(The following story by Montreal Gazette Nicolas Van Praet, with additional files from the Calgary Herald, was published in the January 19 online issue of the Calgary Herald.)
MONTREAL — Bombardier is bringing its high-speed JetTrain to Canada for demonstrations with federal officials and rail operators next month — a signal that discussions on a fast-train launch in this country are advancing more quickly than expected.
The plane-and-train maker originally planned to show off the train in the U.S. only in the short-term, said Lecia Stewart, Bombardier’s vice-president for high-speed rail.
Bombardier Inc. developed the JetTrain system in a $26-million joint project with the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration. It was designed to meet U.S. specifications and hit the market first in the U.S., where high-speed rail plans are more developed. Florida will close a bidding process for a fast-train link in February and Bombardier will submit its JetTrain proposal.
But Bombardier will now extend its JetTrain marketing to Canada, Stewart said. It will run the train on existing tracks starting in Montreal or Toronto, and then bring the product to Western Canada. The company has identified the Montreal-Toronto and Edmonton-Calgary routes among 13 potential markets for its product, Stewart said.
“We’re going to take it out into an operating rail environment,” Stewart said. “We believe it’s a very exciting product for high-speed rail. It’s right for the Canadian marketplace . . . This is the only high-speed non-electric locomotive certified and ready for use in a North American environment.”
The idea has been contemplated in Canada for more than a decade but has often stalled amid concerns over cost. Population growth in cities like Edmonton and Calgary have prompted renewed consideration.
The University of Calgary’s Van Horne Institute is in the midst of a “pre-feasibility” study of high-speed rail for the Alberta government.
“We’ve been asked to take into account all the technology that’s been looked at in the past and, in particular, what’s available in the future,” said Peter Wallis, president of the institute.
Bombardier’s JetTrain is the latest technological advancement to be considered. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney 5,000 horsepower gas-turbine motor — the same motor that runs Bombardier’s Dash-8 Q-400 turboprop airplane — the JetTrain is capable of sustaining speeds of 240 kilometres per hour.
That would take a passenger to Toronto from Montreal in a little more than two hours and from Calgary to Edmonton in less than 80 minutes.
The trains would run on existing tracks owned by Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways. But according to information gathered from rail sources, upgrading the infrastructure between Canada’s two largest cities to accommodate the JetTrain would cost $1.4 billion.
That’s money Bombardier hopes the federal government will contribute.
As Bombardier’s new chief executive, Paul Tellier could grease government’s wheels. He was Ottawa’s top civil servant for several years. Then, he moved to the top job at CN, transforming it into what is now considered North America’s leading railway. Tellier is said to have exceptionally friendly relationships with both Transport Minister David Collenette — an avowed train buff — and the Prime Minister’s Office.
However, Stewart said the JetTrain project will sell on its own merits, no matter who’s in charge at Bombardier.
Financial analysts noted Bombardier has contributed to building high-speed rail projects in at least eight countries. As well, the federal government has had little will in the past to replace aging military helicopters, never mind transportation infrastructure.
Analysts also said Tellier has more pressing issues to deal with than one relatively small train project in Canada. The company is facing its toughest quarter yet, with a big question mark on orders for regional jets. Revenue at Bombardier’s train-making division ballooned last year from $3 billion to $7 billion, as it snapped up German train manufacturer Adtranz. This week, train orders have been coming in one after another. But the worldwide train market is mature, and the profit margins are not always big.
Analysts said Bombardier must refocus on its jet business if it wants to win over investors. “I think all this (Canadian high-speed train) stuff is just rumours,” said analyst Anthony Scilipoti. “Bombardier has to deal with this quarter.”
Still, Bombardier’s dream of building a high-speed rail service between Montreal and Toronto goes back a decade. Resources have been invested in the project, and all the preliminary studies have been done.
Some say the dream is still very much alive, with one difference: What was once a $7-billion electric TGV rapid-train project for service on the Quebec City-Windsor, Ont., corridor, has been scaled down to fit the times. Bombardier owns the North American rights to TGV technology.
“There’s a real trend in the U.S. and Canada right now for governments to take over major infrastructure that’s in place and better it,” said Pierre Fallu, vice-president of Canarail Consultants Inc., which provided consulting work for the Canadian high-speed project. “There’s a social consensus among leaders to maximize the use of rail lines. We see that happening everywhere.”
Via Rail, which is expected to run the Bombardier-built trains day-to-day, is heavily lobbying Ottawa to unbuckle $3 billion for a high-speed rail system between Quebec City and Windsor. Bombardier’s JetTrain is considered the favoured project.
The timing appears right for Ottawa to make a financial high-speed-rail commitment. The prime minister has signed the Kyoto Protocol, pledging to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and train travel is considered environmentally friendly.
There are obstacles to the rail plan, of course. The airline industry, which believes it has been left largely to fend for itself during the most difficult period in its existence, has stepped up its fight against any government rail handout.
Bombardier itself has had some problems with its Acela high-speed train, now in service in the U.S. northeast. Passenger provider Amtrak and Bombardier are embroiled in a court battle over the Acela. As well, Canadian taxpayers might not be willing to subsidize fast trains.
Even in a country such as France, where trains are common, high-speed rail cannot pay for itself. And so it becomes a government-sponsored pet project, Fallu said.
Some industry players said they believe Prime Minister Jean Chretien will wait until just before his exit in 2004 to make a rail announcement. That would give airlines enough time to re-establish a more solid footing.
It would also give Chretien a legacy.
Bombardier, however, signalled its hope a commitment will come before that. “We are very hopeful that the importance of high-speed passenger rail will get higher priority in the upcoming budget,” said Stewart.
The Liberal government is expected to deliver its budget next month.