Bombardier is best known for its airplanes, but the company says railcars will be an important and growing sector in the future.

The company has vowed to double its worldwide sales in rail transportation during the next five years.

At an international transport convention in Toronto Wednesday, Bombardier showed off street cars, commuter trains, and high speed rail. The news conference showed what a global business this is: the company provided French, Spanish and German translations of its presentation.

Europe is an important market. Jean-Yves LeBlanc, President of Bombardier Transportation, says it's four to five times larger than the North American market, "in terms of passenger rail cars, urban, suburban and intercity."

Bombardier Inc. is divided into three parts:

• Aerospace is the big earner, with $6.4 billion in revenues.
• Recreational vehicles, the foundation of the firm, brings in just $1.6 billion.
• Mass transportation has shot up in importance, and is just starting to come into its own, with $3 billion in revenues.

Some of the big contracts Bombardier Transport has in the pipeline include a $2.6 billion job with Virgin Rail in Britain, a $2.7 billion contract with Long Island Rail announced this week, and a possible $21 billion contract with London subway or underground system.

Bombardier's rail division, producing everything from trains to street cars, does more than 90 per cent of its business outside Canada. The big customer right now is Europe. The price of gasoline can be three or four times more expensive over there than it is in North America. That promotes public transit. And it is a culture that is used to taking trains and street cars, rather than the car.