurement with Alstom, which would support Ontario workers in Thunder Bay and across our province.”
The 55 new subway cars are meant to replace the current cars on the Bloor-Danforth line, which are expected to reach the end of their 30-year service life in 2026.
Alstom, a French company, builds the TTC’s streetcar at its Thunder Bay plant. The current Line 1 and Line 2 subway cars were both also built in Thunder Bay, but by Bombardier, before it was acquired by Alstom in 2021. In 2022, Alstom lost out on a major contract for new trains for the province’s Ontario Line project.
In his letter, Sarkaria goes on to say, “The Ontario government will work with the city and the federal government to ensure the successful delivery of the trains should this decision lead to any changes in the project scope.”
The $2.3-billion cost for the new subway cars requires the city, the province and the federal government to each kick in a third of the cost. The province’s third was secured as part of the Ford government’s “new deal” with Toronto.
Sarkaria has pushed for the new Line 2 cars to be built in Thunder Bay , but this is the first time the Ford government has called for a sole-sourced contract on the cars.
In March, the city  in response to the Trump tariffs.
The TTC’s interim CEO Greg Percy has maintained in press conferences that the process would be open for bidding from multiple companies, launching a request for proposals on Dec. 10.
There was some uncertainty about whether the funding for the new Line 2 cars had been fully secured, given the uncertainty presented by the federal election and fears that a new government could pull its committed funds.
In March, the federal infrastructure minister confirmed that the $2.3-billion legal agreement for the trains had been signed, all but guaranteeing the new trains would be on their way.
Line 2 has 400,000 daily boardings, and the risk of running trains past their service life was underscored when the Scarborough RT derailed in September 2023, with then TTC CEO Rick Leary warning of similar problems if the Line 2 cars were not replaced.
Because the new subway cars aren’t expected to begin rolling out until 2030, Percy has said the TTC would undertake a “light overhaul” of the current Line 2 cars to extend their service life in the interim.
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