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Council Report: ION Update

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Report: TES-RTS-18-02 Region of Waterloo Transportation and Environmental Services Rapid Transit To: Chair Ken Seiling and Members of Regional Council Date: April 18, 2018 File Code: A02-30/PW Subject: ION Update Recommendation: For information. Summary: This report provides an update on the status of Stage 1 and Stage 2 Rapid Transit. It covers various aspects of the rapid transit project including vehicle delivery, ION testing, ION LRT service launch, ION bus, development around the ION route and ION communications initiatives. Report: Background The 2011 decision by Council to implement light trail transit (LRT) in two stages in Waterloo Region was made following six years of technical studies and an extensive, unprecedented public consultation process. More information on the recommended rapid transit implementation option is available through Report E-11-072 (June 15, 2011) Following an extensive procurement process the Region selected GrandLinq to design, build, operate and maintain the ION light rail transit system. Construction on the ION started in August 2014. Construction has been ongoing along the corridor since then with the majority of the construction completed by September 2017. Region staff have been providing periodic updates to Regional Council and the public as construction progresses with the last financial update in December of 2017 (TES-RTS-17- 07/COR-FSD-17-30 December 13, 2017). This report also indicated an anticipated start of service date of late spring 2018. 2670888 Page 1 of 8 April 18, 2018 Report: TES-RTS-18-02 This report updates on some of the activities over the last year, summarizes the current status and looks forward on activities scheduled for approximately the next six to nine months. Construction The most detailed information on the ION rapid transit project can be found at: www.regionofwaterloo.ca/rapidtransit. This website contains various background documents, including Regional Council reports and more. Information regarding the ION service and safety around the ION route can be found at: www.GRT.ca/ION. Substantial performance of the GrandLinq construction contract was achieved in July 2017. Work completed late last year includes final road surfacing, curbs and sidewalks; embedded and ballasted track installation; signage and signalization installation; building of ION stop shelters, anchor walls and other platform amenities; electrification and related infrastructure testing; and completion of hardscaping and landscaping. Remaining work under the contract relates mainly to the commissioning and testing of the light rail vehicles, and ensuring the full integration of the vehicles with all of the LRT system instrumentation and controls (e.g. signals, switches, controls, etc.). With the completion of most of the construction, the majority of the construction related impacts to traffic have been eliminated. In 2018, there is still some construction activity planned. This includes completion of work such as landscaping, repairs and minor asphalt work. It is expected that this work may result in minor temporary impacts on the road network. The majority of the construction related work in 2018 will be the testing and commissioning of the entire ION system. ION System Testing ION system testing has been underway since the fall of 2017. ION testing advanced in December 2017 with freight track testing taking place on the ION test track (Waterloo Spur track), followed by powered testing of ION vehicle 504 at the Operations Maintenance and Storage Facility (OMSF) on Dutton Drive. Testing progressed to all areas of the ION route in February 2018, with the first high-speed tests taking place along the test track in March 2018. Testing of the system and the vehicles will continue until service starts. The original project schedule included 8 months of testing and commissioning activities following the delivery of the last vehicle. The vehicles also require the installation of specialized equipment that will allow them to operate at higher speeds, provide vehicle arrival time information, activate traffic signals when necessary, and better integrate with the transportation network. Installation of this equipment was also anticipated to occur in the eight months between delivery of the last 2670888 Page 2 of 8 April 18, 2018 Report: TES-RTS-18-02 vehicle and start of service. GrandLinq and Bombardier will be installing the equipment once construction of the base vehicles is complete. Testing of specialized equipment equipped trains is also required. As part of ION system testing, all 14 ION vehicles are required to complete “burn-in” testing, with each vehicle being required to complete 600 kilometres of reliable travel before the vehicle is issued a final acceptance certificate (FAC) by the Region. As a final step, GrandLinq is required to complete a series of system demonstrations. This includes running regular service, but vehicles will not be picking up passengers along the route. It is anticipated that this phase of testing will take approximately two weeks. Light rail vehicle (LRV) delivery The Region is purchasing 14 light rail vehicles from Bombardier through an arrangement that “piggybacks” on a Metrolinx contract. In July 2013, the Region approved entering into an agreement with Bombardier to purchase the vehicles. Under this agreement, Bombardier agreed to deliver the first light rail vehicle (LRV) to the Region by no later than August 15, 2016 and delivery of the balance of the vehicles (14 in total) by no later than December 10, 2016. Following delivery of the first vehicle (noted below) Bombardier subsequently committed to delivering all 14 vehicles to the Region by the end of December 2017. Based on that schedule the Region had been planning for service start in late spring 2018 (approximately 6 months after the delivery of the 14th vehicle)(assumed that at least partial installation of the specialized equipment was achieved). The first vehicle arrived in February 2017. The second vehicle arrived in October 2017, with the third and fourth arriving in December 2017, and January 2018 respectively. Bombardier informed the Region that upgrades and modifications were required on the first vehicle (vehicle 501) to arrive in Waterloo Region. In January 2018, Bombardier moved this vehicle to their production facility in Kingston in order to complete this work. To date Bombardier has delivered 4 vehicles that are still in Waterloo (502,503, 504, 507) to the Region and 505 and 506 have just shipped or are ready to ship. Approximately 11 vehicles are complete or close to complete. Three vehicles still require further construction. None of the vehicles have achieved Preliminary Acceptance Certification (PAC). Further, the Region has been clear that the vehicles that have been delivered, were delivered to permit testing and it does not constitute delivery or acceptance of any vehicle(s) under the Contract. Bombardier will remain responsible for each of the vehicle’s maintenance until Final Acceptance Certification (FAC). 2670888 Page 3 of 8 April 18, 2018 Report: TES-RTS-18-02 In late 2017, Bombardier and Metrolinx agreed to an amendment of their agreement regarding the delivery of Metrolinx vehicles. This amended agreement between Metrolinx and Bombardier also included specific milestones for the delivery of fully functional vehicles (excluding specialized equipment) to the Region of Waterloo. If those milestones are not met there are significant financial penalties for Bombardier. The schedules discussed later in this report are based on Bombardier being able to meet these milestones. Based on the current status of vehicle assembly in Kingston and, the financial implications of further delays, it is reasonable that Bombardier will be able to deliver. The Region remains committed to working with Metrolinx and Bombardier to ensure delivery of quality LRT vehicles for ION and starting the ION service as soon as possible. Schedule and Service launch As noted above, there have been numerous delays to the Bombardier production and delivery schedule over the last several years. Following delivery of the first vehicle Bombardier was projecting delivery of all 14 vehicles by December 2017. This information was used to develop a schedule that projected start of service in late June 2018. As noted above, the Region currently has 4 vehicles with 2 more vehicles either just shipped or ready to ship and 5 vehicles that are close to complete. The remaining 3 vehicles are in production and progressing well. Given the current status of vehicle delivery and readiness and the requirement to install the specialized equipment it will not be possible to achieve start of service in late June 2018. Region, Bombardier and GrandLinq staff have been meeting over the last 5 weeks to develop a schedule based on the latest vehicle delivery schedule and required GrandLinq and Region work. At these meetings it was determined that the best way to start service was to install all of the specialized equipment and go into full service, as has always been planned. Bombardier has been working with the Region to quickly and efficiently install the specialized equipment. With the 14th vehicle anticipated to be ready in June 2018 and the approximately six months required to fully commission the system, install specialized equipment, and train drivers and mechanics, a service start date of December 2018 is being targeted. Based on the current status of vehicles, both those delivered and those still in Kingston, and the status of the remaining work including installation of specialized equipment and system commissioning, testing and pre-service activities, Region staff believe this schedule is achievable. Development around the ION route The original goals of the Region of Waterloo Light Rail Transit (LRT) project were to move people and to facilitate the development of a more compact, transit supportive and 2670888 Page 4 of 8 April 18, 2018 Report: TES-RTS-18-02 sustainable urban region. While the ION LRT is not yet moving passengers, its impact on development and the shape of Waterloo Region’s urban area has been dramatic.
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