Still no firm launch date for LRT but signs of progress

It’s looking more certain that the $2.1-billion Confederation Line LRT will open near the end of next March, although the city is nervous about promoting another launch date after it aborted the first two.

The city’s transportation general manager, John Manconi, would only tell council members Wednesday during a finance and economic development committee meeting that LRT would be ready sometime in the first quarter of 2019 but didn’t have an exact date.

After the meeting, Mayor Jim Watson, who was buoyed by a video of a train running end-to-end on the 12.5-kilometre line, suggested the opening would likely happen near the end of that January-March time frame.

“When we finally saw the train run from one end to the other, with the right speeds and the right times for loading and unloading people, it tells me that we’re coming very, very close to having full service by the 31st of March 2019,” Watson said. “I have great confidence in that date and I believe we will meet that date, if not exceed it by a few days.”

Rideau Transit Group, the consortium building the LRT system, missed the first handover deadline on May 24 and the second deadline on Nov. 2.

RTG has 60 days from Nov. 2 to propose a new handover date, so the city should know by Jan. 2 how soon it could open the LRT system in 2019.

However, the LRT contract calls for a minimum of 30 days between the date on which RTG notifies the city and the handover date itself. After the handover date, the city predicts it would need up to 10 days to do its own work with the LRT system before welcoming fare-paying passengers.

Whatever date RTG proposes, the builder can count on the city scrutinizing the evidence, Manconi said.

“To be very candid, there are very good days in testing and commissioning and there are challenging days, and that’s what you want,” Manconi said.

“You want to find out what the issues are and you want to proactively deal with them. The outcome is very crystal clear: a safe reliable system that gets the taxpayers the $2.1-billion investment in accordance to the project agreement. That’s our relentless pursuit.”

Bus customers and their city councillors are growing louder in their calls for better bus service before the LRT line opens.

Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder this week announced improvements for customers who live in her ward after people continued to voice frustration over late and crowded buses, which OC Transpo attributes to the downtown bus detours. Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans said customers who live in her ward could use Transpo’s help, too.

Manconi said “I hear the noise” when it comes to customers’ irritation, but Transpo has limited resources while trying to transform the transit network.

One bit of good news for customers: Transpo intends to put a hold on fare increases at the beginning of 2019 until the LRT system opens.

Watson, who supports the temporary fare freeze as a “small gesture” by the city to acknowledge the frustration customers have with the bus detours, has ideas about how the lost revenue could be offset.

“We’ll have to find it from reserve funds. As you know, we have reserve funds for transit and tax stabilization, (plus) any savings we can generate from OC Transpo, but also we’re seeing increased ridership, which is good news for the fare box and the system as well,” Watson said.

(Manconi said there was an increase in transit ridership last quarter).

There are promising signs that LRT construction is wrapping up.

Rideau Station, based on pictures provided by the city, appears more advanced than what the city indicated in September. Interior finishes in other underground stations are being installed. The seven easternmost stations almost have their occupancy permits. Trains have run in fully automated mode across the entire line. All fare gates and machines are installed.

The public could see a very active rail line before the end of this month.

RTG wants to execute a “practice plan” on the entire system. Manconi said it will involve between eight and 10 two-car trains and up to 15 single trains.

“They’ll see that full fleet going end-to-end (with) the spacing they need to get to those headway times and they’ll pull up to the stations, the doors open, the doors close, and they do all the manoeuvres. They’ll see the service without occupants on the trains.”

Eventually the City of Ottawa will be asking its own workforce to participate in test runs to make sure wayfinding signs are in the right places, the pedestrian flow-through isn’t blocked and, perhaps most importantly, that the train-to-bus transfers at Tunney’s Pasture, Hurdman and Blair stations are seamless.

When it comes to the city’s extra costs tied to the LRT delay, city treasurer Marian Simulik said a full list should be available for council within the next two weeks.

The city is penalizing RTG $1 million for the missed handover in November and the builder would be liable for another $1 million if it misses a future handover date.