Alstom's $2.3B Toronto Subway Deal to Boost Canadian Manufacturing

TORONTO, ON – January 15, 2026 – Alstom has secured a landmark $2.3 billion CAD agreement with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to deliver 70 new subway trains, a move set to modernize the city's aging transit fleet while injecting significant momentum into Canada's domestic manufacturing sector. The deal, a result of a multi-level government partnership, ensures that the state-of-the-art trains will be designed, engineered, and assembled in Canada, creating nearly a thousand direct jobs and securing a vital industrial lifeline for Ontario.

Fifty-five of the six-car Metropolis metro trains will replace the entire fleet on the TTC's crucial Line 2 (Bloor-Danforth), with the remaining 15 designated for future service on the Yonge North and Scarborough subway extensions. The contract also includes options for the TTC to purchase up to 150 additional trainsets, providing a long-term framework for the city's transit growth.

A Critical Lifeline for Toronto's Aging Subway

For hundreds of thousands of daily commuters, this contract represents a long-awaited and critical upgrade. The current T1 trains operating on Line 2, which first entered service between 1995 and 2001, are rapidly approaching the end of their 30-year design life. Without replacement, the TTC has warned of escalating maintenance costs and declining service reliability on an artery that connects 31 stations across more than 26 kilometers.

With ridership on Line 2 projected to grow by 18% to over 660,000 daily boardings by 2041, the new fleet is essential for meeting future demand. The Alstom Metropolis trains are designed to transform the passenger experience. Commuters can expect brighter, more spacious interiors featuring open gangways that allow free movement between cars, creating a sense of openness and increasing overall capacity.

Accessibility is a core component of the new design, which includes wider doorways and dedicated multi-purpose areas for wheelchair users, strollers, and bicycles. The trains will also be equipped with modern smart technologies, including energy-efficient LED lighting, wireless smartphone charging ports, and an active levelling system to ensure a smoother ride. To protect the increasingly complex digital systems, the fleet will be fortified with the latest in cybersecurity technology.

“We thank the Toronto Transit Commission for their trust in Alstom to supply the new metro trains. These state-of-the-art trains will contribute to improving reliability and passenger’s comfort,” said Michael Keroullé, President of Alstom Americas.

A 'Made in Canada' Manufacturing Renaissance

The agreement is being hailed as a major victory for Canadian industry, directly addressing concerns about the nation's manufacturing capacity. The project is projected to create up to 945 direct, high-paying jobs across the country, with over 600 at Alstom alone. An additional 1,700 indirect jobs are expected to be generated nationwide in supply chain and support roles.

Central to the deal is a robust "Buy Canadian" policy. Following negotiations, the required Canadian content for the trains was increased to 55%, a significant jump from an initial 30% target. This ensures that key materials, including Canadian carbon steel and aluminum, will be used in production.

The economic impact will be most profoundly felt in Ontario. The trains will be designed and engineered in Canada, with final assembly taking place at Alstom’s facility in Thunder Bay. This provides crucial job security for the plant, which has faced uncertainty in recent years. The decision is expected to create 240 jobs in Thunder Bay, a development celebrated by union representatives as a move that will allow for the rehiring of laid-off workers and the creation of new positions. The Kingston, Ontario facility will handle the final testing of the new fleet.

This contract builds on other recent investments that have stabilized the Thunder Bay plant's future, including a nearly $500 million CAD contract to refurbish 181 GO Transit railcars, securing work for the facility until at least 2030. “This new fleet of metro trains will be designed and engineered here in Canada, assembled in our Thunder Bay site, supported by an expanded network of local suppliers, and tested in our Kingston site,” Keroullé added. “With close to 1,000 Canadian jobs created, these NSTs set the bar for what it means to build in Canada, for Canadians.”

A Strategic Partnership Forged by Government

The $2.3 billion deal was made possible through a complex and strategic collaboration between all three levels of government. The funding for the 55 replacement trains for Line 2 is being shared, with the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario each contributing $758 million. The City of Toronto is covering the remaining portion.

The 15 trains slated for future subway extensions are being fully funded by the provincial government. This coordinated investment was instrumental in moving the project forward after previous plans stalled due to funding uncertainties.

In a strategic pivot, the TTC, with government backing, cancelled a competitive bidding process to enter into a sole-source agreement with Alstom. This decision was driven by the desire to maximize the economic benefits for Canada, ensure a high level of domestic content, and support Canadian workers at a time of economic uncertainty. The agreement was conditional on Alstom meeting fair market pricing, as determined by an independent assessment.

“The TTC is grateful to all funding partners for their support for these new subway trains, and for their commitment to providing better transit for the hundreds of thousands of riders who use the TTC’s Line 2 every day,” said TTC CEO Mandeep S. Lali. “We are also pleased that these trains will support Canadian jobs and content through Alstom in Thunder Bay.”

Alstom Solidifies Its North American Foothold

For Alstom, this contract solidifies its position as a dominant force in the Canadian and North American rail industry. As the only rolling stock manufacturer with a physical production footprint in Canada, the company has successfully positioned itself as a national champion for sustainable mobility.

This project adds to Alstom's impressive portfolio of large-scale Canadian ventures. The company was the lead partner in delivering Montreal's state-of-the-art, fully automated Réseau express métropolitain (REM) light metro system. It also recently completed the delivery of 60 Flexity trams to the TTC, many of which were built in Thunder Bay. These successful deployments have demonstrated the company's capacity to handle complex, large-scale public transit projects.

The Toronto deal not only provides a modern, reliable fleet for Canada's largest city but also reinforces a national industrial strategy focused on leveraging public infrastructure spending to build domestic expertise, strengthen supply chains, and maintain a skilled workforce for the future of transportation.