Three months after if was revealed that 67 of Toronto's shiny new Bombardier-built streetcars needed re-welding, only two have been taken off the road for those repairs.
The problem identified in July was described as a welding irregularity. While TTC spokesman Brad Ross says the issue does not present a safety risk, it could shorten the life expectancy of the new streetcars.
"Past the 20 year mark is when we're going to start to see problems. So that's why we want to get them done now," Ross said Monday.
One streetcar has been taken out of service and sent to a Bombardier facility in Quebec for re-welding. A second car used for testing and training is also in the shop.
The TTC and Bombardier are still determining how many streetcars will need to be taken off the road for repairs at any given time and how long it will take to fix and return them but Ross expects the process to be complete by 2022 or 2023.
The repair updates comes as a milestone in new streetcar delivery was reached over the weekend as the 102nd new streetcar went into service, half of the 204 in Toronto's $1-billion order.
Ross says we should have about 150 new streetcars in action but Bombardier is playing catchup after several delivery targets were missed.
Ross explains that the company has resolved supplier issues, re-tooled some processes and added a production line in Kingston in order to meet it's final deadline of delivering all of Toronto's new streetcars by the end of 2019.
The TTC and Bombardier are "close" to resolving a legal dispute over missed targets that could see the transit agency re-coup some $50-million, but Ross says the outcome probably won't be a cash payback.