Rideau Transit Group names new CEOs for consortium and maintenance branch

OTTAWA -- The consortium that built and now maintains Ottawa's 12.5 km light rail transit line has named its new CEO.

Rideau Transit Group (RTG) announced on June 22 that Peter Lauch would be stepping down as CEO of RTG and the maintenance branch Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) effective July 10.

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In a statement Tuesday, RTG said Nicholas Truchon would become the new CEO of Rideau Transit Group when Lauch officially steps down.

"Most recently, Mr. Truchon served as Chief Financial Officer for the new $4.2B Samuel-de-Champlain Bridge [public-private partnership] project in Montreal where he managed financial and commercial aspects of the project throughout the construction phase and into operations," RTG said in a statement. "As CEO of RTG, Mr. Truchon will lead all commercial, financial and contractual matters, manage the interface with RTM, and ultimately be responsible for quality assurance and delivery of services under the Project Agreement with the City of Ottawa."

RTG has also announced a new CEO for RTM. Lauch has been the CEO of both RTG and RTM since November.

In a statement, RTG said Mario Guerra would assume the role of CEO of RTM after Lauch leaves.

"Having been involved in the project since 2016, Mr. Guerra also brings 40 years of rail transit experience gained at the Toronto Transit Commission and New York City Transit," RTG said. "Mr. Guerra will be responsible for all operational, maintenance and performance related issues on the LRT project. Mr. Guerra will report to Mr. Truchon, and will continue to be supported by the existing team of rail experts at RTM as well as additional experts in infrastructure, rolling stock, operations and maintenance."

The appointments come as RTG and RTM work to solve issues that have been troubling the $2.1-billion Confederation Line. The entire Confederation Line was shut down for a full week between June 21 and 28 to give RTG/RTM unfettered access to the line to perform critical infrastructure upgrades and performance tests.

RTG is a consortium whose primary partners are ACS Infrastructure Canada, EllisDon, and SNC-Lavalin.