OC Transpo expects to know in September when Line 2 LRT might launch

There is still no firm date for the launch of the southern extension of the O-Train Line 2.

The Trillium Line is being extended to Riverside South with a spur to the airport. Opening dates for the line have been repeatedly pushed back because of construction delays. It was initially scheduled to be open in 2022, but is now expected sometime this year.

At Monday's light-rail subcommittee meeting, Transit Services general manager Renée Amilcar said she would not commit to a firm opening date at this time, but suggested more might be known in the fall.

"We have a trigger that we absolutely need. We need to be able to run trains from Bayview to Limebank," she said. "We should be very, very close in August so when we come back in September through the LRT subcommittee, if we succeed on that trigger, we should be able to commit on a firm date."

Amilcar insisted that the Line would not open until it is ready. She also repeated OC Transpo's previous commitment to keep parallel bus service running along Line 2 until April 2024.

"There is no rush to move forward with a system which is not ready," Amilcar said.

Michael Morgan, the city’s director of rail construction, said there is still some work around Hunt Club Road to be done before testing can begin, including on the rail bridge.

Getting track on the bridge over Hunt Club Road should be completed in July, he said.

"We're still looking to that August timeline to get to a point where trains can run from Bayview all the way to Limebank," he said. "It's not just that train to Bayview, it's a set of trains to Bayview where we can then hand over to training and say now the system is mature enough to start running trains back and forth, build up the training hours, and demonstrate over August and September the reliability of the system to give us comfort that when you start trial running, it will be successful."

OC Transpo recently tested trains at the airport station and also tested trains at Limebank, Morgan said.