'The most Edmonton experience I've ever had': Hundreds of transit lovers show up to ride first Valley Line train
CTV
Hundreds of transit-loving Edmontonians showed up to ride the first train of the Valley Line Southeast LRT long before the crack of dawn Saturday.
Hundreds of transit-loving Edmontonians showed up to ride the first train of the Valley Line Southeast LRT long before the crack of dawn Saturday.
There was cake and coffee and enough ribbon for everyone to cut some, as giddy residents celebrated the opening of a transit line that was originally supposed to open in December of 2020.
The first train rolled out of Mill Woods LRT at approximately 5:15 a.m.
“This has been a long journey, with challenges and detours, but we’re confident in the system we’ve built. Our focus has always been, and will continue to be, delivering a safe, reliable system to Edmontonians,” TransEd Partners CEO, Ronald Joncas, said in a news release from the city on Tuesday.
The city said Tuesday "Valley Line Southeast has been independently certified by professional engineers, a safety auditor and an independent, professionally qualified, certifier. TransEd recently received a formal certificate from the independent certifier, indicating the infrastructure is complete and meets the requirements of the project agreement."
"We all cheered at every stop," said transit passenger Justin Draper, "and when the train started, we had a countdown to have the first train leave the station and it was like a magical moment."
