First new generation Montreal subway cars unveiled at Bombardier plant

LA POCATIERE, Que. – The consortium developing the next generation of cars to ferry passengers in Montreal’s subway system has unveiled the first of the new vehicles.

The first nine cars were introduced in front of dignitaries and employees today at the Bombardier Transport (TSX:BBD.B) plant in La Pocatiere in Quebec’s Lower St. Lawrence.

The first cars will hit the rails in 2014 so designers can test the new vehicles.

Montreal’s transit commission says it expects the new fleet to last 50 years.

By 2018, 468 new-generation vehicles should be in use in the underground transit system.

They are being built by a consortium composed of Bombardier Transport and Alstom Transport for $1.9 billion.

The new cars will replace the current aging fleet, including some cars that have been in service since 1966.

The capacity of the new trains is eight per cent higher than their predecessors, and transit users will be able to walk from one end of the train to the other using a walkway system. The doors are also larger and the windows give a panoramic effect, Bombardier Transport notes.

About 900,000 people use the Montreal subway on a daily basis.