Metrolinx abandons court appeal but won’t let Bombardier bid to operate GO trains
MONTREAL — Ontario’s transit agency has decided not to appeal a court ruling favouring Bombardier but will exclude the Montreal-based company from bidding to continue operating GO Transit trains as it has done for decades.
Metrolinx said Friday that it will seek new operators to take over the suburban GO Transit and UP Express airport rail services after the current contract expires in 2023.
The winning bidder to be chosen in about a year will first review the current operations by Bombardier and two other Canadian companies and then operate the services as it quadruples in size to 6,000 trains a week from 1,500.
“We really need to bring in an internationally experienced operator (or consortium) to help us do this,” Metrolinx spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikins said in an interview.