MONTREAL (Reuters) - Bombardier (BBDb.TO) will bid on an upcoming New Jersey Transit rail car contract, two sources familiar with the matter said, as the Canadian plane and train-maker seeks to boost its North American business after losing ground in the region to rivals.
NJ Transit, the largest statewide public transportation system in the United States, has previously said it will order 113 multi-level passenger cars to modernize its aging fleet, which has been criticized for overcrowding and delays.
The agency is also considering an estimated 900 more railcars as options, according to the industry sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the tendering process is private.
Proposals are expected in June, according to the agency’s website. The deal is expected to range from around $500 million into the billions of dollars, depending on how many, if any, options are exercised, one of the sources said.
Bombardier declined to comment. NJ Transit did not respond to a request for comment.
Despite a healthy $34 billion global backlog, Bombardier Transportation is under pressure to improve performance in North America following delays to orders in Ontario and recent losses to other railmakers in Canada and the United States.
The company, which lost a Montreal rail deal worth more than C$1 billion ($794.03 million) to France’s Alstom SA (ALSO.PA), had to drop out of a 2017 competition held by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority that was later won by Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries (7012.T).
In 2016, China’s CRRC Corp (601766.SS), the world’s largest maker of rail cars, beat Bombardier for a $1.3 billion Chicago
