November 10, 2021
The City of Edmonton has selected Hyundai Rotem Company as its preferred proponent to supply 40 light-rail vehicles (LRVs) for the 14-kilometre Valley Line West LRT project.
Hyundai Rotem Company and the City will enter into final discussions, with the contract expected to be finalized by December 2, 2021. The LRVs will be delivered beginning in 2025.
“We want to thank the teams that participated in the Request for Proposal phase of procurement for LRVs for Valley Line West. We’re excited to have reached another significant project milestone,” said Brad Smid, Valley Line Director, City of Edmonton.
The City launched its procurement for LRVs in November 2020 and released its shortlist in March 2021. Eight teams provided technical submissions that met the City’s requirements with three teams being short-listed and invited to submit proposals. The teams were scored based on price and technical components, and the team with the highest overall score was chosen as the preferred proponent for LRVs. The process was overseen by a third-party fairness monitor.
The City decided to procure LRVs for Valley Line West separately from the overall design-build-partially finance contract after engaging with industry partners and reviewing the optimal risk allocation for the project. The 40 vehicles delivered by Hyundai Rotem Company will integrate with Valley Line Southeast to ensure a seamless ride between Mill Woods and Lewis Farms.
Marigold Infrastructure Partners, the contractor building Valley Line West, began construction on the project earlier this year. An economic assessment estimates that, overall, construction will generate $760 million in wages in Alberta and another $209 million throughout the rest of the country. It is expected to generate 8,800 jobs in the province and another 2,700 across Canada.
The $2.6 billion Valley Line West project has funding commitments from the Province of Alberta and the Government of Canada. It is the second phase of the Valley Line, a 27-kilometre, low-floor, urban-style LRT that will provide seamless connection between Mill Woods and Lewis Farms once complete. The first phase of the project, Valley Line Southeast, is currently under construction.
