No date for Trillium Line launch as OC Transpo address bugs in new system

It will be at least October before passengers are riding the Trillium Line, as OC Transpo and its partner continue to identify "some gaps and some issues" during testing on Ottawa's new north-south light-rail transit line.

It will be at least October before passengers are riding the Trillium Line, as OC Transpo and its partner continue to identify "some gaps and some issues" during testing on Ottawa's new north-south light-rail transit line.

OC Transpo general manager Renee Amilcar says the transit service is not ready to say when the 21-day testing period will begin, or when the new line from Bayview Station to Riverside South will open to the public.

"We've reached several significant milestones and made substantial progress, but there is still critical work underway before we are confident the system is ready to proceed to trial running," Amilcar told the light-rail transit subcommittee on Thursday, adding bugs are being identified and addressed during the daily testing.

The new line between Bayview Station and Limebank Station, with a spur to the Ottawa International Airport, was originally scheduled to open in August 2022, but construction delays have pushed back the opening date. Staff say once trial running begins, it will be at least four to six weeks before the Trillium Line will open to the public.

"A lot of work has been completed and we are much closer to the start of trial running; however, we still need to finish the pre-trial running prerequisites and grow the system reliability. These two work activities are occurring in parallel," Richard Holder, acting director of the rail construction program, told councillors.

"We can see the steady improvement of system performance but more work is required. Once trial running is underway, we expect a minimum of four to six weeks to get to substantial competition and to obtain the needed regulatory approvals."