Metrolinx orders 125 bilevel rail cars from Bombardier

A Bombardier bilevel coach for GO Transit.

Metrolinx has awarded Bombardier Transportation a $428 million contract (in Canadian dollars) for 125 bilevel passenger cars.

The cars are part of Metrolinx's plan to expand service and meet ridership growth on GO Transit's rail lines. Metrolinx owns GO Transit, which provides public transportation in Southern Ontario.

The units are part of the newest generation of the bilevel cars, featuring upgrades to door and air conditioning systems, increases in energy efficiency and improved passenger amenities, Bombardier officials said in a press release.

Production is scheduled to start in second-quarter 2018 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, with final delivery expected in early 2020.

More than 1,300 of Bombardier's bilevel coaches are in operation or on order in North America. Transit agencies in 14 metropolitan regions across Canada and the United States use the units.

In the greater Toronto and Hamilton area, Bombardier maintains and operates GO Transit's commuter train fleet.