Trillium Line delayed again, no firm opening date

The next phase of Ottawa's expanding light rail transit system is once again behind schedule, with transit staff suggesting the north-south Trillium Line will open sometime between July and September.

No firm deadline was given for opening during Thursday's regular progress update at the light rail subcommittee.

"We are down to the last few steps on the Trillium Line," Michael Morgan, director of the City of Ottawa's rail construction program, told councillors. "The progress is very good."

Morgan said training for the operators and maintenance should be completed in three months, with controllers slightly behind that.

Final testing will take another month, according to Morgan.

"It doesn't mean September. Equally, we've lost April," he said, alluding to the city's earlier aim to open in the spring. "We need to give the builders time to fix things."

Morgan said the eastern extension has successfully remained on track for a 2025 opening, while the western extension could see its opening pushed to 2027.

Latest delay sparks frustration

Trains are being tested along the route, which is set to run from the junction at Bayview station to the existing east-west line, through Carleton University and south to Limebank station and the Airport spur line.

Morgan said the testing is going well, thanks in part to the winter snowfall, and defects are being detected and addressed.

"For anyone to pick [an opening] date, we need to see the train running reliably over the course of the entire day, including the weekends," he told reporters after the meeting. "We're not at that point yet. Once we get to that point, then we could be more definitive in terms of when we might open."

Michael Morgan, the City of Ottawa's director of rail construction, speaks at a meeting in April 2023. (Giacomo Panico/CBC)

That lack of clarity was frustrating to Coun. Riley Brockington, whose ward will be serviced by the train line.

"At this point, I'm no longer surprised," he told CBC. "But, I'm disappointed because the north-south Trillium Line was always pegged to be the easiest of the three to build."

When the line was closed in 2020 for the extension, it was set to reopen in 2022. Brockington said riders have instead suffered delay after delay, each of which was depicted as short.

Carleton students among those hurt most

Coun. Shawn Menard told CBC that student associations and administrators at Carleton University have come to him with concerns around the delays.

But he said rushing to open is not a better option.

"It's a hard pill to swallow for Carleton in particular, but I want them to get it right, for it to open well and be better than the opening we saw in Stage 1."

Transit staff say they will not have a firm date for the Trillium Line opening until trains are running more reliably. (Trevor Pritchard/CBC)

Kari Glynes Elliott, a board member with the advocacy group Ottawa Transit Riders, agreed.

"We're not angry that they're delaying the Trillium Line if there's a problem with it not being quite ready," she said. "One of the problems with the LRT is there was huge political pressure to push it through, even though it wasn't ready.... I want them to get this right."

Thursday's meeting began with an update on the progress on fulfilling recommendations from the inquiry into the "egregious violations of public trust" linked to the Confederation Line's problematic opening.

'Who is held accountable?'

Brockington and others wanted to know whether the contractor can be penalized for consistently missing deadlines.

"It all comes back to who is responsible here? Who is held accountable for missing deadlines?" he asked ahead of the meeting.

"Why do we not have firm, established deadlines to get our project delivered? And if people are not able to deliver, why are there not significant repercussions, not just on the contractor side but also City of Ottawa side?"

The main driver for TransitNext, the project-specific group run by AtkinsRéalis, formerly known as SNC-Lavalin, said Morgan, is financial pressure.

He said that under the City of Ottawa's contract, TransitNext pays for construction costs and will be paid back when the job is done.

Councillors Riley Brockington and Shawn Menard at a meeting in May 2023. Both say their constituents are frustrated by the Trillium Line delays. (Jean Delisle/CBC)

Morgan also confirmed that this is a fixed-price project, meaning the city is only on the hook for what was agreed upon at the outset, pending any potential "claims" from the contractor.

Apart from the cost, Menard and Elliott said riders will only get back on board if OC Transpo earns back the trust it's lost.

Menard said that could mean providing discounted fares at launch, though Elliott believes improving service is more important.

"Neither OC Transpo nor the City of Ottawa fully understand how much trust has been lost. They really, really blew it with riders, and they've kind of been acting like, 'Why don't you trust us?'" she said.

"We need to look at the whole system. They need to look at improving the bus system. They need to improve communications."