Despite the delays related to the tender for the streetcar rolling stock, the mayor of Quebec is keeping an eye on 2028 for the cars to welcome their first passengers.
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“Vehicle-related delays do not change anything about the start of construction and delivery in 2028. We are still on that horizon. We had some time. We planned this room. We are fortunate to be able to negotiate,” said Mayor Bruno Marchand on Monday on the sidelines of the city council.
negotiations
With a single bidder for the future trams, Alstom, the city now has the opportunity to discuss with the company, the mayor recalls. But he has no intention of rushing things.
“It is not true that we will ignore the time and negotiate anything.” The preparatory work for the project is progressing according to plan.
The mayor cannot yet comment on the price of the mega project. A cost update should be released in the coming weeks, but we already know that inflation will have put upward pressure on the bill, which is currently set at $3.965 billion.
Costs
In response to Équipepriorite Québec boss Patrick Paquet, who, citing “sources”, confirms that the cost will be between $6 billion and $8 billion and calls for it to be capped at $4 billion, otherwise it would be his Believing the case to be necessary to “put the ax on” the project, the mayor questioned the source of this information. “I don’t have the price. I’m glad Mr. Paquet can tell me he’s very knowledgeable about the work,” he quipped.
Mr. Paquet also predicts that the city will cut five to six kilometers from the project and that the federal government will not fund cost increases of up to 40%. For Mr. Marchand, these claims have “neither head nor tail.” He assured that there were no plans to shorten the route. It should also be remembered that ahead of the holiday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Ottawa’s pledge to fund streetcar cost overruns at a 40% rate.
Opposition official Councilor Alicia Despins, who spoke Monday in the absence of leader Claude Villeneuve, who was absent due to a positive COVID test with “mild” symptoms, says her party does not support setting a cost cap. But she points out that citizens “have a limit” and wonder about the bill. “You have to have the best project at the best price, but it’s a matter of social acceptance.”
Jackie Smith, head of Transition Quebec, believes the project is too far along to stop.
– In collaboration with Jean-Luc Lavallée