New Flyers Xcelsior bus (Photo: New Flyer)

WINNIPEG New Flyer Industries Inc. says it has been awarded a contract by Calgary Transit for 150 Xcelsior heavy-duty, clean diesel buses.

Production on the 40-foot vehicles is expected to begin in the fourth quarter, with all of the buses expected to be delivered by the end of 2014.

Financial details of the contract were not disclosed in Thursdays announcement.

Calgary Transit operates an active fleet of 945 heavy duty transit buses and over the past 20 years, New Flyer has built and delivered 653 buses to the authority, most still in service.

The company sold 10 Xcelsior 60-foot diesel buses to Calgary Transit earlier this year and also recently delivered two, 40-foot compressed natural gas Xcelsior buses to it for testing and evaluation.

New Flyer, with its recently acquired NABI subsidiary, is the leading manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses in the United States and Canada, employing more than 3,000 workers in the two countries.