TTC sees dramatic rise in streetcar maintenance orders

Thestar.com
August 19, 2019
Ben Spurr

The amount of maintenance required on the city’s new streetcar fleet has ballooned -- to nearly double the amount that was deemed “unacceptable” in internal TTC emails in February -- as the vehicles continue to fall below reliability targets.

At the same time, TTC documents show the agency isn’t using a clause in their contract that allows them to withhold a portion of payment for defects.

However, the transit agency and the cars’ manufacturer say there’s no cause for concern.

According to statistics provided by the TTC, earlier this month the number of open work orders -- pending maintenance, repair or modification jobs -- for the Bombardier-made streetcars had grown to roughly 11,000, up from 6,000 in February.

That coincides with an increase in vehicles approved for service, to 165 streetcars from 120.

As the Star has previously reported, in February the TTC’s chief vehicle officer privately warned colleagues that having 6,000 open work orders was “unacceptable” and the volume of maintenance risked becoming “unmanageable -- if it is not already so.”

Although the amount of work the cars require has only grown since then, TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said that doesn’t indicate a problem with the vehicles.

He asserted that in addition to any work needed to fix problems with the cars, the work orders include routine maintenance tasks such as replacing parts that have worn out, and exterior and interior cleaning.

“The number of open work orders is not a reflection of contract or vehicle performance,” Green said in an email.

Bombardier spokesperson Kaven Delarosbil also said in an email the number of work orders “cannot and should not be interpreted as a reflection of the performance of the vehicle; more cars in service means more maintenance activity overtime, simple math.”

Delarosbil said Bombardier “is working hand in hand with its suppliers and TTC to identify and implement technical solutions and improve overall reliability,” but the number of work orders “is not a concern.”

TTC work orders can describe a wide range of jobs, from important repairs such as correcting brake failures and replacing defective parts, to minor cosmetic fixes such as rectifying bad paint jobs or removing graffiti.

They can also include modifications Bombardier has made to the streetcar design to address problems that have cropped up, which can require retrofitting parts on cars already delivered. For instance, documents obtained by the Star show Bombardier is in the process of replacing the driver’s cab doors on more than 100 of the cars, making alterations to auxiliary power supply units on 157 cars, and changing emergency stop buttons on 165 vehicles.

Interviews with TTC sources suggest there is disagreement about the quality of the streetcars among TTC employees who work with them.

One agency source directly involved in the streetcar program said the maintenance backlog is “spiralling out of control.”

“On a new fleet like this, you don’t expect to see this defect level,” said the source, who asked for anonymity out of fear of reprisal for speaking publicly about internal TTC issues. “It’s not the reliable vehicle we hoped for.”

The source alleged the TTC “is clearly asking us to receive these cars at all costs” and has overlooked defects to help ensure Bombardier delivers cars as quickly as possible.

After years of falling behind schedule on the TTC’s $1-billion order, Bombardier has picked up its production pace and says it’s now on track to meet the deadline of supplying all 204 new cars in the fleet by the end of 2019. The TTC is anxious to take delivery of the new vehicles as its older streetcars, which began service three decades ago, are at the end of their service life.

A separate TTC source with direct knowledge of the repair program said the workload is “manageable” and not indicative of a fundamental problem with the new cars.

The source, who also requested anonymity to speak about internal matters, said it’s normal for the number of work orders to grow as the TTC receives more of the cars, and said only some of the issues are related to defects with the vehicles. The source said many of the open work orders aren’t related to defects but are preventative maintenance routinely scheduled to ensure vehicles stay in working order.

“We know that there’s issues,” the source said.

“But really the story is here is that (the streetcars are) getting better , We’re making them more reliable.”

The source acknowledged however that the number of cars being removed from service to undergo work is “not ideal,” and “we have more cars being held back out of service for maintenance than what we would like to see.”

Earlier this month the TTC had between 30 and 33 of its new 165 cars out of service for repairs on any given day, according to documents obtained by the Star.

Other documents obtained by the Star show how the TTC accepts delivery of new streetcars from Bombardier that still require work to correct “minor deficiencies.”

Five of the documents, which are called final acceptance certificates and are issued by the TTC as it takes possession of new vehicles, show this summer the TTC took delivery of cars that had problems such as improper gaps between panels on the vehicles’ interior and exterior, faulty paint jobs, and rusted springs on the pantograph device that draws power to the cars from overhead wires.

The vehicle contract the TTC and Bombardier signed in 2009 provides for the transit agency to take delivery of cars with minor deficiencies if they’re not excessive in number and are corrected quickly.

The contract states that when accepting cars with minor deficiencies, the TTC “shall retain” a percentage of the streetcar payment price from Bombardier until the deficiencies are rectified. The amount the TTC is able to withhold works out to about $38,000 per vehicle, according to the transit agency.

In each of the five certificates the Star reviewed the TTC didn’t hold back that amount, and made the full payment to Bombardier.

Green said this wasn’t unusual. He described the option to withhold payment as “a mechanism to ensure vehicles are substantially complete and service ready,” and said the TTC hasn’t had to exercise it because “safety and reliability issues are always dealt with” before final acceptance of each car.

He denied the TTC’s desire to get streetcars delivered quickly has led it to overlook faults or fail to exercise options in the contract to hold Bombardier to account.

“We continue to hold Bombardier accountable when it comes to the timely delivery and quality of these vehicles. But we’ll also work with them to get new vehicles into service as quickly as possible while ensuring they are safe and reliable,” he said.

The streetcars continue to fall short of the reliability target spelled out in the contract, which states they should travel 35,000 kilometres before experiencing a problem that delays service for five minutes or more.

The cars were supposed the reach the target by early last year, but never have. According to the most recent statistics provided by the TTC, in June the cars went a mean distance of about 19,400 km without a significant problem. That was down from about 28,000 km in May, but a significant improvement from January, when they went only 7,600 km.

TTC reports indicate repeating issues affecting car reliability include malfunctioning doors, HVAC systems, brakes and communication systems.

Although the cars haven’t yet met the target, Green said the overall trend shows they’re becoming more reliable, and pointed out they perform much better than the TTC’s older streetcars.

Delarosbil, the Bombardier spokesperson, said the company is “on track to meet our target of 35,000 km between failures by the end of the year.”