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More than three weeks after successfully completing trial running of the Trillium Line, there is still no word on when Ottawa’s new LRT line will open for customers.
Transit general manager Renée Amilcar said in October the train was on track to begin service on the Trillium Line in “mid-November.” But, as mid-November drifts toward late November, the city is still waiting for “substantial completion.”
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In a memo to the mayor and city council on Wednesday afternoon, Amilcar said builder TransitNext told the city on Nov. 14 that it had achieved substantial completion of the project, but the submission was still being examined by the city and an independent certifier.
“The city and the independent certifier have been reviewing all of the documentation that accompanies the Substantial Completion Notice to make the determination that Substantial Completion requirements have been met,” Amilcar’s memo said.
That process “is thorough and deliberate and is clearly prescribed in the Project Agreement as a key milestone before Revenue Service,” she said
“The independent certifier will then review the TransitNext’s Notice of Substantial Completion and the city’s opinion to confirm that all requirements have been met. Once this determination is made, the independent certifier will issue the Substantial Completion Certificate,” Amilcar said.
Meanwhile, the city is also working in parallel with Transport Canada, which must issue a “certificate of fitness” before Trillium Line trains can go into operation.
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Amilcar promised to provide council with a detailed briefing on the process soon.
OC Transpo is planning a “soft launch” of the train, likely on a weekend without the pressure of the weekday commute for workers and students. Amilcar has not said if OC Transpo is planning to offer free rides, as it did for the opening of the Confederation Line in 2019.
The Trillium Line is more than two years behind schedule and Carleton University students, who are expected to be big users of the Trillium Line, are just a little over two weeks away from the end of fall classes.
The Trillium Line and builder TransitNext passed the test period with flying colours, achieving a 99.5 per cent reliability rating over a two-week trial run in October. That was followed by another week of trial running in which OC Transpo operators put the system through its paces, testing different scenarios such as stalled trains and emergency procedures. That testing wrapped up on Oct. 27.
Meanwhile, members of the transit commission will meet Monday to grapple with the $856-million draft budget. OC Transpo faces a $120-million operating deficit in 2025.
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