 | |
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1974; 51 years ago (1974) |
| Defunct | 29 January 2021; 4 years ago (2021-01-29)[1] |
| Fate | Acquired byAlstom[2] |
| Headquarters | NA:Toronto, Canada EU:Berlin, Germany |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | |
| Revenue | US$7.4 billion (2020)[3] |
Number of employees | 36,000 (2020) |
| Parent | Bombardier Inc. |
Bombardier Transportation was a Canadianrolling stock andrail transport manufacturer, with headquarters inToronto andBerlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Bombardier Transportation had many regional offices, production and development facilities worldwide.[4][5] It produced a wide range of products includingpassenger rail vehicles,locomotives,bogies,propulsion and controls. In February 2020, the company had 36,000 employees, and 63 manufacturing and engineering locations around the world.[6] Formerly adivision ofBombardier Inc., the company was acquired by French manufacturerAlstom on 29 January 2021.[2]
Canadian companyBombardier Inc. entered the rail market in 1970 when it purchasedLohner-Rotax of Austria. While Lohner built trams, Bombardier was more interested in its Rotax business, which built engines for its Ski-Doo snowmobiles.[7] But Bombardier held onto the rolling stock business, and in 1974 secured an order fromSociété de transport de Montréal (STM) to build metro trains for theMontreal Metro.[8][9] The core of the transportation group was formed when Bombardier purchased theMontreal Locomotive Works (MLW) in 1975.[10] The purchase of MLW gave Bombardier a rail focused manufacturing facility, that had an established history of building locomotives, freight railcars, and passenger railcars.
With the purchase of the MLW, Bombardier acquired theLRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable)tilting train design which it heavily marketed to bothAmtrak and Canada'sVia Rail, however, the program was only modestly successful with Bombardier selling about 100 LRC coaches to Via. In 1987, Bombardier bought the assets of two major US railcar manufacturers,Budd andPullman-Standard.[11] With these new assets, and no desire to remain in the business of building freight locomotives or freight cars, Bombardier sold off MLW toGeneral Electric in 1988.
In the late 1980s Bombardier Transportation gained a manufacturing presence in Europe with the acquisition of a 45% share inBN Constructions Ferroviaires et Métalliques[8] (whose principal facility was inBruges, Belgium) in 1986. This was followed by the acquisition of the second-largest French railway manufacturer[12]ANF Industrie with its main plant inCrespin in 1989.[8] Bombardier Transportation had become by that time the leading North American producer of rail equipment which had sold 825 subway cars toNew York City in the 1970s and 1980s.[13]
Back home in Canada, 1991 brought a big expansion for Bombardier. The company was able to acquire theUrban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC) from the Government of Ontario after its parent companyLavalin went bankrupt. In addition to the core UTDC assets, Bombardier also received the rail manufacturing division ofHawker Siddeley Canada which had been purchased by Lavalin and merged into UTDC. The Hawker Siddeley assets included a manufacturing plant inThunder Bay, Ontario.
That same year in Europe, the company established itsBombardier Eurorail division consisting of ANF, BN, BWS (the former assets of Lohner), and the English bodyshell makerProrail, which it had purchased in 1990.[8][14][15][16] The company also owned the North-American rights to the FrenchTGV through an agreement withGEC Alsthom.[17] In 1992, the company acquired Mexico's largest railway rolling-stock manufacturer,Concarril, from the Mexican government.[18]
The late 1990s also saw a major expansion in European operations. The company purchasedWaggonfabrik Talbot (whose factory was inAachen, Germany) in 1995 andDeutsche Waggonbau (DW) in 1998, which added factories inBautzen andGörlitz, Germany along with a plant inVilleneuve, Switzerland which DW had purchased the prior year fromAteliers de Constructions Mécaniques de Vevey.[19][8]
The company's biggest acquisition came just after the turn of the century when it purchasedAdtranz fromDaimlerChrysler. Adtranz was a sprawling multi-national company twice the size of Bombardier at the time, which had only become profitable in the months before the merger. The combination would make Bombardier the largest rail-equipment manufacturer.[20]
DaimlerChrysler agreed in August 2000 to sell Adtranz forUS$711 million (equivalent to US$1.298 billion in 2024), a price considered to be low by industry analysts.[note 1][21][22] The sale was cleared by the European Union in April 2001 on the condition that Bombardier would license or sell the Adtranz regional train and tram products toStadler Rail in the German market, due to the large market share of Bombardier and Adtranz in the country. The deal would make Stadler a viable independent company providing competition to Bombardier.[23][24] The takeover came into legal effect on 1 May 2001 with a final price of US$725 million.[25][26] After the purchase, Bombardier Transportation moved its head office to Europe, while keeping a few plants in the US and Canada for the smaller North American market.[27]
However, the merger was not smooth. Within weeks Bombardier said that it was misled about the financial situation of Adtranz, and the combination of the two companies took years to resolve.[28] One of the major issues was the sprawling footprint of the two companies in Europe. Even after closing some locations, in the early days after the merger Bombardier planned to operate 27 manufacturing sites across 14 countries. The number of sites meant that some would see the scope of their work decreased.[29][30]
In 2004, amid overcapacity in the European passenger train industry, Bombardier announced eight sites would close.[29][31] Later that year in September, DaimlerChrysler agreed to refund Bombardier US$209 million, making the final sale price for Adtranz just $516 million.[32][33][34]
The transportation division's financial woes continued into the 2010s, reflecting a broader trend within the company. Bombardier's aviation division racked up billions of dollars in debt developing theCSeries airliner and theGlobal 7000 business jet.
Between 2012 and 2015, the company announced the closure of several plants including the former Waggonfabrik Talbot plant in Germany,[35][36] and a factory in Australia,[37][38] and a facility in Hungary wasnationalized.[39]
In the same period, Bombardier agreed to several potentally lucrative, but risky contracts to buildR179 cars for theNew York City Subway, theFleet of the Future for San Francisco'sBay Area Rapid Transit,Flexity streetcars forToronto,Aventra EMUs for theLondon Overground andTwindexx EMUs for Switzerland'sSBB. Each of these contracts was valued between 600 million to 1.8 billion dollars, but each called for highly specialized, one-of-kind equipment, and many also included late-delivery penalties. Deliveries of each would be delayed, beset by software issues, and reliability problems once trains were placed in service.[40][41]
Under increasingly dire financial pressure, Bombardier Inc. announced in May 2015 that it planned to split or spin-off Bombardier Transportation as a separate publicly traded company, while retaining control as the majority owner.[42] The sale would generate money needed to continue the financing of the troubled CSeries jet,[43][44] and Transportation division managers said the independence would allow them to better compete with a growingChinese presence in the European market.[45] AnIPO was planned for late 2015.[46]
However, before the IPO could be floated, theCaisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) stepped in and agreed to give Bombardier a US$1.5 billion infusion of cash. In exchange CDPQ, acrown corporation which managespension and insurance plans, would receive a 30% stake in the company. The deal was structured as abond/equity hybrid, with shares returned to CDPQ dependent on the financial performance of the company.
Over the next few years, Bombardier worked to correct issues with the cars it agreed to build in the earlier half of the decade, and simplify production though more selective bidding, greater standardization and centralized procurement. It also planned to layoff thousands of workers in Germany.[47] However, the penalties the company was hit with for late deliveries wiped out many of the divisions profits. By 2018, Bombardier slipped to become the 3rd largest rail-equipment manufacturer in the Western World and fourth globally, eclipsed byCRRC,Siemens andAlstom.[48][49][50]
Between mid-2018 and late-2019, Bombardier started selling off many of its commercial aviation assets, notably selling the CSeries toAirbus. This left the company as a manufacturer of rail vehicles and business jets.
In February 2020,Alstom agreed to buy the Bombardier Transportation division and signed amemorandum of understanding to do so, for between €5.8 billion and €6.2 billion. The deal required approval by Alstom shareholders at a meeting held in October 2020, as well as approval by European regulators. Bombardier's major shareholder,Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, had already agreed to the sale.[51][52] In July 2020, theEuropean Commission approved the sale.[53] Bombardier Inc. announced on 1 December 2020 that the transaction would be closed on 29 January 2021 for €4.4 billion.[54][55]
Bombardier's standard metro vehicles were the mid-sized fully automated and driverlessInnovia Metro with the option forlinear induction motor propulsion or a conventional rotary motor, and the high-capacity customizableMovia platform, which is powered by conventional motors and can also be fully automated. In addition, Bombardier produced many custom models not based on either model.
The company's main product was theInnovia Monorail.
Note: Bombardier Transportation acquired Universal Mobility Incorporated's UM III technologies in 1989. UMI produced nine monorail systems from 1969 to 1984, which are included in the list above.[65]
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Bombardier's locomotives were mostly linked to their acquisition ofAdtranz andMontreal Locomotive Works, as well as joint venture withAlstom.
Other than the LRC, all other locomotives were based on European designs.
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V/Line VLocity atSouthern Cross Station in Melbourne, Australia
Bombardier also supplied propulsion units, train-control systems, bogies, and other parts, and maintained train fleets.
In addition to manufacturing a wide variety of passenger rail vehicles and locomotives, Bombardier Transportation provided services for commuter train providers.
Bombardier Transportation had production facilities or product development in:
South Africa: Traction converter equipment factory at Isando, opened 2016.[72]
China: Joint ventures with native companiesBombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd,CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles,CRRC Puzhen Bombardier Transportation Systems Limited, Bombardier NUG Propulsion and Signaling Systems,Shentong Bombardier (Shanghai) Rail Transit Vehicle Maintenance Company.[8][73][74] Together these joint ventures produced over 4,700 railway passenger cars, 580 electric locomotives and 3,000 metro cars, Monorail, APM and trams for China's rail transit market.[75]
India:Movia-car manufacturing and electrical component manufacture inVadodara,Gujarat.[76]
Austria: Sites includeBombardier Wien Schienenfahrzeuge (formerLohner-Werke)
Belgium: Passenger vehicles,[8] at formerBN Constructions Ferroviaries et Métalliques plant
Czech Republic: freight rolling stock[8]
Denmark: Continues production ofIC3 "flexiliner" passenger multiple units.[8]
France: Regional and suburban trains, metros,[8] at formerANF Industrie plant inCrespin (north of France).
Germany: Major facilities for production of mass transit, regional, and high speed passenger trains. Control systems.[8] Diesel and electric locomotive manufacture. Sites include :
Greece: From 1999 to 2009 Bombardier manufactured train parts for the then OSE SA which were assembled by the Hellenic Shipyards Skaramaga with other companies.
Hungary
Italy: Production site forFS Class E.464 at formerTecnomasio plant inVado Ligure
Norway: Servicing of Adtranz productsNSB Class 73 andGMB Class 71 built at former Adtranz factory inStrømmen[8] (seeStrømmens Værksted), also manufacturesNSB Class 93[8]
Poland: (Bombardier Transportation Polska), included manufacturing site in Wrocław (formerPafawag factory), Katowice, Łódź and Warsaw.[8][78]
Romania: Underground trains in Bucharest, mass transport.
Spain: Trapagaran[8]
Sweden: Production, engineering, development[8] Also manufacturesRegina EMUs.
Switzerland: Research and design – propulsion and bogies, also manufacture of high capacity (double decker) passenger vehicles.[8] Sites include formerAteliers de Constructions Mécaniques de Vevey in Villeneuve
United Kingdom:Derby Litchurch Lane Works – ManufacturingTurbostar,Electrostar andAventra passenger multiple units and London Underground Stock, Such as, theS stock, 2009 Stock.
Canada: Engineering facilities inSaint-Bruno, Quebec andMillhaven, Ontario (formerUrban Transportation Development Corporation facility); manufacturing facilities inThunder Bay, Ontario (formerCanadian Car & Foundry Can-Car Rail plant), andLa Pocatière, Quebec (former Moto-Ski plant)[79]
Mexico:Ciudad Sahagún (formerConcarril factory) – engineering and production site.[8]
United States:
Australia: Bombardier Transportation Australia –Dandenong, Victoria andMilton, QueenslandIn early 2013,Deutsche Bahn announced that it was suing Bombardier for €350 million because of some serious defects in trains used on the suburbanS-Bahn rail network in Berlin. This was in addition to the €160 million it was asking for from Bombardier because of problems with more than 200 regional trains operating in southern Germany and problems with the brakes in regional and local trains in Munich.[80] The matter was settled out of court in March 2015. Lutz Bertling, head of Bombardier's transportation division at the time, confirmed the two firms had come to an agreement, saying: "The settlement is a positive signal for our future cooperation."[81]
In January 2015, theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported[82][83][84] that South Korea's Special Investigation Unit for anti-corruption produced a report accusing Bombardier Transportation of corruption in the pursuit of the 2004 contract to build an 18 km (11 mi) elevatedLight Rapid Transit (LRT) rail system called theEverline connecting theGiheung Station on theBundang (Yellow Line) of theSeoul Metropolitan Subway system to a large amusement park namedEverland, viaYongin, the 12th largest city in South Korea, about 30 km (19 mi) from centralSeoul.
The investigation report alleges that Bombardier provided gifts and trips to Canada for civil servants and politicians involved in the contract decision, which was based on revenue expected from an inflated estimate of 180,000 passengers per day using the service. It also alleges that Bombardier created a $2-million slush fund for the Canadian citizen Kim Hak-Pil, a high-ranking Bombardier executive in South Korea. Bombardier has consistently denied the corruption allegations, stating that "They were not pleasure trips. There is a need to convince the people that our technology works well.... If it had been corruption, they would have charged us." Thestatute of limitations has now expired, due to lack of evidence according to Bombardier.
Everline operation has been financially troubled since construction was completed in 2010.[85] The system remained dormant until service began in 2013[86] while the line owner successfully negotiated with the city of Yongin a minimum revenue guarantee of 29.5 billion KRW[87] per year regardless of passenger load.[88] This is said to be a serious burden for the city because ridership is reported to have risen to only about 20,000 passengers per day on the 30 carriages, or about a quarter of the maximum possible capacity of the fleet in a 12-hour day. A reason suggested for this is the fare of 1100 KRW (about US$1 in 2015); it is impossible to pay for Everline trips via a transfer surcharge on a connecting subway ticket. A 2014 web page[89] of a Seoul tour service retailer makes no mention of the Everline among the suggested modes of bus transport between Seoul and Everland. A lawyer who filed legal action on behalf of the citizens of Yongin is reported to have provided details about Bombardier's pursuit of the contract. He said that "between 2003 and 2005, Bombardier funded three luxurious trips to Canada to each of 37 people" including 18 Yongin city councillors on so-called "LRT field trips".[82][83]
On 16 October 2015, theToronto Transit Commission (TTC) announced that it had asked its board to consider legal action against Bombardier. TTC staff is recommending that the TTC board "commence legal action, or make a claim allowed for already in the contract, of $50 million for late delivery" against Bombardier. Bombardier had committed to delivering 67custom-built Flexity Outlook streetcars to the TTC by October 2015 forits streetcar system, but only 10 were in service at the time.[90][91]
On 28 October 2015, the TTC board voted in favour of a lawsuit against Bombardier "for at least $50 million to recoup lost costs", according to ChairJosh Colle, because of the company's failure to deliver the additional new streetcars.[92]
Footnotes
Laurent Beaudoin, then CEO of Bombardier, got a visit from Drapeau, who told him the city needed 400 new métro cars, and the company should bid on the contract ... The bid from Canadian Vickers, which had manufactured the first cars, was judged by the city to be non-conforming because of a technicality in the wiring system — and gave Bombardier the win ... Bombardier has since become a major player in the world of public transit, supplying trains for London, New York, Toronto and others.
The assets of Universal Mobility Inc. of Salt Lake City have been purchased by The Transportation Group Inc., Orlando, Fla., a transit systems subsidiary of Bombardier Inc., one of the work's largest rail transit vehicle manufacturers.
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