Questions were raised Tuesday about whether the vehicles for Waterloo Region’s light rail transit system will be delivered on time, but officials at all ends of the process say there’s no cause for concern.

The vehicles are being put together by Bombardier, as part of a larger order through provincial transit agency Metrolinx.

Bombardier also manufactured 50 streetcars that were returned by the Toronto Transit Commission earlier this year due to a number of defects.

At a Metrolinx board meeting on Tuesday, concerns were voiced that the same issues could ultimately result in Ion vehicles – which are not the same as streetcars – being delayed.

That’s not expected to happen, Metrolinx president Bruce McCuaig said.

“(We’re making) sure that all the risks that are apparent in the program are identified, that we’re managing them, that Bombardier is putting as much effort as they can to make sure that a quality vehicle is going to be provided to Ion at the right time (and) the right place,” he told reporters.

“We’re confident that Bombardier, in the end, will fulfill its obligations.”

In fact, some preliminary work on the vehicles is already underway.

Darshpreet Bhatti, the region’s director of rapid transit, says design and fabrication work of “key components” like cabs and undercarriages has started.

“They have made commitments to us, and they have assured that the vehicles would be delivered to us late next year,” he said in an interview.

“We’re working with Metrolinx to make sure that Bombardier is held to those commitments.”

There are provisions in the contract for the vehicles that penalize Bombardier if the vehicles are not ready when expected, Bhatti said.

McCuaig said that Metrolinx had seen recent improvements in the quality assurance process between Bombardier and its suppliers.

“We’re doing our due diligence, as is the region, to make sure that those vehicles are going to be available,” he said.

A Bombardier spokesperson told CTV News that the company is working hard to deliver the vehicles on time, and that the TTC’s concerns about its streetcars helped them correct issues in advance of work starting on the region’s vehicles.