THUNDER BAY —Alstom Thunder Bay has marked what the company is calling a milestone in its relationship with Metrolinx.
The local plant has completed work on the last vehicle in a contract for 36 BiLevel commuter cars Metrolinx ordered for GO Transit in September 2019.
Metrolinx is the provincial government agency that oversees road and public transport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
During an event in the plant on Friday, plant general manager Lindsay Fenton recognized the efforts of the employees that had gone into the contract, and reflected on the relationship the plant has had with Metrolinx/GO Transit since 1975.
Over that period 991 BiLevel cars have been produced in Thunder Bay.
About 300 members of Unifor are still working at the plant on other contracts, including BiLevel cars for customers in the U.S.
In May, it was announced that Alstom would build an additional 60 streetcars for the Toronto Transit Commission, with delivery expected to begin in 2023.
Work is projected to begin in the first half of 2022.
Alstom had said earlier that it expected this contract would maintain current employment levels through the end of that year.
The company is also in discussions with Metrolinx about scheduling the refurbishing of BiLevel cars that have been in service for years.
"What we're gonna do is take a car that's been in service for 30 or more years, tear it apart, rebuild it and put it back in service. That's a good thing if we get that contract," said Unifor Local 1075 President Dominic Pasqualino.
However, Pasqualino added "We're still far away from getting the 700 or 800 workers that we would like to get back into the plant."
He said he remains disappointed there's no contract yet to build brand-new cars for Go Transit.
