CANADA: Greater Toronto area transport agency Metrolinx has awarded Alstom a C$1·3bn five-extension to its operation and maintenance contract covering GO Transit commuter rail and Union Pearson Express airport shuttle services. The contract will now run to 2031.
Alstom operates the services as successor to Bombardier Transportation.
‘This renewed agreement with Alstom delivers on our government’s plan to protect Ontario by ensuring Ontario tax dollars continue to support Ontario workers’, said the province’s Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria when the contract was announced on March 20. ‘It will strengthen the operations and maintenance capacity needed to support a more reliable GO Transit network as we expand service across the region to meet the needs of our growing province.’
In January 2024 the ONxpress Operations Inc joint venture of Aecon and DB IO was awarded a contract to take over train operation and maintenance for 23 years from January 1 2025. However, there were disagreements about how this would be undertaken as part of the wider GO Expansion network enhancement programme and problems with mobilisation, and the handover never took place. In January 2026 GlasRatner Restructuring was appointed to liquidate OOI.
- Subscribers can read an in-depth article about GO Transit from the July 2025 issue of Railway Gazette International.
