TransitNext submits ‘substantial completion notice’ for Trillium Line

A Trillium Line train parked at South Keys Station on Thursday, May 16. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

The consortium responsible for building Ottawa's new north-south line, TransitNext, says it is ready for the City of Ottawa to begin the final phase of approvals before opening the line to the public.

A memo sent on Wednesday afternoon from OC Transpo's general manager Renee Amilcar says TransitNext submitted its "substantial completion" notice to the city last week.

The city and an independent certifier are now reviewing documentation and contract requirements needed to make sure the project can move into the "final readiness" stage, Amilcar said.

"As part of this process, the City is currently assessing TransitNext’s notice of substantial completion and will provide an opinion to the Independent Certifier and TransitNext," Amilcar wrote.

"The Independent Certifier will then review the TransitNext’s Notice of Substantial Completion and the City’s opinion to confirm that all requirements have been met. Once this determination is made, the Independent Certifier will issue the Substantial Completion Certificate."

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Substantial completion is the final step before the system is handed over to the City of Ottawa. This includes the completion of all infrastructure construction, regulatory approvals, safety and security certifications.

Once TransitNext hands the keys of the line to the city, the project will move into the final readiness stage, where the city will have to complete several more certification requirements and approvals before launching.

Amilcar says there also remain several regulatory reviews before the system is fully turned over to the city, including a formal submission for a "certificate of fitness" from the Canadian Transportation Agency.

"These processes are underway and occurring in parallel to the Substantial Completion process," Amilcar said.

OC Transpo will be holding a technical briefing to update councillors and the media on the "progress towards revenue service" but a date was not immediately provided. Amilcar said on Oct. 31 that the briefing would be held this week, during which a firm launch date would be announced.

Amilcar had previously said she expected the Trillium Line to open in mid-November. It's expected that OC Transpo will conduct a "soft launch" of the system before opening up to full service levels.

The system overperformed on its trial testing period, achieving a 99.5 per cent reliability performance, ahead of the 98.5 per cent target. 

Once the trial running period wrapped up on Oct. 28, the transit service said it would need a minimum of three weeks to focus on "achieving substantial competition, regulatory approvals and completing final readiness activities."

The line is more than two years behind schedule.