Kung Sing Engineering Corp. (KSECO), which won the bidding to build the elevated track as well and the electrical and mechanical (E&M) system for the Neihu Line of the Taipei MRT system, has chosen Bombardier Transportation Corp. of Canada to supply the E&M systems for the 15-kilometer line.

KSECO was one of four bidders for the project. It won the bidding by offering a price of NT$32.86 billion (US$945 million at NT$34.9:US$1), which was NT$4.7 billion (US$135 million) under the NT$37.5 billion (US$1.07 billion) ceiling set by Taipei's Department of Rapid Transit Systems.

Work on the project is scheduled to begin at the end of this month and be completed by the end of June 2008.

Bombardier will both design and supply the E&M system (which will include 202 vehicles) for the 12-station line and will also be responsible for retrofitting its automatic train-control system on the existing Mucha Line, of which the Neihu Line will be an extension.

The Neihu Line project will be carried out in three stages. The first 10 kilometers are to be completed and 60 vehicles delivered by the summer of 2007; the second stage is scheduled for completion in the late fall of that year, and the third stage in the spring of 2008. The completed line will be able to carry 28,400 passengers per hour in each direction.

"The award of this contract is very significant, as it represents a major breakthrough for Bombardier in the Taiwanese market," comments Patrice Pelletier, president of Bombardier Transportation's Total Transit Systems Division. "The Neihu Line will constitute another prime example of the capabilities of our excellent 'Bombardier Flexiblok' automatic train-control technology."



Bombardier Transportation is known for its expertise in systems integration and engineering. "Since the early 1970s," Pelletier states, "Bombardier has delivered more than 45 turnkey rapid-transit and people-mover systems on four continents, including the Kuala Lumpur LRT System 2 in Malaysia and, most recently, the San Francisco International Airport Automated People Mover (APM) in the U.S.A. and the Vancouver SkyTrain System in Canada."

Bombardier has amply demonstrated its ability to expand and extend existing systems while continuing to provide good services for passengers. Recent examples of this ability are the APM at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, one of the busiest in the world, and the Miami MetroMover in downtown Miami, Florida. It is the global leader in rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing, with a product range that includes passenger-rail cars and total transit systems as well as locomotives, freight cars, and propulsion and control systems.

The company is also a world-leading manufacturer of business jets, regional aircraft, rolling stock, and motorized recreational products. It is headquartered in Montreal, Canada, and employs some 75,000 people who work in manufacturing facilities in 25 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.