Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by kmcamp

Both the DLR and the Skytrain predate the low-floor movement, so it's hard to compare. The Canada Line doesn't count, as it's a heavy-rail train with two cars.

The one issue I see with those systems is vendor lock. If you choose Bombardier (Skytrain), VAL, or Anselo Breda, you're stuck with them forever, whereas in our case there's nothing technically preventing us to switching to Bombardier or CAF or even Siemens 30 years from now when the trains need replacing.

If you have a large enough order, vendor lock is not an issue. Those are pretty rare though. I believe two companies in addition to Siemens bid on Calgary's high floor contract, all three of them were entirely new designs.

In Ontario there seems to be a virtual vendor lock due to political preferences. Well that and Bombardier under bidding. Hard to mount a competitive bid when winning a contract forces you to build a factory.

How did Ottawa get around that anyways? Was it since it was one big contract they could reduce the Canadian content a bit on particular parts and up it on others?

[1overcosc]

I have no idea how Ottawa managed to escape the pro-Bombardier protectionist nonsense, but I'm very thankful we did.

With Bombardier's very poor performance in its contracts in the GTA, though, it looks as if the province is finally abandoning them. Leaked papers from Metrolinx suggest Bombardier is being barred from bidding on the EMUs needed for the GO RER project and the TTC is actively considering banning Bombardier from bidding on future City of Toronto tenders.

[rocketphish]

Extra work adds $57.4M to LRT project

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: October 11, 2016 | Last Updated: October 11, 2016 6:20 PM EDT



The first phase of LRT has cost $57.4 million more since council approved the massive infrastructure project in 2012.

Council endorsed much of the additional spending, beyond the $2.1-billion construction budget, as part of the final sign-off for the Confederation Line LRT. The extras identified in 2012 included the $226-million Highway 417 widening ($206 million came from the province) and a $63-million LRT “transition” fund, plus a general $100-million contingency fund.

However, the transition fund has since ballooned to $88.7 million and there has been $31.7 million worth of “other” projects added to the list.

The Citizen, through access to information, asked for a list of all additional works beyond the council-approved LRT construction budget. The city provided a summary of projects as of July 31, 2016.

The largest part of the “other” spending is $25 million for a fare control system.

Steve Cripps, director of the rail office, said the city didn’t know in 2012 what kind of technology would be used to accept fares on the LRT line, which is why the amount was left outside of the construction budget. The city has now selected the kind of fare gates it will install at stations.

There are five other expenses grouped in the “other” category.

There’s $2.5 million for fixes to the Rideau River bridge between Lees and Hurdman stations. A transit control centre needs a $1.7-million renovation for LRT, and integrating the radio system costs another $1 million. The design for a bus loop at Tunney’s Pasture is $1.3 million and “linkages” at stations cost $200,000.

Council approved the $63-million transition fund in 2012 knowing OC Transpo would need significant resources for bus detours until the launch of LRT in 2018. The additional $25.7 million injected into the transition fund is helping to pay for bus replacements, bus facilities and equipment, regulatory requirements and testing, and “operational readiness.”

Deputy city treasurer Isabelle Jasmin said all of the $57.4 million in additional work has been approved by council in budgets since 2012.

When contingency commitments are included, the city has recorded about $230 million in costs for the Confederation Line LRT beyond the $2.1-billion construction budget.

The fixed-price LRT construction contract with the Rideau Transit Group is $2.13 billion. The construction budget plus all the incremental work put the total cost at $2.359.9 billion as of July 31, 2016.

Some of the extra expenses will be covered by the federal government through its recently announced transit infrastructure fund. For example, the federal money included half of the $30-million cost for bus detours during LRT construction.

There are a couple of items that have been added to the LRT-related projects list since the end of July.

The city will add bike tracks to the Booth Street bridge for $2 million, half of which will be covered by the federal transit funding.

Cripps said the city is also working with the LRT contractor on better path connections at Bayview station. Staff are looking at an option estimated at $3.5 million paid from the contingency fund, but Cripps said he expects the actual cost will be lower.

The city has about $88 million earmarked for projects using the $100-million contingency fund with less than two years left in the construction schedule. The value of the projects is a bit higher, but the federal money is offsetting some of the costs.

Cripps said the project contingency fund is healthy.

“We’re comfortable with where we are,” Cripps said.

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling


Top LRT extra costs beyond $2.1-billion budget:

$63 million: bus detours
$32.8 million: property acquisitions *
$25 million: fare control system
$22.6 million: contract variations *
$19.1 million: station entrances *
* allocated to $100-million contingency fund

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/extra-work-adds-57-4m-to-lrt-project

[PHrenetic]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

I have no idea how Ottawa managed to escape the pro-Bombardier protectionist nonsense, but I'm very thankful we did.

Good Day...
partly due to the way the bidding was designed.... the three consortia did not necessarily have to specify a vehicle supplier in their bids, only to arrange for a vehicle within their bid profile. And also Bombardier was already loosely associated with one of the other consortiums.
And, oh my yes, I too am so very glad. B has really fouled their reputation in Canada.
EnJoy !

[acottawa]

I understand bus detours can cost more than anticipated and I understand fare control is a system wide thing and if it wasn't chosen before 2012 it made sense to install it separately. But "station entrances" seems like a core part of the system. Why wasn't that in the original tender?

[eemy]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I understand bus detours can cost more than anticipated and I understand fare control is a system wide thing and if it wasn't chosen before 2012 it made sense to install it separately. But "station entrances" seems like a core part of the system. Why wasn't that in the original tender?

Perhaps it has to do with changes to the station entrances downtown that were negotiated with neighbouring landowners after the fact?

[eltodesukane]

"$25 million for a fare control system"
-- Public transit should be free, as are roads and sidewalks.

[PHrenetic]

Good Day....
on the fare gates, and other issues : The Toronto Star today :
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/10...on-ttc-running-millions-over-budget.html
They also did not include the station fare gate system in the costing, accepting a separate contract and cost for this segment of the requirement and system.
We included only the 'accommodation' of a fare gate system in the stations as part of the bid requirements, pending Presto definitions and technology advancements.... for all that that is worth !!
Seems like TO is experiencing at least as many problems with Presto as we are, and as many overruns and excesses.
Thanks.

[Buggys]

Please excuse my ignorance, but is our current OTrain heavy or light rail? Is it considered high floor?

[MalcolmTucker]

Euro-Mainline?

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Buggys

Please excuse my ignorance, but is our current OTrain heavy or light rail? Is it considered high floor?

Isn't it something in between heavy and light rail?

but definitely high floor.

[1overcosc]

Legally a mainline train, but using DMU trains instead of traditional locomotives. I believe it's technically heavy rail.

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Legally a mainline train, but using DMU trains instead of traditional locomotives. I believe it's technically heavy rail.

In North America, we call it "Diesel Light Rail", but by European standards, it's a low floor mainline train, which oddly enough is about the same height as a high floor LRV, but way lower then a typical heavy rail train.

"Low floor" depends on the type of vehicle, from wikipedia

Ultra Low Floor tram – 180 mm (7 in)
Low floor tram – 300 to 350 mm (12 to 14 in)
High floor tram – more than 600 mm (24 in)
Low floor train – 550 mm (22 in)
Train (in UK or narrow gauge) – 800 to 1,200 mm (31.5 to 47.2 in)
Standard North American passenger cars – 1,300 mm (51 in)
Train (standard gauge (except UK) or broad gauge) – 1,300 to 1,370 mm (51 to 54 in)

[Buggys]

Wow thanks guys! ...So basically the main difference between the new Confederation line trains and the current OTrain Tain's is that the new ones are light rail & current ones heavy rail?

Why couldn't we have picked new trains that are also heavy rail, to perhaps increase train maintenance efficiency? Plus, would diesel trains be better at breezing through heavy snowfall than electric?

[1overcosc]

Any train is fine against heavy snowfall.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Buggys

Why couldn't we have picked new trains that are also heavy rail, to perhaps increase train maintenance efficiency? Plus, would diesel trains be better at breezing through heavy snowfall than electric?

Heavy rail would have been a needless expense for the Confederation Line both in purchase and operating costs (heavier trains need more energy to accelerate). Since the Trillium line crosses conventional train tracks, it needs to be designed to withstand a crash with a train. The Confederation line doesn't cross any tracks so doesn't need to be designed to withstand that type of crash. They also wanted to keep the option of running the trains on streets, something heavy rail would not be permitted to do.

A more likely option is once the Trillium line is grade separated from conventional rail lines, they could start using LRVs on it.

[Buggys]

Neat. Thanks!

[Dundas]

Originally Posted by JM1

Does anyone know who pays for power and heating for the LRT over the duration of the contract... city or RTG?

RTG pays for it with tax money given to them by the city to run the "maintenance". This is what contracting out is. If RTG goes over the money givin by the city thats a shortfall for them but if there's left over money that's a profit.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Buggys

Wow thanks guys! ...So basically the main difference between the new Confederation line trains and the current OTrain Tain's is that the new ones are light rail & current ones heavy rail?

They're pretty unrelated pieces of technology. The Confederation Line is an adaptation of a European tram. The Trillium line is an adaptation of a European intercity/commuter train (if you take a train in rural Germany the rolling stock will be very familiar). Both are considered "light rail" - the Germany acronym for the Trillium train stands for "(light innovative local transport rail vehicle")

[rocketphish]

Big red Os will mark the stops on Ottawa's LRT system

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: October 13, 2016 | Last Updated: October 13, 2016 12:13 PM EDT



Big, red illuminated Os will mark the stops on Ottawa’s LRT system, helping the City of Ottawa establish a new brand for public transportation in Canada’s capital.

The design of the O comes from the existing logos for the O-Train and OC Transpo. It will be featured prominently at LRT stations, starting with the 13 stops on the first phase of the Confederation Line.

The transit commission will receive a report Wednesday confirming the branding for the Confederation Line and the Trillium Line. The report, which was published this week, illustrates what transit riders will see when they approach and enter rail stations.

“The red O symbol is used as a unifying graphic element that not only identifies stations and their entrances, but defines the stations as an integral part of the larger OC Transpo network,” according to the report.

Other “signature” design elements of the transit system will be the labelling of the two train lines – Confederation Line LRT will be the 1, marked on maps in red; Trillium Line will be the 2, marked in green – and black and white directional signs on the train platforms.

The design overhaul is part of a new labelling and wayfinding approach for the entire transit network.

The report only considers the design elements for the first phase of LRT. In the second phase under development, Transpo will need to consider how it will distinguish the lines in the west part of the city. Trains will go to either Algonquin College or Bayshore Shopping Centre.

Transpo has been researching the design features for two years with the goal of making them “clear, durable, and usable by everyone.” Along with consultants, staff looked at other transit agencies and what mistakes they made. One of the big challenges is creating design elements that are modern and able to maintain a contemporary feel for years.

Transpo is also giving thought to what kind of businesses could rent space in some of the LRT stations. In the first phase of LRT, Transpo is making retail space available at Tunney’s Pasture, Rideau, Hurdman and Blair stations.

If the transit commission agrees with the strategy, Transpo will hire a property management expert to guide the development of the commercial spaces. No extra city money would support the retail spaces, which could generate a small amount of rental revenue for Transpo.

According to Transpo’s research across 11 other transit agencies, the typical retail services are convenience stores, coffee shops, flower shops and vending machines. Seasonal stores and pop-up shops could also be options.

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/big-red-os-will-mark-the-stops-on-ottawas-lrt-system