Rideau station becomes critical measuring stick in predicting November LRT readiness
Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: July 3, 2018
The City of Ottawa and OC Transpo are entering a critical period in the run-up to the launch of the Confederation Line, with the head of transportation still not making any promises about whether the $2.1-billion LRT line will make the November handover deadline.
It’s likely that under the schedule first contemplated by the city, the LRT line would have opened by now, or at some point shortly after Canada Day, if the May 24 handover happened as initially planned.
John Manconi, the city’s general manager of transportation, told council’s finance and economic development committee on Tuesday that he has seen signs of optimism lately that the city will take ownership of the 12.5-kilometre LRT system by Nov. 2, which is the revised handover date.
“It’s day by day, week by week. As we progress through the testing and commissioning of the summer months, we’ll have a better idea,” Manconi said after his presentation to the committee.
“I know everybody would like me to say it’s guaranteed we’re going to hit Nov. 2. I can’t do that. We need to carefully monitor all these things and I remind everybody that everyone on the city side and RTG (Rideau Transit Group) knows safety trumps everything, so we need to get through all those safety systems testing procedures even if we finish all the other work.”
Every day between now and Nov. 2 matters in constructing, testing and certifying the LRT system. RTG believes it will deliver the system by the new handover deadline and Manconi seems satisfied by how the contractor is prioritizing the work.
If it doesn’t look like RTG will meet the Nov. 2 handover, council should know by the start of fall.
“I know I’m not going to walk in here Nov. 1 if there is something to announce,” Manconi said outside the committee room at city hall. “Later this summer we’ll know exactly where we are and we’ll update accordingly.”
The key stations to watch are Rideau and Tunney’s Pasture, but especially Rideau.
Of course, it’s hard for anyone to track the progress of construction in the underground station at Rideau, so councillors will have to count on updates from city staff. Construction delays in the tunnel at Rideau, which is the deepest of the three underground stations, are chalked up to the June 2016 sinkhole.
The communication-based control system is also on Manconi’s watch list of key infrastructure. It’s the nerve centre of the LRT system, making sure the trains are talking to the track signals. Manconi has some reasons to be optimistic, with one train set now fully automated and in testing on the eastern stretch of track.
While one train has been brought through the tunnel and rests near Tunney’s Pasture, RTG has not yet tested the entire line, end to end.
When the city knows for sure when the LRT line will launch, residents can expect a marketing onslaught from OC Transpo.
Suburban councillors like Knoxdale-Merivale’s Keith Egli are starting to get questions from constituents about how riders will transfer between trains and buses.
Blair station is poised to be the first with an occupancy permit. When that happens, Transpo plans to shoot a video to show riders how an LRT station will work, particularly one at a major bus transfer.
There was no update on the financial negotiations between the city and RTG. Manconi said those talks continue. Councillors have learned the bus detours cost $1.9 million each month. The projected ridership increase at mid-year would have brought in $1.83 million in extra revenue.
If the finance and economic development committee scraps its August meeting to favour the summer break, council might receive the monthly update by memo, rather than receiving the progress report during a public meeting.
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