Construction on Ottawa's north-south rail line hits another delay

Construction on Ottawa's north-south rail line has hit a new delay, with the handover of the Trillium Line to the city of Ottawa now not expected until at least early November.

Councillors received an update on construction for Stage 2 of the rail system in Ottawa on Wednesday, including the north-south line from Bayview Station to Riverside South, with a spur to the Ottawa International Airport.

Michael Morgan, the city's director of rail construction, says based on the current review of all inputs including an agreement on the training requirements, "the updated working timeline for the project handover is before the end of the year."

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Morgan says, "There remains some risk and uncertainty in the completion" of the remaining work.

"Trackwork is largely complete; however, progress on signal testing is advancing slowly and requires additional time which is pushing the overall handover timeline to no sooner than early November," Morgan said.

"Staff also continue to monitor progress at stations noting that all stations still require occupancy permits and all stations require TSSA approvals for elevators."

In May, Morgan said the timeline was to aim for trial running to begin in the third week of September, with the handover planned for the first or second week of October.

The achievement of the handover milestone is contingent upon four things, according to Morgan.

• Successful completion of signal testing
• Successful completion of system wide commissioning including stations
• Transport Canada approvals
• Training completion

Morgan says subsequent to project handover, the city will make an assessment on the timing for the launch of public service.

The Trillium Line was originally scheduled to open in August 2022, and was then delayed until September 2023.

Following the completion of construction and the testing and commissioning program, TransitNEXT will conduct a three-week trial period to "validate that all aspects of the system and maintenance activities perform as expected," Morgan said.

"Following the successful completion of Trial Running as well as completion of all PA requirements, Substantial Completion will be achieved," Morgan writes.

"The system will then be available for OC Transpo to complete any remaining operational readiness activities before determining a final opening date to the public. The duration of this final process for validation of system readiness is still to be determined."

Confederation Line

Construction on the Confederation Line continues to slowly move along.

Morgan says the eastern extension to Trim Road is currently seven weeks behind schedule, with construction expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025.

The western extension from Tunney's Pasture Station to Moodie and Algonquin stations is up to 17 months behind schedule, with construction now expected to end in late 2026.

"Specific elements such as the Moodie Light Maintenance and Storage Facility (LMSF) and Lincoln Fields Station are progressing well," Morgan writes.

"Production rates and accumulated delays on the Cut and Cover Tunnel along the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway and Byron Linear Park are pushing the overall project completion date to late 2026."