Canadian companies shortlisted to bid on $5.5B Montreal rail project
Each group has about 6 months to submit proposal
Several large Canadian and foreign firms will battle to win contracts for a new $5.5-billion light rail project to be built in the greater Montreal area by Quebec's pension fund manager, the Caisse de dépôt.
The network will provide service across much of the island of Montreal to the downtown, as well as to Trudeau International Airport, the South Shore and Laval and the North Shore, places currently served by regional trains.
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TheCaisse de dépôt's infrastructure subsidiary has selected five consortiums to bid on two major contracts — to build the 67-kilometre network of 24 stations, and to supply and operate the train cars.
Each group has about six months to submit a proposal.
Construction is expected to start next spring, with the system ready for operation at the end of 2020.
The rail network is expected carry 30.6 million passengers a year in 2021, reaching 42.7 million by 2031.
A consortium including SNC-Lavalin and Aecon will face off against another including WSP Global and Parsons for the engineering and construction work.
Three groups will compete to supply trains: one including Parson, Hyundai Rotem and Thales Canada; Bombardier Transportation; and the duo of Alstom Transport Canada and SNC-Lavalin.
The Caisse is prepared to pump about $3 billion into the project and wants the province and federal government to kick in the rest.
The pension fund manager intends to operate the rail network and eventually funnel profits to Quebecers' public nest egg — the Quebec Pension Plan.