{"id":5855,"date":"2010-02-12T07:30:02","date_gmt":"2010-02-12T12:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingmontreal.ca\/?p=5855"},"modified":"2013-01-21T11:13:24","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T16:13:24","slug":"zhuzhou-electric-locomotive-c-quebec-la-stm-et-les-pneumatiques","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2010\/02\/12\/zhuzhou-electric-locomotive-c-quebec-la-stm-et-les-pneumatiques\/","title":{"rendered":"Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive c. Qu\u00e9bec, la STM, et les pneumatiques"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"480\" height=\"385\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/cVK5HA-mgL8&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x2b405b&amp;color2=0x6b8ab6\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"480\" height=\"385\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/cVK5HA-mgL8&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x2b405b&amp;color2=0x6b8ab6\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> Maybe we could learn a lesson from Sesame Street.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00ab ZELC ne peut exiger que la STM red\u00e9finisse ses besoins et ceux de ses utilisateurs, change le produit qu\u2019elle exploite avec succ\u00e8s depuis 40 ans (&#8230;) et qu\u2019elle modifie radicalement ses sp\u00e9cifications techniques. \u00bb<br \/>\n<em>&#8211; <a title=\"La STM rejette le projet de Zhuzhou \" href=\"http:\/\/www.ruefrontenac.com\/affaires\/119-enjeux\/17606-offre-chinoise\">Guy Du Pont<\/a> (from Rue Frontenac&#8217;s Michel Van de Walle)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the gospel according to \u00c9mile, there is a parable about a man from Galilee \u2013 or maybe it was Verdun.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, he goes to a store and asks for a bicycle.<br \/>\nThe saleswoman says, \u201cI have no bicycles but I could sell you a car.\u201d<br \/>\nHe says, \u201cI don\u2019t want a car, I want a bicycle.\u201d<br \/>\nShe says, \u201cBicycles are outdated, not as efficient, and not as durable in all weather conditions.\u201d<br \/>\nHe says, \u201cTrue, but I still want a bicycle.\u201d<br \/>\nShe says, \u201cCars are not as bad as they used to be. All you need to do is make small alterations to your house in order to build a garage for your new car.\u201d<br \/>\nHe says, \u201cIf you can\u2019t offer me a bicycle, then I will have to take my business elsewhere.\u201d<br \/>\nAnd she takes him to court.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>For those of you who don&#8217;t know, there is an engineering and transit ideological war, involving billions of <strong>YOUR<\/strong> dollars, brewing in Montr\u00e9al. Let me break it down for you:<\/p>\n<p>Back in 2006, the STM and the government of Qu\u00e9bec got together with Bombardier to replace our well-aged fleet of metro cars.<\/p>\n<p>Then Alstom SA, a French company, <a title=\"Shut up, Alstom, and play by Quebec rules\" href=\"http:\/\/www.canada.com\/montrealgazette\/news\/business\/story.html?id=fea95927-98e3-4434-9fd9-fe1426c278d7&amp;k=1868\">got mad and cried foul<\/a>. They said the government should be soliciting competing bids.<\/p>\n<p>The government, in true fashion, said, \u201cWhatever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So Alstom SA said, \u201cI\u2019ll show you \u2018whatever\u2019\u201d, and took the government to court.<\/p>\n<p>(p.s. Alstom SA won.)<\/p>\n<p>But instead of continuing to fight, Alstom SA and Bombardier hooked up and have decided to work together.<\/p>\n<p>This led to an even juicier bid. Like super-ripe summer peach juicy.<\/p>\n<p>The city\u2019s original tender for 340 subway cars, worth an estimated $1.2-billion, became 765 cars, with an option to purchase another 288 cars, valued at more than $3-billion.<\/p>\n<p>And that, my friends, is a lot of cash.<\/p>\n<p>But at $3-billion, we\u2019re talking a whole different ballgame. So the government put the offer back out : any company that believes it can fill the order for rubber-tyred vehicles only, <strong>and<\/strong> with a commitment to do all the final manufacturing in Canada, now has 30 days to signal its interest.<\/p>\n<p>This seemed to be a bit of a formality \u2013 only Bombardier and Alstom SA are known to be able to fill such an order with the requirements stipulated by the government.<\/p>\n<p>And, <em>ils v\u00e9curent heureux et eurent beaucoup d&#8217;enfants.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Not so fast.<\/p>\n<p>Enter China\u2019s Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive. They say the bidding process is unfair because, while in theory it is open to everyone, in practice it is only open to companies that can produce rubber-tyred cars.<\/p>\n<p>They say no one really uses rubber tires anymore for modern metro systems.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> (Except most French cities \u2013 including Paris, a gaggle of Japanese ones, and Mexico City &#8230; to name a few.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They say rubber wheels are less efficient and durable than steel.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> (That may be true, but with the amount of hydroelectricity Qu\u00e9bec produces, I think we will manage.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They say conversion to steel wheels could be done without service interruption and would end up in significant savings on operating costs.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> (Experts say that the entire system would have to be shut down for about a year to install new track. Considering it took almost 30 years of planning, consultations, and false starts to redo the Parc-Pins interchange, I\u2019m placing my bets on the experts.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Maybe steel wheels have come a long way. Maybe my judgement has been clouded by youth spent riding the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iDITfgUn8Ys\">Toronto subway<\/a> <em>(minute 3:55 is pretty exemplary)<\/em>. Or maybe the earthquake simulator that is the NYC subway riding under my ex-girlfriend\u2019s apartment has coloured my reasoning.<\/p>\n<p>For this, I apologise.<\/p>\n<p>But here in Montreal, we have stuck to the rubber-tyred method. And for that, I am grateful.<\/p>\n<p>So unless Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive is willing to fund the conversion of our system to steel tires and guarantee that it could be done without service interruption, then I think we have heard enough from them. <em>Passons \u00e0 l\u2019action!<\/em> Our metro cars aren\u2019t getting any younger.<\/p>\n<p><object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"480\" height=\"385\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/H6hBMnopWX0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x2b405b&amp;color2=0x6b8ab6\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"480\" height=\"385\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/H6hBMnopWX0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x2b405b&amp;color2=0x6b8ab6\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maybe we could learn a lesson from Sesame Street. \u00ab ZELC ne peut exiger que la STM red\u00e9finisse ses besoins et ceux de ses utilisateurs, change le produit qu\u2019elle exploite avec succ\u00e8s depuis 40 ans (&#8230;) et qu\u2019elle modifie radicalement ses sp\u00e9cifications techniques. \u00bb &#8211; Guy Du Pont (from Rue Frontenac&#8217;s Michel Van de Walle)<a href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2010\/02\/12\/zhuzhou-electric-locomotive-c-quebec-la-stm-et-les-pneumatiques\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"sr-only\">&#8220;Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive c. Qu\u00e9bec, la STM, et les pneumatiques&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5055,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7836,33],"tags":[4949,1668,283,319,4944,4953,73,808,4951,4952,125,4950,704,3807,4947,4945,4943,4948,4374,4946,1627,302],"class_list":["post-5855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headlines","category-transit","tag-alstom-sa","tag-bombardier","tag-canada","tag-china","tag-final-manufacturing","tag-guy-du-pont","tag-headlines-a-la-une","tag-metro-systems","tag-mexico-city","tag-michel-van-de-walle","tag-montreal","tag-parc-pins-interchange","tag-paris","tag-rubber-tires","tag-rubber-wheels","tag-rubber-tyred-cars","tag-rubber-tyred-method","tag-rubber-tyred-vehicles","tag-steel","tag-steel-wheels","tag-toronto-subway","tag-usd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive c. 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