RTG absolutely knew when city planned to launch LRT, says rail director

It's simply not true that theconsortium that built the Confederation Line wasn't consulted by the city about when to launch the LRT,according to documents filed this weekin an increasingly complex and hostile legal dispute between the city and Rideau Transit Group (RTG).

"RTG's assertion that the City unilaterally opened the System on September 14, 2019 without consulting RTG is demonstrably false," according to Ottawa's rail director, Michael Morgan, in an affidavitfiled in Ontario Superior Court Monday.

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Morgan was responding to allegations made in an affidavit filed earlier this month by RTGCEO Nicolas Truchonthat"the city decided unilaterally to offer full service to the public on Sept.14, 2019, only two weeks after [the handover]was achieved."

Truchon went on to say that the city ignored recommendations for asoft launch that would have allowed for "a normal part of the natural bedding-in period for a project of this nature" when the typical issues arose in the early days of the LRT system. He also said"there was intense political pressure to bring the system into service when it approached completion" because it was more than a year behind schedule.

This week, Morgan shot back atthose allegations, even though they don't appear to be relevantto the main issue currently before the courts of whether RTG a consortium of SNC-Lavalin, ACS Infrastructure and Ellis Don is in default of its contract with the city.

But Morgan said he addressed the topics "because of their inflammatory nature and to correct the record."

He pointed out that Truchon only became CEO of RTG in July 2020, had no first-hand knowledge of the communications between the city and RTG, and was instead going on second-hand knowledge.

And the 300-page documentincludesa letter dated Aug. 30, 2019, from Peter Lauch, then CEO of RTG, to the city that states, "We trust that the above satisfies the requirements for Revenue Service Availability and we look forward to the official launch of the Confederation Line on Saturday September 14, 2019."

According to Morgan's affidavit, the contract also known as the project agreement between the city and RTG doesn't provide for a "bedding-in" period, and when the Confederation Line was handed over to the city, it was supposed to be ready to roll.

"The Project Agreement does not contemplate a temporary period whereby RTG would provide reduced service as part of a 'soft launch'," statedMorgan.

Court to decide if contract in default

Morgan's affidavit, as well as two more filed this week by RTG executives, arethe latest in a salvo of accusations between the city and RTG, who are supposed to be in a 30-year relationship to keep the Confederation Line running. It's just one of several major disagreements between the city and RTG over the LRT's construction, performance and maintenance.

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This week's affidavits are related to the city's application to court to confirm that RTGis in defaultor not living up to the obligationsof its maintenance contract with the city after two trains derailed in as many months. Ifthe court confirms the default, the citycould theoretically end its 30-year maintenance contract with Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM),a subsidiary ofRTG (although the actual maintenance work is contracted out to train-maker Alstom).

The long-term contract is worth more than $1.4 billion to RTG.

RTGfiled a motion earlier this month to halt the city's application, arguing, among other things, that the city didn't follow the dispute resolution process spelled out in the contract.Morgan disagreed with this interpretation in his court filing.

Truchon filed a second affidavit this week in whichhe alleged the city used its contract with RTG in a "punitive" manner, and has left "no stone unturned in an effort to find ways to impose penalties on RTG. I believe in doing so the City was motivated in large part by criticism it had received in the media due to the (still disputed) delay" in completing the LRT.

Fourth delay of LRT system 'not acceptable,' mayor says

5 years ago

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Mayor Jim Watson says he's called a meeting with the heads of Rideau Transit Group and Alstom to discuss the delays and push for a solution.

As an example, Truchonstated that soon after the Confederation Line went into service, the city would hand in large batches of work orders all at once, instead of picking up the phone to discuss the problem or entering a work order as an issue came up.

"This made it impossible for RTG to be responsive within the timelines contemplated by the Project Agreement, which led to additional Deductions being imposed by the City for RTG's alleged failure to respond within the required timeline," according to Truchon.

And there appear to be major disagreements about how monthly payments to RTM are being made. According to Truchon, the city is withholding $5.47 million for "undisputed monthly service payments" dating back to the early months of Confederation Line service in 2019 and early 2020.

Mario Guerra, the acting CEO ofRTM, also filed an affidavit this week with his version of events surrounding the two derailments, and had criticisms for how the second derailmentin particularwas handled.

Guerra stated the driver should have been aware something was wrong and stopped the train before it travelled over the Riverside Drive overpass.

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As well, he saidconsultants hired by the city to review the back-to-service plan, TRA, did little but delay the Confederation Line from getting up and running again, without offering any real value.

"Despite all the meetings and discussions with TRA, rarely did TRA actually present us with ideas for how to improve the remedial plan or how to create a plan that would be acceptable to them," Guerra's affidavit stated.

He allegedthe city used the derailment in September, which resulted in six weeks of no LRT service in this city, to address other issues that were "largely untethered" from resuming areturn to service.

"In my view, the City was using this derailment as an opportunity to advance other unrelated issues and to exert pressure on RTG to address the City's unrelated commercial interests," Guerra charged.

There is no date set for the court to hear RTG's motion.

Despite the disputes, RTG and RTM want to provide Ottawa with "safe, reliable light rail service," according to spokesperson Helen Bobat.

"As our court filings demonstrate, we believe achieving that objective requires that together, the City and RTG, operate in a true spirit of partnership."