ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[timc]

Re: KW native - nope! Grew up in a small village in Oxford County. Always wanted to live in a "big city" so when I moved out in my late teens, KW was my first choice and have been here since. Still get lost all the time and can't figure out how to get anywhere!

Don't worry, that's not your fault. KW excels at confusing everyone who tries to navigate its streets.

[timio]

My theory is that the street layout was designed during Oktoberfest. Sauerkraut and alcohol do not assist with good urban design...

[gomesjustin]

That's what I always tell out-of-towners trying to find their way around. "It was built by intoxicated Germans! Be patient!" hahah!

[KevinL]

Regional Councillor Tom Galloway toured the OMSF today - lots of pics on his Twitter! https://twitter.com/tomjgalloway14/with_replies

[Canard]

Ken Seiling has a great shot of the interior of the main hall:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ION Maintenance facility under construction <a href="https://twitter.com/rideIONrt">@rideIONrt</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/tomjgalloway14">@tomjgalloway14</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/karlkiefer52">@karlkiefer52</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RegionWaterloo">@RegionWaterloo</a> <a href="https://t.co/3HBRZa1PTK">pic.twitter.com/3HBRZa1PTK</a></p>&mdash; Ken Seiling (@KenSeiling) <a href="https://twitter.com/KenSeiling/status/722135249916796928">April 18, 2016</a></blockquote>

[Pheidippides]

Borden platform as of Sunday:
   

Charles at Stirling on Sunday:
   

[GtwoK]

The latest Ion update is available.

Seems documentation of the courdroy road finished up today. They'll now be working to remove it, and all the soil surrounding it, before construction can resume.

Work has also started in the Uptown parking lot. If I'm reading this correctly, the track in the parking lot will be on gravel rather than embedded? That's a shame.

Utility work is officially finished from Wellington to Union. Will be nice to see this stretch of King open again soon.

Final curbs and roadway currently going in on Charles at Cameron Heights, finally!

Borden station getting poured tomorrow.

OCS pole foundations and hydro pole relocation currently happening on Courtland

[Canard]

Just curious - why is it a shame it will be balasted track, not embedded, between WTS and Erb/Caroline intersection? I personally don't mind the look of either, and the freight traffic along the railway here is what probably necessitated it being ballasted, not embedded.

[GtwoK]

The freight explanation makes sense. I just prefer the look of embedded track, especially when it will be surround by asphalt parking lot on all sides.

[MidTowner]

Utility work is officially finished from Wellington to Union. Will be nice to see this stretch of King open again soon.

It will still be a while yet. Several intersections along that stretch are closed until into June. We probably won’t see two-way traffic on King for a while.

[Markster]

Yeah, just look at Charles at the bus station. The track is in, the road is paved and painted... and they don't seem to be in a hurry to open it up.

[Canard]

There may not be much point - if the roads on either side are closed, it may not make much sense to open up the middle bits... Only to have to close them again.

I had one of those awesome hyper-real dreams last night. I was in Waterloo Park and the first LRV appeared and zoomed by. I was yelling and cheering and this huge crowd formed, there was music and a big celebration, and I got invited on board for a ride by local council people and politicians, and then it turned from FLEXITY Freedom into INNOVIA Monorail (!!!), and I was so excited and then one of the officials drove the train off the end of the beamway and I woke up screaming. Aaaaarrrgh!

I am going to be a mess on opening day!

[MidTowner]

There may not be much point - if the roads on either side are closed, it may not make much sense to open up the middle bits... Only to have to close them again.

I can’t help but think that it would take the pressure off. Even if a motorist could only get from Union to Wellington on King, that’s helpful. Ask the people at Central Fresh what they would think about waiting to open it as has been done with Charles.

[timio]

There's rail enthusiast, and then there's Canard... Lol

[Canard]

Doors Open now says they won't be able to do a tour of the OMSF for 2016, but maybe 2017. Tear!

Oh well, hopefully from 2017- onward, it's on every Doors Open event. It will be great to see trains in the hall up close and personal, especially from the maintenance pit underneath!