Chinese and Spanish companies have said they could meet the Quebec government's requirement for local involvement in a contract to replace Montreal's aging Metro cars. (CBC)

Bombardier Transportation (TSX:BBD.B) and French partner Alstom have asked the Quebec Superior Court to cancel an international call for tender by Montreal's transit agency for new subway cars.

The two railway manufacturers asked the court Wednesday to stop the city's efforts to seek alternative bids to supply 765 railway cars worth about $3 billion.

Spanish manufacturer CAF has already indicated its intention to submit a bid.

The Montreal Transit Corporation (STM) seemed on track to award the contract to the Bombardier and Alstom consortium but decided to launch an international call for tender after increasing the size of the order from the original 340 cars.

In their application, Bombardier and Alstom claim that the STM must comply with an April 27 letter from Quebec's Municipal Affairs Department that authorized that the contract be awarded to the consortium.

The two companies argue the new call for tender, which the STM started working on in January, violates their legitimate expectations and is less stringent than the original call for tender in 2008.

Marc-André Lefebvre, a spokesman for Bombardier Transportation, did not deny that the court battle could lengthen an already long process. Earlier this month, Bombardier pressed the transit agency to act quickly on the matter, invoking possible job losses at Bombardier's La Pocatière plant.

"It's really a shame that we're now forced to undertake this process," Lefebvre said in a telephone interview.

The transit agency wants the court to hear the case earlier than the scheduled court date of June 21.

"We totally disagree with the claims that are written in the request," said STM spokesperson Odile Paradis. "We will contest them vigorously."