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Bombardier Inc. says the Chicago Transit Authority “rigged” the bidding process for a US$1.3-billion contract so that a Chinese venture would win, and is demanding that it award the work to Bombardier instead.
In a protest filed with the CTA, Bombardier argues that it should have won the contract instead of CSR Sifang America JV, a Chinese joint venture that was awarded the deal last month to manufacture up to 846 new rail cars for Chicago’s transit system.
As a result, Bombardier says the CTA must immediately terminate the contract, disqualify CSR as a “fraudulent” bidder, award the contract to Bombardier, and reimburse Bombardier for at least $2 million of expenses.
At issue, according to the protest, was the politically appealing prospect of creating new jobs in Chicago. While Bombardier planned to manufacture the cars at its existing facility in Plattsburgh, N.Y., CSR promised to build a new plant on Chicago’s poverty-ridden south side.
Bombardier calls this “a trade of federal money for local preferences.”
“It was, of course, illegal for the (transit) authority to use federal funds to deny jobs to fellow Americans outside of Chicago,” the company says in its protest.
“To achieve this illegal purpose, the authority rigged the procurement to ensure a CSR victory. As the mayor, his labour allies and CTA well knew, only a new entrant into the American market could provide the Chicago jobs needed to serve their political purposes.”
CTA spokesman Brian Steele said the authority will conduct “a thorough and fair review” of Bombardier’s protest.
“That said, this contract was handled the same way every CTA competitive procurement is handled,” Steele said in an email.
“CTA is confident that all of the procurement processes and applicable laws were followed properly, ensuring a fair and equitable contract award.”
CSR’s US$1.31-billion bid was lower than Bombardier’s, which came in at US$1.39 billion.
However, Bombardier says the CTA should have investigated “whether CSR’s low-ball price was unreasonable because it was below market and subsidized.”
It also accuses the CTA of ignoring one of its own evaluation criteria, which forbids the assessment of work done outside North America.
“CSR’s admitted lack of any experience in North America, which should have weighed heavily against its proposal, was actually an advantage” because it would allow it to create new jobs in Chicago, Bombardier says.
When Bombardier asked for an explanation as to why it lost the contract, it says the CTA “focused on Bombardier’s performance of prior projects.”
The company doesn’t elaborate, but concerns have been raised in recent months about Bombardier’s execution of transportation projects.
In March, London’s city council excoriated Bombardier for “duping” the British capital into awarding it a train-signalling contract that it couldn’t deliver on time or on budget, a performance the city called “shameful.”
London cancelled the contract in 2013 and awarded it to French company Thales SA.
The Toronto Transit Commission has also threatened to sue Bombardier over significant delays in the delivery of a new fleet of streetcars. Only 17 of the 204 streetcars are currently in service, even though the original schedule promised that 70 would be on the road by now.
The company has blamed “production issues” and has added a third shift to its plant in Thunder Bay, Ont., to speed up production.
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In a protest filed with the CTA, Bombardier argues that it should have won the contract instead of CSR Sifang America JV, a Chinese joint venture that was awarded the deal last month to manufacture up to 846 new rail cars for Chicago’s transit system.
As a result, Bombardier says the CTA must immediately terminate the contract, disqualify CSR as a “fraudulent” bidder, award the contract to Bombardier, and reimburse Bombardier for at least $2 million of expenses.
At issue, according to the protest, was the politically appealing prospect of creating new jobs in Chicago. While Bombardier planned to manufacture the cars at its existing facility in Plattsburgh, N.Y., CSR promised to build a new plant on Chicago’s poverty-ridden south side.
Bombardier calls this “a trade of federal money for local preferences.”
“It was, of course, illegal for the (transit) authority to use federal funds to deny jobs to fellow Americans outside of Chicago,” the company says in its protest.
“To achieve this illegal purpose, the authority rigged the procurement to ensure a CSR victory. As the mayor, his labour allies and CTA well knew, only a new entrant into the American market could provide the Chicago jobs needed to serve their political purposes.”
CTA spokesman Brian Steele said the authority will conduct “a thorough and fair review” of Bombardier’s protest.
“That said, this contract was handled the same way every CTA competitive procurement is handled,” Steele said in an email.
“CTA is confident that all of the procurement processes and applicable laws were followed properly, ensuring a fair and equitable contract award.”
CSR’s US$1.31-billion bid was lower than Bombardier’s, which came in at US$1.39 billion.
However, Bombardier says the CTA should have investigated “whether CSR’s low-ball price was unreasonable because it was below market and subsidized.”
It also accuses the CTA of ignoring one of its own evaluation criteria, which forbids the assessment of work done outside North America.
“CSR’s admitted lack of any experience in North America, which should have weighed heavily against its proposal, was actually an advantage” because it would allow it to create new jobs in Chicago, Bombardier says.
When Bombardier asked for an explanation as to why it lost the contract, it says the CTA “focused on Bombardier’s performance of prior projects.”
The company doesn’t elaborate, but concerns have been raised in recent months about Bombardier’s execution of transportation projects.
In March, London’s city council excoriated Bombardier for “duping” the British capital into awarding it a train-signalling contract that it couldn’t deliver on time or on budget, a performance the city called “shameful.”
London cancelled the contract in 2013 and awarded it to French company Thales SA.
The Toronto Transit Commission has also threatened to sue Bombardier over significant delays in the delivery of a new fleet of streetcars. Only 17 of the 204 streetcars are currently in service, even though the original schedule promised that 70 would be on the road by now.
The company has blamed “production issues” and has added a third shift to its plant in Thunder Bay, Ont., to speed up production.
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