Following extensive public consultation and preliminary engineering work, the City of Ottawa officials have announced plans to move forward with the Stage 2 Light Rail Transit Project.
The Stage 2 LRT Project will extend light rail further and faster to the West, South and East:
- Confederation Line West: beyond Bayshore to Moodie Drive, and southwest to Algonquin College;
- Confederation Line East: beyond Place d’Orleans to Trim Road;
- Trillium Line extension to Bowesville and Riverside South; and
- An Airport Rail Link from South Keys Station on the Trillium Line
The Stage 2 expansion of the O-Train network will be undertaken through two new procurements:
- A new $2.5-billion Design-Build-Finance competition for the Confederation Line East and West extensions (includes Airport, Trim and Highway 417, and City-bundled works); and
- A new $535-million Design-Build-Finance-Maintain competition for the Trillium Line extension
Upon approval of this report by Council, the project will go to market later this winter. A final report will be brought forward in early 2018 outlining the results of the procurement process and related activities, leading to the final design and beginning of construction. The Stage 2 project will proceed with staggered openings to allow for faster expansions to LRT service:
- Trillium Line South extension in 2021
- Confederation Line East including Trim in 2022
- Confederation Line West to Moodie by 2023
The Stage 2 LRT Project budget is $3 billion (excluding the Trim Extension with one station at $160 million, and the Airport Rail Link with two stations at $155 million).
The Trim and Airport extensions will only proceed if they are fully funded by the federal and provincial governments; on June 3, 2016 the province of Ontario has committed to covering half of the capital costs for both of these projects.
(The Global AirRail Alliance)
