Bombardier shipped four unfinished streetcars to the TTC in December in order to meet a revised delivery target for 2016.

The manufacturer had missed a number of delivery targets as it struggled to fulfill the terms of its $1.2-billion contract with the TTC but on Dec. 21 it announced that it had delivered its 30th streetcar, thereby meeting a revised target for 2016.

In a press release with the headline “Bombardier Meets its 2016 Delivery Commitment to the TTC,” the company talked up the accomplishment, noting that they have “invested in new infrastructure and deployed extensive resources to accelerate delivery.”

There was one hitch, however.

In order to meet its deliver target, Bombardier asked the TTC for permission to deliver four streetcars in a semi-completed state. The cars were then finished on TTC property by Bombardier workers, according to the TTC.

It should be noted that the streetcars did end up being put into service before the beginning of 2017.

“It was internal cosmetic stuff. Some paneling needed to be finished and that kind of thing. They were largely done,” TTC Spokesperson Stuart Green told CP24 on Tuesday. “Bombardier does have staff in Toronto to do final work as it is. They put those people to work in December and they got those cars finished and we were then able to get them out and do the safety testing. We were able to do that by the end of December.”

Green told CP24 that the TTC’s priority has always been the “delivery of streetcars that are safe and reliable to get into service.”

For that reason, he said that the TTC is committed to working with Bombardier in whatever way they can.

“Bombardier created solutions to get us those cars sooner,” he said. “We will work with them in whatever way we need to make sure those cars are in service as soon as possible.”

Bombardier is supposed to deliver all 204 streetcars owed to the TTC by the end of 2019.

The company has previously maintained that it remains on track to meet that deadline, despite missing a number of interim delivery targets.

In a statement provided to CP24 last month, Bombardier said that it is paying $750,000 per flight to fly new streetcar cabs from Vienna to its facility in Thunder Bay rather than waiting a month for their delivery via ship.

The company also said that it has implemented a seven-day work week at its plant in Thunder Bay.

“All cards are on the table. No stone will be left unturned.”