Serious Parts Flaw Discovered In Inspection of New CTA Cars

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 9, 2012 2:40PM

From the "Buyer Beware" Department: the Tribune reports a Chicago Transit Authority inspection of the new 5000 series "New York Style" train cars purchased by Bombardier Transit Corp. contained parts from China that could break and lead to a derailment.

CTA has a $1 billion contract with Bombardier for 706 of the new cars, and pulled the 52 they had in operation in December after their inspectors spotted the flaws at Bombardier's production facility. The flawed parts were discovered in the rail car truck assembly and were made at a foundry in Qingdao, China.

The discovery raises serious questions about Bombardier's quality control process. Tribune transportation reporter John Hilkevitch writes this morning the company tried to convince CTA to let them replace the defective parts at later times, during routine maintenance on the cars. CTA flat out rejected that suggestion and is now working with Bombardier employees to disassemble the cars already delivered so that the flawed truck assemblies can be returned for repair. The Chinese foundry that fabricated the defective parts has also been fired, and two new suppliers are fabricating the replacement parts, which are being tested thoroughly before installation.