VIA Rail Announces Trainset Manufacturers Participating in the RFP for its Québec City-Windsor Corridor Fleet

MONTREAL, June 18, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) announced today the names of the shortlisted applicants that will participate in the Request for Proposals (RFP) to manufacture the rolling stock to replace the current fleet that operates in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Today's announcement is the result of a request for qualification (RFQ) process launched on April 16, 2018 seeking the interest of world-class manufacturers. Qualified companies will have until October 5, 2018 to submit a proposal. The new trainsets will come into service starting in 2022.

Qualified companies

• Bombardier Transportation Canada Inc.
• Siemens Canada Limited
• Stadler US Inc.
• Talgo Inc.

Evaluation of qualification applications

In accordance with its day-to-day business practices, VIA Rail conducted a rigorous, fair, open, transparent and free of conflicts of interest confidential analysis of all qualification applications. P1 Consulting, a Canadian leader in fairness monitoring, ensured that the RFQ process was executed with the utmost diligence and fairness.

Three evaluation committees, comprised of internal and external evaluators, conducted the application analysis process:

1. Technical Committee: Responsible for assessing the technical quality (Applicant Experience; Proposed Solution; and Deliverability) of each application.
2. Financial Review Committee: Responsible for assessing the financial capability of companies that submitted an application.
3. Conflict of interest Committee : Responsible for managing conflict of interest situations, if any

Ethics Commissioner Appointment

In the pursuit of the most rigorous governance practices for large procurements, VIA Rail also announced today the appointment of Patrick A. Molinari as the Ethics Commissioner for the Corporation's procurement process for the Corridor Fleet Renewal. The Ethics Commissioner's role is to review and investigate allegations of misconduct, suspected wrongdoings or unethical behavior, including fraudulent activities or financial irregularities, misuse of public funds, or allegations of violation of the Corporation's Code of ethics, and to assist with the fair, equitable and expeditious resolution of these matters related to the Corridor's Fleet Renewal procurement process.

Patrick A. Molinari is professor emeritus of the University of Montreal where he pursued a career from 1977 to 2010 and held the positions of Vice-Rector, Administration, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Director of the Public Law Research Center. He currently practices Government Affairs and Public law with Lavery, a Montreal based firm, and is the President of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice.

Quote

"By inviting four world-class train manufacturers to participle in the RFP to replace our corridor fleet, we have reached an important milestone of our transformation plan to lead Canadians towards a more sustainable future. With a brand-new fleet of modern trains to service the Quebec City-Windsor corridor, we will be able to offer our customers a renewed and improved travel experience that will help us convince them to make the smart choice to travel by train. We are also proud to be able to count on the expertise of Patrick A. Molinari to ensure that VIA Rail maintains the level of trust and accountability that Canadians expect from VIA Rail in such an important public procurement."

Yves Desjardins-Siciliano
President and Chief Executive Officer, VIA Rail Canada

About VIA Rail Canada

As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail (viarail.ca) and all its employees are mandated to provide safe, efficient and economical passenger transportation service, in both official languages of our country. VIA Rail operates intercity, regional and transcontinental trains linking over 400 communities across Canada, and about 180 more communities through intermodal partnerships, and safely transports approximately 4.4 million passengers annually. The Corporation has been awarded five Safety Awards and three Environment Awards by the Railway Association of Canada since 2007. Visit the "About VIA Rail" section at: www.viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail.

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SOURCE VIA Rail Canada Inc.