Exo is receiving its first two units from a total order of 44 new train cars.
These cars will modernize the rolling stock on the exo network and enhance the passenger experience by providing quality and comfort.
The cars will be delivered in the coming days to the Pointe-Saint-Charles maintenance center. Over the coming weeks, they will undergo minor finishing work and assessment. In the months to come, the cars will be subject to a series of tests before they are put into service. The cars will officially be revealed to the public in early spring when health measures allow it.
"We're thrilled to receive the first units in this historic order for exo,” said Sylvain Yelle, general director, exo. “This first delivery gives us the momentum to begin the final steps that will allow us to put the new cars in operation in early 2023. Exo trains are an indisputable part of the sustainable mobility equation, which is why we continue to invest in modernizing them to build a reliable and efficient transit system."
The final step before commissioning
This initial delivery will allow exo to launch the commissioning schedule for the new cars, the final step in a project totaling nearly C$196 million (US$153 million).
Exo has begun the process, after which the cars will be put into service on its network. The new cars will undergo complete mechanical safety checks, static tests in the maintenance center and dynamic tests on the network as well as braking tests.
Exo expects to receive the rest of the cars from the order over the course of the year and plans to put them into service on the network in early 2023. The last 10 cars are undergoing final adjustments to be accessible to passengers with reduced mobility. These cars will be received at a later date and enter service in 2024.
The train cars were ordered in 2017, with delivery initially scheduled in June 2019. However, due mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as technical adjustments to the cars and increased local content, the first deliveries were delayed until now.
Cars specifically designed for exo's needs
The multilevel cars can accommodate up to 147 seated passengers and have been adapted to exo's needs through a collaboration between the project team and the manufacturer, CRRC. This substantial order has also enabled a dozen Canadian suppliers, including eight from Quebec, to build and develop partnerships with CRRC. More than 28 percent of the content in the cars is local.
