Canadian builder wants to submit new bid on trains

The Seattle Monorail Project's budget-stretching contract has prompted new calls for a rebid by Canadian train builder Bombardier, which bailed out of the competition last year.

Tom Stone, former bid director for Bombardier's Team Monorail, said he can still organize a group to build the line for $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion — at least $200 million cheaper than the $1.6 billion deal SMP proposes with Cascadia Monorail Co.

"If you're stuck between a choice of a financial plan under a very high price that can't be supported, versus canceling the project, a rebid is the way to go," Stone said yesterday.

Bombardier's group could not meet an SMP requirement for "joint and several liability," in which the lead track builders and train builders must obtain insurance to cover each other's mistakes if the team fails to deliver a working system. Global insurance markets have soured since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and Bombardier warned it might be forced out unless SMP changed the liability structure. After months of follow-up talks with agency staff, the team walked away.

"I can assure you that once the changes we have discussed since December 2003 have been made, Team Monorail will be able to reassemble its full team and submit a bid," Raymond T. Betler, president of Bombardier's Total Transit Division, said in a letter yesterday.

Cascadia President Pat Flaherty has said the city and monorail board need to vote up or down on the current contract, and there is no room to negotiate major price cuts.

Bombardier promises lightweight trains that can run on smaller concrete tracks, while Cascadia says its Hitachi monorails have 41 years of trouble-free operations in Japan.

Stone did not name possible partners yesterday, but AMEC of London and Bouygues of Paris were involved earlier.

Michael Taylor, president of Friends of the Monorail, said he's leaning toward a rebid. "My concern is if we have a rebid, we're not looking at opening (the line) until 2011. There's certainly no guarantee Cascadia would rebid. If we believe Cascadia, they gave their best offer."

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