RTG promises to hand over LRT to city in August

Rideau Transit Group is now telling the city it will hand over the $2.1-billion Confederation Line in the second or third week of August, according to Mayor Jim Watson.

That would mean the system would open to the public during the busy back-to-school season inSeptember, Watson saidTuesday afternoon following a closed-door meeting.

City officials andcouncillors Allan Hubley and Stephen Blais met with the Rideau Transit Group consortium, including executivesfrom French train maker Alstom, Ellis Don, and Dragados, as well as an executive from STV Inc., who is providing the city independent oversight.

Alstom's CEO had come all the way from France at the mayor's request for the hour-long meeting.

"We were polite but firm that we were not satisfied with the progress this city building project has met so far," Watson told reporters late Tuesday afternoon.

Watson says LRT expected to be ready in September

5 years ago

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After meeting with Alstom and Rideau Transit Group (RTG) officials, Mayor Jim Watson says residents can now expect to be riding the LRT in September. RTG CEO Peter Lauch says the group is being cautious about giving a specific date because of previous delays.

Watson said he's asked transportation managerJohn Manconi and citymanagerSteve Kanellakos "to continue to keep RTG's feet to the fire over the coming days and weeks."

"We'll accept nothing less than the high quality, safe, world-class system that we bought on behalf of Ottawa taxpayers and transit riders," he said.

4th time delayed

The mayor called for the face-to-face executivemeeting after Ottawa's light rail system was recently delayed a fourth time, missing ahand-over targetof June 30.

Watson hadpromisedto tell the companieshe was angry,givethema "stark reality check," and urge them to "get their acts together."

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Thepressure and phone callsfrom city officials areworking, said RTG CEO Peter Lauch.

"We've seen a marked improvement in Alstom's performance in the last few weeks. They've brought in global experts from other cities."

Alstomtold the city Tuesdayit expects to complete thetrains,which staff have identified as the biggest outstanding issue, by July 7.

Problematic train brakes and doors

The biggest, most time-consuming issues relatetothe train brakes and doors. Suppliers had beentesting five pieces of brake hardwareper train car and swapping some out. As for the doors, technicians were making adjustments to make sure they close correctly and that sensors note obstructions.

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Alstom CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge said most of the 34 train vehicles have now been retrofitted.

Asked whether the issues had come up in its other Citadis models, Poupart-Lafarge said "every trainis different and therefore these problems are unique to this type of vehicle."

"It's not unusual to get to issues when we start to test the trains," Poupart-Lafarge added.

For its part, RTG said it is tracking Alstom's progress and will not yetcommit toa precisehandover date in August. It was obligated to set one back on May 31, but hasn't.

"We've given some dates in the past that we've not committed to. We don't want to disappoint again," said RTG's Lauch.

Back in February, for instance,Lauch assured councillorsthe system wouldhit aMarch 31 deadline, but it came and went.

"When I gave that date, at that time, I was confident," he said Tuesday.

"It wasn't something that I just dreamt up," Lauch added, saying circumstances beyond the company's control arose shortly after.

RTG has also missed formal deadlines on May 24 and Nov. 2 in2018, as well as another, non-contractualtargetofJune 30.

"We don't want a fifth missed date. That would be completely unacceptable," said Watson.

"They get it that this is their time to perform and we have great expectations that they will live up to these dates."

Watson also stressed that once the consortium sets the specific handover date, if it fails to meet that deadline, it would face another $1 million penalty.

RTG had earlier submitted paperwork, believing it was finished construction and hoping to trigger its first payment in months, but both the city and an independent certifier disagreed, and sent the consortium back to do more work.