Bombardier BiLevel Coach
| Company type | Passenger railcar |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport manufacturing |
| Predecessor | Bombardier Transportation, Hawker Siddeley Canada, Canadian Car and Foundry, Urban Transportation Development Corporation |
| Founded | mid-1970s |
| Headquarters | Thunder Bay , Canada |
Area served | North America |
| Products | Bilevel passenger railcars |
| Owner | Alstom (current) |
| Parent | Alstom (since 2021) |
The BiLevel Coach is a bilevel passenger railcar currently manufactured by Alstom, having previously been produced by Bombardier Transportation, Hawker Siddeley Canada, the Canadian Car and Foundry (Can Car), and the Urban Transportation Development Corporation. It is extensively utilized by North American commuter rail services and is easily identifiable by its unique octagonal shape.
History
Originating in the mid-1970s through a collaboration between Toronto’s regional transit provider, GO Transit, and Hawker Siddeley Canada, the BiLevel coaches were created to replace GO Transit’s initial single-level coaches and cab cars with a more space-efficient alternative. Production was later continued by the Urban Transportation Development Corporation/Canadian Car and Foundry and subsequently by Bombardier Transportation. After Bombardier’s 2021 acquisition by Alstom, the latter took over both the design rights and manufacturing plant. To date, more than 1,500 BiLevel coaches have been constructed exclusively in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
The design has undergone changes from early versions, which had smaller windows, larger intermediate levels containing washrooms, and accommodated 162 passengers, to modern iterations featuring fewer but taller windows, reduced intermediate level size, seating for 136 passengers, and fully accessible washrooms located on the lower level. The exterior shifted from riveted aluminum panels to welded aluminum for a more streamlined look.
Construction
BiLevel coaches are built with an aluminum shell mounted on a steel frame, standing approximately high and wide, with a weight near . Depending on the interior layout, seating capacity varies between 136 and 162 passengers, alongside standing room for as many as 276 individuals. Each side includes two pairs of doors designed to allow complete evacuation within 90 seconds.
Recent models come equipped with electrical outlets and USB ports at every alternate seat to accommodate laptops and mobile devices. Since 1990, all units have incorporated fully accessible washrooms on the lower level outfitted with stainless-steel chemical flush toilets, sinks, mirrors, waste bins, air dryers, and occupancy indicators. Earlier designs included smaller washrooms on the intermediate level that have since been removed. Water fountains and cup dispensers once standard in older coaches were discontinued due to concerns over bacterial contamination.
In the 2000s, retractable coat hooks were replaced by emergency alarm buttons designated as priority features for passenger safety. Some GO Transit coaches briefly featured televisions installed in 2007 to provide weather forecasts and news updates; however, these were removed later because of incompatibility with digital broadcast standards.
The West Coast Express substitutes the lower-level restroom with The Station Express Café, which offers hot meal options such as breakfast rolls and coffee along with light snacks.
A notable variation is the cab car. In 2014, Metrolinx in partnership with Bombardier introduced an updated cab car design featuring an enlarged cab front and crash-energy management crumple zones. This model has been adopted by Sounder Commuter Rail, Altamont Corridor Express, and COASTER services intending to phase out older BiLevel cab cars while converting some existing ones into standard coaches.
BiLevel coaches typically operate on 480 V head-end power (HEP) systems; however, GO Transit units utilize a Canadian-standard 575 V HEP system—previously used by CN for Tempo cars. When sharing equipment across agencies, GO Transit leases compatible locomotives accordingly.
Comparison with Other Bombardier Bilevel Coaches
Bombardier has manufactured two additional bilevel coach variants: the MultiLevel and the Double-deck Coach. The MultiLevel model is designed with a reduced loading gauge to accommodate tighter clearances found on routes such as the Washington, D.C.–Boston Northeast Corridor and Montréal's Mont Royal Tunnel. It features entry doors positioned on the intermediate level to align with high-level platforms. Meanwhile, the Double-deck Coach was engineered specifically for the German market, adhering to the country's loading gauge constraints by having a slimmer upper deck profile.
Series
| Series Number | Operators | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|
| I | GO Transit | Hawker Siddeley Canada/ |
| II | GO Transit | |
| III | GO Transit | UTDC/Can Car |
| IV | GO Transit, Tri-Rail | |
| V | ||
| VI | GO Transit, West Coast Express (some units leased to GO Transit), Sounder, Altamont Corridor Express, Trinity Railway Express, Tri-Rail, Metrolink, Coaster, Caltrain | Bombardier Transportation/ |
| VII | GO Transit, FrontRunner, Northstar Line, SunRail, Trinity Railway Express, New Mexico Rail Runner Express, Sounder, Exo | |
| VIII | GO Transit | |
| IX | GO Transit, Sounder, Coaster, Altamont Corridor Express | |
| X | GO Transit |
Operators
| Operator | Region | Fleet Size | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altamont Corridor Express | Stockton, California | 30 | |
| Caltrain | San Francisco, California | 41 | |
| Coaster | San Diego, California | 28 | |
| Exo | Montreal, Quebec | 22 | |
| FrontRunner | Salt Lake City, Utah | 22 | |
| GO Transit | Toronto, Ontario | 979 | |
| Metrolink | Los Angeles, California | 184 | |
| Northstar Line | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 18 | |
| Rail Runner Express | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 22 | |
| Sounder | Seattle, Washington | 58 | |
| SunRail | Orlando, Florida | 25 | |
| Tri-Rail | Miami, Florida | 26 | |
| Trinity Railway Express | Dallas, Texas | 17 | |
| West Coast Express | Vancouver, British Columbia | 44 |