A spokesperson for Bombardier says the company is in “no way” in violation of its contractual obligations to Metrolinx when it comes to its delivery of light-rail vehicles for an under construction LRT line along Eglinton Avenue.

Bombardier spokesperson Marc Laforge made the comment to BNN on Friday morning; one day after Metrolinx filed a notice of intent to cancel a $770-million contract for the delivery of 182 light-rail vehicles.

It should be noted that Metrolinx has said that the notice of intent does not necessarily mean that its contract with Bombardier will be cancelled.

“As we’ve stated since July and strongly restate today, in no way Bombardier is in default of its contractual obligations in the Metrolinx project,” Laforge said on Friday. “We are currently working on the pilot car, the first of the 182 vehicles to produce. This vehicle is intended for testing. We don’t understand where Metrolinx is going at when talking about performance on a vehicle that has yet to run its first kilometres on track and production has not started yet.”

In July, Metrolinx sent a notice of default to Bombardier amid concerns over a delay in the delivery of a pilot vehicle for the Eglinton Crosstown light rail transit line.

So far Bombarider has missed two deadlines for the delivery of that vehicle.

The contract initially called for the pilot vehicle to be completed in September 2014 and delivered in the spring of 2015. Then in July, Bombardier told CP24 that it planned to complete the vehicle by August and deliver it to Metrolinx in September.

In a statement issued on Friday, Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said the notice of intent to cancel the contract with Bombardier was issued due to “significant quality and manufacturing issues” that have not been resolved.

“I know that there has been some concerns about Bombardier’s performance as there have been significant quality and manufacturing issues that, to-date, have not been resolved,” he said. “As a result, we have taken the next step available to us through our contract. We will continue to work with Bombardier on this issue and we will deliver on our transit commitments.”‎

Bombardier has said that the start of production on the vehicles for the Eglinton line does not have to begin until 2018 to meet a 2021 delivery deadline.

The 182 vehicles will eventually be deployed on three planned light-transit lines, with the Eglinton line scheduled to be the first completed.

Discussing the issue with reporters on Friday, Mayor John Tory said he is happy that Metrolinx is acting now.

The city, of course, is dealing with its own issues with Bombardier’s late delivery of its new streetcars and is pursuing a $51 million legal claim against the company.

“Metrolinx are very good operators. They are people who are looking at the timetable and knowing they have an obligation to the people of Toronto to have that line running. That means you have to have trains in 2021 and they will take whatever steps they have to take in order to do that,” Tory said.