Team Monorail, one of two monorail bidders, withdraws

By Mike Lindblom
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Other links Seattle Monorail Project press release Team Monorail's letter of withdrawal (15K PDF)

Canadian train builder Bombardier and its "Team Monorail" were unable to provide $550 million in required performance bonds this month, and could not prove it would obtain financing help it sought from the Canadian government, said Tom Horkan, construction and design director for the Seattle Monorail Project.

Monorail executives insisted the pullout will not damage the project's credibility or the odds of getting it built.

"While we had hoped to receive proposals from two contractor teams, from the outset this process has anticipated that eventually, we'd be dealing with one team," said a statement by SMP Executive Director Joel Horn.

Nils Finne, a board member for anti-monorail Initiative 83, called that remark disingenuous. "It's like saying you spend eight hours fishing and you end up with only one fish and say, 'We were only going to eat one anyway.'"

The bid deadline is Aug. 16, for a contract worth roughly $1.3 billion to supply the columns, stations and trains.

The rival Cascadia Monorail Co. still plans to bid on the monorail, said Six Silva, an executive with team member Washington Group International.

The loss of Bombardier means the monorail — if it's built — will use Cascadia's Hitachi trains, which have operated reliably in Japan since 1964.

Generally speaking, the Hitachi monorails carry more passengers per foot than Bombardier trains, but they also require larger support posts on the street. Cascadia has not disclosed its Seattle design plan yet.

When asked if Cascadia is now free to jack up the price, Silva pulled out a copy of the voter-approved monorail initiative from 2002, which limits construction debt to $1.5 billion on an estimated $1.75 billion project.

"If you want to build it, take heed," he said.
 
In addition, monorail funding is tight because of a shortage in car-tab taxes.

Nearly two years after voters approved the Green Line, it is still not a sure thing.

An ballot measure that would derail the elevated train project has enough signatures to make the November ballot, if it survives legal challenges. And the project must also pass a financial review by the City Council, which has strongly supported the project this summer.

Jon Magnusson, a Seattle structural engineer who criticized the project this spring, said the need for public scrutiny is greater than ever. "The point is, you don't have a choice anymore," he said.

Citizens both for and against the monorail are already urging the SMP to release the sole bid immediately to the public, since there is no longer a need to preserve competition.

Horkan said the agency intends to keep the Cascadia bid confidential, because the agency will be negotiating design and other issues with Cascadia.

Tom Stone, bid director for Team Monorail, and local representative Dick McNamara were not immediately available for comment today.

In a formal notice to the monorail agency, dated Thursday, Stone hadn't totally given up on winning the Green Line contract. He asked for "discussions regarding the feasibility of an alternate path forward," with more flexible bonding and liability standards.

Bombardier has been hustling to reorganize its team since April, when three major U.S. construction firms withdrew.

Over the summer, Stone announced new partnerships with AMEC of London and Bouygues of Paris; a roomier train design, and a track layout that would have eliminated the need to take away a street lane on Second Avenue downtown.

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631 or mlindblom@seattletimes.com.