Inspections ordered on Bombardier cars after subway doors open in transit

WABC-TV ^ | Friday, January 10, 2020 11:50AM | Diana Rocco

[Zhang Fei]

NEW YORK (WABC) -- There are alarming new details from the MTA about doors opening on some moving subway cars, prompting the MTA to order that each train car to be inspected.

The MTA says it was forced to pull its entire fleet of R179 subway cars, the newest model, the over ongoing door problems.

Both of the incidents happened on the southbound C train less than two weeks apart.

The first was December 24 on a C train heading south of High Street, and the train's doors opened about four inches while the train was moving.

Bombardier, which made the cars, said it was an issue with a locking mechanism.

Then, on January 3, it happened again on a southbound C train that was stopped at the platform at the Jay Street-MetroTech station.

Fortunately, no one was injured.

[Zhang Fei]

Chinese supplier improperly calibrated doors. This was a glitch repeatedly bailed out and financially-troubled Bombardier did not need. At the same time, Bombardier's role as Canada's major domestic player in heavy industry means no Canadian government can allow it to liquidate.

[Flick Lives]

“Open the pod bay doors, Hal!!”

[9YearLurker]

You mean Justin’s guv might end up paying the cost to make this right?

(And President Trump, can we please stop importing any infrastructure tech from our undeclared enemies, these brutal communist dictators?)

[Rockingham]

Chinese culture and communism regard cheating as justified and even worthy of official support when done to capitalists. In this instance, since China has already sucked out Bombardier’s technology and set up competing industrial production, sabotage of Bombardier’s domestic production helps to undermine a rival whom China intends to displace.

[headstamp 2]

Look for China to double down on the outright thievery of every other “trading” partner they have now.

[Rockingham]

Sadly, Western business partners have long known of Chinese cheating and sabotage but have deliberately kept it mostly secret in order to avoid damaging the relationship. Business and political elites thus knew what was going on but kept it from the general public, trusting instead to inspections and monetary penalties and incentives to manage the problem. Yet, as Bombardier’s problem illustrates, there are limits to that approach because no affordable and practical inspection regime can catch all defects. The issue is especially acute when a Chinese supplier of safety-critical parts simply cannot be trusted and the purchaser has become dependent on them.

[moovova]

Coulda been worse. The subway cars could've come with suicide doors...

[meatloaf]

When Bombardier bought Adtranz after both Daimler and ABB dumped Adtranz, it was a mouse swallowing a whale. Bombardier’s stock before that was between $30 and $40. After the buy, never broke $10.

The other issue with those cars is software. Somethings’ going on,