Ontario plant workers worry as feds still won’t commit TTC subway train replacement money

As the need to replace TTC Line 2 subway trains grows more urgent with each passing month, fears continue to escalate about potential work for unionized workers at an Ontario plant without a formal funding commitment to the Toronto transit agency from the Trudeau government.

“Me and the rest of the (union) executives are quite worried,” Justin Roberts, president of Unifor Local 1075, told CityNews.

Roberts said he has worked at the Alstom Thunder Bay plant (formerly Bombardier) for 17 years. He heads up the union representing hundreds of plant workers. The facility is one of the city’s biggest employers.

“There’s electrical that we do, there’s mechanical that we do, there’s every type of work in here. You’ve got to be skilled to do it.”

For decades the plant has been responsible for the streetcars, subway trains and GO Transit train cars that many in the Greater Toronto Area depend on to get around, and Thunder Bay depends on the transit infrastructure contracts from the GTA.

“(The) Thunder Bay community is generally a pretty tight community … you don’t get away from being strangers that often in this city,” Roberts said.

“We all have spouses that work in the community as well and some of [them] work for other employers that are suppliers.”

The Thunder Bay plant is currently finishing two contracts: One to provide dozens of new streetcars for the TTC and a second to refurbish some of GO Transit’s fleet of double-decker passenger cars. The contracts will be done by sometime in 2026.

While both provide steady work, it’s a fraction of what the facility can produce and there aren’t large-scale orders following. Roberts said it has repercussions for the local economy.

“Right now we are only employing about 500 people, which is low compared to some times in the past, but our local supply chain is enormous,” he said.

“There are thousands of people that are employed by these contracts when it comes down to it.

“When this place lays off, it’s felt citywide.”

However, many at the plant are pinning their hopes on their company’s chance to bid on replacing the TTC’s entire fleet of Line 2 trains. Currently, 61 trains are in service and the fleet starts hitting the end of its 30-year design life beginning in 2026 (the full fleet will hit that benchmark in 2031).

TTC Line 2 approaching end of design life amid ongoing push for funding

In a September report to the TTC board, agency staff spelled out the urgent need for funding.

“Investment in new trains and the modernization of Line 2 is critical to ensure the TTC can provide a high-quality service to those who rely on transit every day,” the report said.

“Investment in Line 2 is necessary to sustain existing subway services and enable capacity enhancements to meet growth.”

The mammoth task of overhauling the Bloor-Danforth line began in 2020 when the TTC started allocating money to replace its current signalling system, parts of which were installed in the 1960s, with automatic train control along with upgrading the Greenwood yard and replacing all trains.

“Although this system is safe, its reliability is declining despite extensive preventive and corrective maintenance efforts,” staff said of the current fixed-block signal system, which will be close to 70 years old in certain areas by the earlier anticipated time of full replacement in 2035.

Staff noted all the projects need to happen together to go ahead with the overhaul and eventual expansion of service. The initiatives were “anchored on the timely procurement of new subway trains.”

Fast-forward to mid-2023 when the transit agency cancelled a bid involving four bidders for 80 trains (55 replacement ones on Line 2 and 25 to expand capacity on Line 1) due to not having enough money.

The estimated cost for the 55 Line 2 trains is $2.27 billion and a state-of-good-repair program worth $163 million is needed to help the remaining part of the fleet stay operational until all the new trains arrive.

If the full funding isn’t received by early 2025, TTC staff said they’ll be forced to enact contingency plans. That would involve diverting available money to a $1.36-billion retrofit program to add 10 years of design life to all of the existing trains while leaving an increased $2.63-billion fleet replacement cost for later on.

A retrofit program also harkens memories of TTC Line 3 Scarborough RT. The agency moved to overhaul the fleet beyond its design life and while they were able to add years, ultimately it had to be shut down months before it was set to close following a derailment.

With it taking two to three years before production could begin following the issuance of a tender, TTC staff had a stark warning.

“The cost of delaying a train procurement another five to six years will result in nearly doubling the level of investment needed on the Line 2 fleet, in addition to other unknown costs for Line 2,” the report said.

The City of Toronto set aside one-third of the funding for 55 trains and under a so-called “Ontario-Toronto new deal” unveiled in late 2023 by Premier Doug Ford and Olivia Chow, the provincial government committed to paying one-third ($758 million). The Ontario government will also be paying 100 per cent of the cost for 15 trains to allow for expanded service as part of its Scarborough and Yonge North subway extension projects.

For several months there have been lingering questions about the federal government’s contribution but there hasn’t been a firm commitment to the project.

TTC staff said they won’t issue a tender without the federal commitment and such a large gap in funding due to “the risks to interdependent capital projects and programs, and potential cost implications to further delay in the procurement.” They said they need a decision by the end of 2024.

Making the case for manufacturing in Ontario

Perry Jensen, a communications and public affairs manager for Alstom’s Ontario branch, said the company is eagerly awaiting for the Line 2 bid process to resume and that they’re “confident” they can move forward.

“The faster you can get on [these projects], the better. As we’ve seen over time, construction costs, manufacturing costs, they only ever really seem to go up so it would be nice to start getting things going,” he told CityNews while referencing the Line 2 train end-of-design-life concerns starting in 2026.

“We just want them to make the right decision as soon as they can.”

Although the company and the former owners of its Thunder Bay plant have a dominant presence in the GTA, there is no guarantee Alstom will win the contract.

Jensen said the company, which also has plants in Kingston and Brampton, has been in the process of fulfilling an order for Vancouver’s SkyTrain system. However, he said policy decisions south of the border have been putting a squeeze on opportunities.

“The United States, our chief trading partner, essentially is insisting that the vast majority of all the investment going into public transit is made in the USA. That shuts out a lot of things that we could do for them in that market from this market,” Jensen said.

With a changing international marketplace, he said the company would like to see more Canadian content requirements for infrastructure contracts in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada.

“Give consideration to maybe giving the hometown guys a little boost. We think we’re going to be totally competitive no matter what,” he said.

“We do believe we’re price competitive, especially when you consider all of the other factors that are involved here.

“One of the things too is you got to look at the green footprint if you’re making something in Asia and you have to ship it all the way here. It’s not quite as green as it would be if it was done here, especially since in Canada we have a very green energy grid.”

It’s a sentiment Roberts echoed.

“Canadian tax dollars are going to fund these projects and I think the general public needs to know that these tax dollars need to be spent on our own country,” he said while describing what could happen if layoffs occur because there aren’t long-term projects to work on.

“Our members will stop buying as many groceries, going on as many excursions, so all the other small businesses they start to feel the effect.”

Mounting frustration and the federal government’s position

For Roberts and the union’s membership, he said the indecision by the Canadian government is starting to weigh on them.

“We know that even if this Line 2 subway contract comes out, and we were to get it, it would still be years before the beginning of the labour starts on that contract, and the current workload we have is not going to sustain us until that contract begins,” he said.

“The more the federal government drags their heels on this, the more stress and worry that our members are going to go through.

“If it’s all about political games that they’re playing, maybe because of the election, well there’s real lives at stake here and we need this money awarded as soon as possible.”

At Queen’s Park, there is frustration too. A spokesperson for Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said they have been calling for the Trudeau government to put the money forward.

“These trains are essential to the nearly 400,000 riders who depend on reliable transit to get where they need to go each and every day,” Dakota Brasier said in a statement.

“Further delays in federal funding could not only cause potential service disruptions but could also delay critical subway projects like the Yonge North Subway Extension and Scarborough Subway Extension — both of which the federal government is a funding partner.”

She added moving ahead will “help to safeguard thousands of good-paying jobs for Ontario workers and ensure reliable transit for all.”

CityNews also asked the Ford government about what else is being done to support Alstom workers and boost the inclusion of Canadian plants in the transit procurement process, but there wasn’t an additional response to those questions.

When it comes to the Trudeau government’s position, CityNews contacted federal housing, infrastructure and community minister Sean Fraser’s office to ask what they’re doing to address the union’s concerns and when the TTC, City of Toronto and the Ontario government can expect a decision on funding.

Spokesperson Sofia Ouslis said in a statement on Thursday that Fraser told TTC chair and councillor Jamaal Myers in August that the agency would be eligible to tap into a new Canada Public Transit Fund, which will provide $3 billion annually for transit projects across Canada.

“After the expression of interest intake process closes, [the ministry] will provide all eligible recipients with an estimated funding allocation and invite them to submit a capital plan application. More information on the next steps will be available on the department’s website in the coming weeks,” she wrote while touting officials “continue to collaborate closely.”

However, the program isn’t set to start distributing money until the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

CityNews sent a follow-up request to ask about the potential operational impacts on the TTC before that timeframe, the delays in committing funding and how those delays are impacting state-of-good-repair concerns and planning. A response wasn’t received as of the time of publication.