Feds airdrop $6.4M for Ottawa airport's Trillium Line station, $5.7M for operations
The government also announced $5.7 million for the Ottawa airport through the Airport Relief Fund to help with operations.
Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Jun 16, 2021 • 52 minutes ago • 1 minute read
The federal government has announced $6.4 million to help the Ottawa International Airport build a station for the Trillium Line spur, reducing fears that the city was building an expensive rail line to nowhere.
The station connected to the airport terminal will cost $16.9 million. The project is part of the city’s $4.6-billion Stage 2 O-Train expansion, with tracks for the Trillium Line being extended past Greenboro Station into Riverside South. The airport spur will connect to a new South Keys Station.
The airport authority became worried last year that it wouldn’t be able to pay for the new rail station as the COVID-19 pandemic drastically reduced its revenue. The organization said it needed $13.5 million to build the rail station and lobbied the federal government for help.
Even with the federal government’s funding announcement on Wednesday under the Airport Critical Infrastructure Program, the airport authority needs millions more to pay the project bills.
The airport is hoping the provincial government contributes to the project, but to the airport’s knowledge no provincial program exists that could be the source of the funds, according to Krista Kealey, the airport’s vice-president of communications and public affairs.
If the airport can’t get a provincial grant, it will have to borrow the remaining money. Kealey said the airport wants to avoid adding debt since it would increase airport fees and other charges.
The Trillium Line expansion is scheduled to be complete sometime in the second half of 2022.
The federal government also announced $5.7 million for the Ottawa airport through the Airport Relief Fund to help with operations.
The airport is projecting a loss of $55 million in 2021.
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