Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Fair points both. I guess we really don’t know what the penalties are. And I guess that was a bit non-comittal. Wasn’t there supposed to be a FEDCO meeting with an update?

The meeting was rescheduled to this Wednesday.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Right. But we were discussing penalties. As I understand it, RTG is obligated to cover bus diversion costs for delays. So if RTG finishes by Christmas, why would they cover bus diversions for a much longer testing period?

As behind as RTG is, it does look like they'll be done by the end of December.

Um, no we weren’t. If you reread how we started down this rabbit hole it was about how much time the city would need to test the line after RTG hands over the keys.

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Ugh. They really have no intention to finish before Christmas. Do they?

Even Cyrville looks like they will take the full month to finish and demobilize.

Originally Posted by roger1818

What made you think they would? The earliest I heard that it would open is February, so with 1 month of testing, that means they won't be finished until January.

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

It was me speculating they would open in Feb. To do that though, they'd really have to finish by Christmas. At least to the point where all that's left are minor deficiencies and operational testing. This would give them sufficient time for testing and a modicum of slack.

If they aren't wrapping up till Jan, good chance that service launch might be end Feb to early March.

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Fair points both. I guess we really don’t know what the penalties are. And I guess that was a bit non-comittal. Wasn’t there supposed to be a FEDCO meeting with an update?

I think it's tomorrow the 14th

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I’m doubtful of that. Nearly statement the mayor, city council, and OCTranspo has made about the contract has turned out to be wrong. I’m not sure we have any reason to believe this one either.

Well, when your contractor keeps saying "yes we will totally be done by date x, pinkie swear" it's hard to be right. The city knows RTG is lying, but like the people on this board it's hard to guess at when it will be really done. Maybe they need to hire a fortune teller or a clairvoyant onto the city's team

[PHrenetic]

Originally Posted by kmcamp

Well, when your contractor keeps saying "yes we will totally be done by date x, pinkie swear" it's hard to be right. The city knows RTG is lying, but like the people on this board it's hard to guess at when it will be really done. Maybe they need to hire a fortune teller or a clairvoyant onto the city's team

Good Day.

....which is why you go totally paranoid pessimistic and predict May, a full year late, with absolutely max losses and no imposed penalties for max cost to us.

and then anything earlier and/or cheaper is BONUS !!!

EnJoy!

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Acajack

You mean you like names like Havenlea Dr more than Sir John A Macdonald Pkwy?

I dislike Nowheresville names like "Havenlea" and "Leahaven" and the like.

I dislike faux-historical names like "Hastings Mews" or "Devon Grant" or whatever the flavour of the half-decade for vaguely 19th-century references is. (This changes about every five years.)

I dislike the modern habit of naming things after a particular person's full name: if they are worthy of having something named after them, use their surname alone except in cases where it would cause duplication or confusion. Diefenbaker Street, not John. G. Diefenbaker Street. (And for the love of all that is holy, a person's post-nominals and honorifics are not part of their name.)

I DESPISE the City of Ottawa's very bad policy of allowing anything in the public realm to be named after a living person.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I dislike Nowheresville names like "Havenlea" and "Leahaven" and the like.

I dislike faux-historical names like "Hastings Mews" or "Devon Grant" or whatever the flavour of the half-decade for vaguely 19th-century references is. (This changes about every five years.)

I dislike the modern habit of naming things after a particular person's full name: if they are worthy of having something named after them, use their surname alone except in cases where it would cause duplication or confusion. Diefenbaker Street, not John. G. Diefenbaker Street. (And for the love of all that is holy, a person's post-nominals and honorifics are not part of their name.)

I DESPISE the City of Ottawa's very bad policy of allowing anything in the public realm to be named after a living person.

I cannot stand when the city gives a name that is historically inaccurate then they give lame brain excuses to justify their error.

I once complained about buses being marked Riverview that were going to Riverside South. Good grief. Riverview is adjacent to Hurdman Station. If they were going to use a historic name, it was Rideau View out in Riverside South. That was the name of the old Post Office and school in that area.

But bureaucracies like to cover their a**es with a plethora of convoluted rules to avoid having to correct their errors and to justify inaction.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I cannot stand when the city gives a name that is historically inaccurate then they give lame brain excuses to justify their error.

I once complained about buses being marked Riverview that were going to Riverside South. Good grief. Riverview is adjacent to Hurdman Station. If they were going to use a historic name, it was Rideau View out in Riverside South. That was the name of the old Post Office and school in that area.

But bureaucracies like to cover their a**es with a plethora of convoluted rules to avoid having to correct their errors and to justify inaction.

I am old enough to remember that buses that went to Orleans had "Cumberland" as a destination, those that went to Bayshore has "Nepean North/Nord" and to Barrhaven were "Nepean South/Sud".

If you took a bus with "Rideau" as a destination in those days, you'd end up not near Rideau St. or Rideau Centre, but Rideau Township, which I believe was the Manotick area.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I DESPISE the City of Ottawa's very bad policy of allowing anything in the public realm to be named after a living person.

People have argued with me that I am wrong, but I still strongly believe this goes against international conventions.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

19th-century references is. (This changes about every five years.)

I dislike the modern habit of naming things after a particular person's full name: if they are worthy of having something named after them, use their surname alone except in cases where it would cause duplication or confusion. Diefenbaker Street, not John. G. Diefenbaker Street. (And for the love of all that is holy, a person's post-nominals and honorifics are not part of their name.)
.

I can live with either, but that might be because as you may know in French it's more common to name stuff for people using their full names. And in Quebec we've actually gone back to longer names for stuff that's been given only a person's surname. For example, the new Champlain Bridge in Montreal will be called "Samuel-de Champlain".

[swimmer_spe]

Let's say phase 1 opens March 31 2019. When is it expected phase 2 will begin?

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Um, no we weren’t. If you reread how we started down this rabbit hole it was about how much time the city would need to test the line after RTG hands over the keys.

I stand corrected.

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Let's say phase 1 opens March 31 2019. When is it expected phase 2 will begin?

Summer of 2019
Edit: Construction that is

I'm realizing you might have been asking how long Stage 2 might end up being delayed... and I don't know.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Let's say phase 1 opens March 31 2019. When is it expected phase 2 will begin?

As of now, I expect Phase 2 will still start on time. They've not delayed contract award substantially. But if they delay till April/May, we'll have problems.

[Kitchissippi]

My least favourite detail on the stations are these elevator cages. They're purely decorative but I suspect they'll be a high maintenance item. The fit and finish isn't that great and they seem like a grime magnet, making the cleaning of the elevator glass more difficult. The part that people can touch, lean on and kick while waiting for a train is going to look like crap in no time.

from otrainfans.ca

[J.OT13]

In addition to the FEDCO meeting, OC Transpo will give a public presentation at the Central Library at noon tomorrow to discuss Stages 1 and 2. Wonder if the FEDCO meeting also includes a presentation on the preferred Stage 2 proponents.

https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/event/...n-line-stages-1-2-project-presentation-0

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

My least favourite detail on the stations are these elevator cages. They're purely decorative but I suspect they'll be a high maintenance item. The fit and finish isn't that great and they seem like a grime magnet, making the cleaning of the elevator glass more difficult. The part that people can touch, lean on and kick while waiting for a train is going to look like crap in no time.

Looked like an interesting feature when the renderings were released in 2012, but in hindsight, it's neither practical or necessary.

[PHrenetic]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Looked like an interesting feature when the renderings were released in 2012, but in hindsight, it's neither practical or necessary.

Good Day.

Agreed - totally!

I had also thought that the roof extensions of the shrouds were to assist in concealment / protection of roof-mounted equipment for the elevator shafts, but that has proven to be totally erroneous on my part. Watching construction revealed no equipment - only beam and stanchion members upon which to mount the shroud extensions. I now guess they are meant as part of the described 'visual indicators' as to where the elevators are located, which IMO is a total crock and a waste of money and roof maintenance effort (snow and leaves and stuff will be caught and accumulate there).
As you said - looked good in the renderings, but ends up neither practical nor necessary. It should have been 'lost' as part of practicality and cost-savings.

I hate waste !

[PHrenetic]

Good Day.

On a lighter note <snort> :

Ottawa Citizen - JON WILLING - Updated: November 13, 2018

Big LRT update Wednesday could provide another launch date. At least they've found the computers.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...date-at-least-theyve-found-the-computers

EnJoy!

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by PHrenetic

Good Day.

On a lighter note <snort> :

Ottawa Citizen - JON WILLING - Updated: November 13, 2018

Big LRT update Wednesday could provide another launch date. At least they've found the computers.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...date-at-least-theyve-found-the-computers

EnJoy!

Big LRT update Wednesday could provide another launch date. At least they've found the computers.

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: November 13, 2018



The Rideau Transit Group says it has found the two train computers that, according to the City of Ottawa, went missing while the builder was trying to get the Confederation Line LRT up and running.

When the city revealed in September that the $2.1-billion LRT system wouldn’t be ready for a Nov. 2 handover from RTG, staff said the builder had lost track of two Thales on-board control computers, leading to a second missed deadline in six months. It irked the city when staff found out in late summer about the computer conundrum, since train assembly was one part of the project that was going well.

RTG spokesman Conrad McCallum confirmed on Tuesday that the builder had found the computer modules, which are the brains of the trains, allowing the vehicles to communicate with the signals and other transit infrastructure.

City council’s finance and economic development committee is scheduled to receive an update on the Confederation Line project on Wednesday morning, and unless information comes to a future council meeting, it could be the last time this year that senior staff bring politicians up to speed in a public forum on LRT.

The city will be pressured to provide a new launch date for the LRT system.

There’s no hiding that there’s still plenty of work to do.

However, there are encouraging signs along the 12.5-kilometre line. The trademark big red Os have been installed at stations and some are even lit up. Public art is ready. Trains are doing test runs. Even Queen and Rideau streets are looking closer to being back to normal.

While at least one councillor called for RTG to appear in front of politicians to answer questions, that might not happen Wednesday. McCallum said the city hasn’t invited RTG to present alongside city staff during the committee meeting.

The train computers make up just one of the long list of outstanding questions as the public waits for Ottawa’s largest infrastructure project to be delivered.

Here are five of the burning questions:

Are the trains working in fully automated mode?

The latest update on the project sent last Thursday indicated that testing on the critical “communications-based train control” is done and the line was “available” for automatic train operations. Management has always said the CBTC is a linchpin to the success of the LRT commissioning. If the trains can’t run by themselves, there’s still plenty of testing to do.

Can the city and RTG settle their financial dispute without heading to court?

The subplot to the unknown LRT launch date is the financial negotiations happening behind the scenes between the city and RTG. The city is penalizing RTG $1 million for missing the Nov. 2 handover deadline and holding back owed payments if construction milestones aren’t met. The city also plans to bill RTG all cost overruns related to the bus detours. Councillors have heard in the past that there’s no perfect language in the contract that addresses cost overruns associated with a delay. Because of the legal nature of the talks, there hasn’t been much disclosed on those negotiations.

What is Rideau Station looking like?

The launch of the LRT system could also hinge on the readiness of Rideau Station. When staff showed councillors a picture of the station in September, it was clear that the underground stop wasn’t ready for rail anytime soon. It’s been especially tricky since RTG has had to test trains through the tunnel while the station is still being finished.

Will fare increases be put on hold until LRT opens?

Coun. Stephen Blais, with support from Mayor Jim Watson, asked staff to look into delaying Transpo fare increases in 2019 until the LRT system opens. Transit fares are expected to increase by 2.5 per cent in 2019, but if customers can’t use LRT in January, do they deserve short-term relief? Staff have been looking into what a temporary fare freeze would cost Transpo, but it will likely be up to the new transit commission and council to decide if fares increases should be put on hold until the trains run.

When is LRT going to open?

Of course, that’s the question on everyone’s mind. Will the city even give the public an opening date on Wednesday? On one hand, the city is twice-bitten on preparing people for a launch in 2018. On the other hand, taxpayers deserve to know when the transit system they paid for will be ready.

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...date-at-least-theyve-found-the-computers