Text by James Bow and Richard YS
Following the retirement of the CLRV streetcar in late December 2019, Toronto became an all-Bombardier Flexity town. Its streetcar network and the EGLINTON-CROSSTOWN LRT line that was under construction at that time both used either Bombardier Flexity “Outlook” vehicles or Flexity “Freedom” LRT vehicles. However, in July 2021, that monopoly was broken as Metrolinx accepted the first of Toronto’s Citadis Spirit LRVs for the FINCH WEST LRT from Bombardier’s former competitor, now-owner Alstom. The decision to diverge from the Flexity standard came as a result of issues with Bombardier’s delivery and quality control going back as far as 2017.
Building a Canadian LRT Vehicle Market
In 2007, when the provincial government under premier Dalton McGuinty launched MoveOntario 2020, they set up the agency Metrolinx to coordinate the development of public transportation development across the Greater Toronto Area. Among the supported projects included a Toronto LRT network including lines on or beneath Eglinton Avenue, along Finch Avenue West and Sheppard Avenue East, as well as LRT projects in Mississauga, Hamilton and Waterloo.
This wasn’t the first time the provincial government had made a strong commitment to public transportation. In the 1970s, Ontario premier Bill Davis increased capital and operating funding for public transit across the province and set up the Urban Transportation Development Corporation as a crown corporation to kickstart an industry in the latest in public transit vehicles. Over time, UTDC was privatized and bought out by Bombardier. As a company with a lot of Canadian history behind it, it was initially given the contract to supply the streetcar and LRT vehicles to operate on the TTC’s legacy streetcar network and the GTA’s new LRT lines.
However, by 2016, it was becoming clear that Bombardier was encountering production and quality control issues for their Flexity Outlook vehicles. These threatened the delivery of a number of these vehicles, not only for the EGLINTON-CROSSTOWN LRT line, but Waterloo Region’s LRT line as well. Frustrated by Bombardier’s delays, Metrolinx looked for an alternative company that could build the equipment needed to ensure key LRT lines opened on time. Soon, their eyes fell on Bombardier’s major European competitor, Alstom.
Looking for a Bombardier Alternative
Alstom is a French company and a major player in the development and manufacturing of rail transportation equipment, including light rail transit vehicles, metro cars, freight locomotives and more. The company was formed as Alsthom in 1928 from a merger between two older companies, and had expanded its operations worldwide. The company currently employs over 32,000 people across sixty countries. In Canada, they were initially known as the co-builder with Bombardier of Montreal’s next generation Azur trains (they initially sued the Quebec government for favouring Bombardier and, after the court sided with Alstom, worked with Bombardier on the contract, launching a joint bid for the $1.2 billion order)
For an alternative to the Bombardier Flexity vehicles, Metrolinx looked at Alstom’s Citadis cars. The Alstom Citadis was a popular low floor tram and light-rail vehicle in Europe. By 2017, over 2,300 Citadis trams had been sold and 1,800 were in service. At the same time as Metrolinx went on the market, Alstom was reaching an agreement with the City of Ottawa to design a new Citadis Spirit model for the city’s new O-Train LRT.
In late 2016, Metrolinx formally announced their intention to cancel their contracts with Bombardier unless they solved their production and scheduling problems. To ensure there would be equipment to operate on the EGLINTON-CROSSTOWN LRT, Metrolinx entered into discussions with Alstom on a deal. On May 12, 2017, Alstom and Metrolinx announced their agreement to purchase 61 Citadis Spirit LRVs. These would be used on the EGLINTON-CROSSTOWN LRT if Bombardier was unable to supply equipment in time. If Bombardier was able to supply this equipment, 17 of these vehicles would be assigned to the FINCH WEST LRT, while the remaining 44 would operate on the HAZEL McCALLION LRT operating along Hurontario Road in Mississauga.
To sweeten the deal, Alstom agreed to assemble the Citadis Spirit LRVs at a new facility in Brampton, Ontario, although most of the initial production would take place at its facility in Hornell, New York.
Bombardier was able to resolve its production and quality control issues and deliver its LRT vehicles for the EGLINTON-CROSSTOWN line (although other delays to the construction of that line helped Bombardier to meet some of these deadlines). Ironically, in February 2020, Alstom announced its plans to acquire Bombardier, putting the Flexities and the Citadis Spirits under the same owner.
The first Citadis Spirit LRV arrived at the FINCH WEST LRT’s maintenance and storage facility in late July 2021. It was delivered in two parts on July 28 and July 29 before being connected at the facility. As more vehicles arrived, slow-speed testing of these vehicles began in May 2022, with testing of these vehicles on the line itself starting in June 2022.
The Citadis Spirit Difference
The big difference between the Citadis Spirit and the Flexity Freedom is length. With Metrolinx’s Citadis Spirit vehicles coming in at 30 metres long, they are 50% longer than a single Flexity Freedom vehicle (which is 20 metres long). The EGLINTON-CROSSTOWN LRT will operate with two Flexity vehicles coupled together, with the possibility of a third being added to trains at a later date; by comparison, single Citadis Spirit vehicles will operate on the FINCH WEST LRT instead.
Derived from the Citadis Dualis tram-train LRV currently operating in France, the Citadis Spirit is optimised for higher speed suburban operations and is therefore designed differently compared to regular Citadis and Bombardier Flexity Freedom LRVs, which are optimized for lower speed, urban applications. Instead of using similar-length modules with fixed bogies and floating middle sections, the Citadis Spirit uses longer modules, about 10 metres in length, each fitted with one or two rotating bogies to enable the longer modules to negotiate the same tight curves as urban LRV models. The four-module configuration, as used by Ottawa and Metrolinx, has a length per unit of 48.5 metres, almost twice as long as the 25-metre 5-section Flexity Freedom LRV. The Citadis Spirit is also fitted with more powerful drivelines, allowing for a 105km/h top speed (compared to the Flexities’ 80 km/h), although Metrolinx anticipates that these vehicles will not operate at speeds above 60km/h in GTA applications.
Both vehicles are designed to operate on standard gauge and both have the same minimum turning radius (25 metres). Both are designed to operate bidirectionally, using pantographs to collect 750 Volts DC from overhead wire.
Beyond this, differences between these vehicles will come down to personal preferences, such as how the seats are arranged, how easy it is for people to look out through the windows, and so on. Both vehicle models have been operating in Canada for years now, and while the Citadis Spirit models encountered difficulties with wheel cracks and even derailments in Ottawa, Alstom has worked with the City of Ottawa to fix these issues and hopefully improve the reliability of other Citadis Spirit vehicles elsewhere.
Either way, the public will have a chance to compare and contrast these vehicles as the EGLINTON-CROSSTOWN and FINCH WEST LRT lines look set to open not too far apart from each other, before the end of 2025.
Technical Specifications
- TTC Numbering: 6500-6516
- Length: 30m (can be configured to 37 metres, 48.5 metres and 59 metres)
- Doors per side: 4 7 (can be configured to for 4, 5, 7 and or 9)
- Width: 2.65m
- Height: 3.6M
- Articulated Sections: 34 (can be configured to 4 orfor 3 to 5)
- Wheelbase: 1.9m
- Maximum Speed: 105 km/h
- Maximum Passenger Capacity: 190-340 (can be increased to 370 on other configurations, 190-370 depending on configuration)
- Minimum Turning Radius: 25m
Document Archive
- Alstom Citadis Spirit Sales Brochure, 2017 (PDF - 4.2 Mb)
Alstom Citadis Spirit LRT Vehicles Image Archive
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TTC/Metrolinx Alstom Citadis Spirit LRT vehicle 6506 (right) sits next to its partner 6511 at the Finch West LRT's maintenance and storage facility, awaiting service. This photo was taken by Roman Fomin on September 28, 2024. |
References
- Seguin, Shane. “Alstom Citadis Spirit - O-Train.” Railfans.Ca, https://otrain.railfans.ca/trains/alstom-citadis-spirit. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
