ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[KevinT]

Step 2, Offload:

[KevinT]

Step 3, Doubt:



Best I can figure is that they needed to jog the ramp to get it unfastened from the flatcar, and the LRV was the tool closest to hand...

[KevinT]

Step 4, Bedtime:

[Canard]

I was up in that part of town today and there was a bunch of Grandlinq vehicles and police cars in the ION ROW on Northfield at the crossing. Any idea of what might have been going on? I didn't see any sign of an LRV or the WCR locomotive.

Yes - GrandLinq staff are positioned at every signal house and crossing on the Test Track. Police were playing leapfrog from crossing to crossing, to make sure everyone behaved. It was part of the testing today with the Waterloo Central Railway freight locomotive. Same thing happening tomorrow, from what I understand.

[tomh009]

Great videos, Kevin!

[danbrotherston]

Article about budget overrun (of 6%) on CTV today. This should go well.

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[DHLawrence]

Someone remind me: is this Grandlinq's problem or the Region's?

[Viewfromthe42]

It's the region's, at least in one large critical way. Had we included the LRVs in the project order, it would be GrandLinq (or equivalent's) problem. Because we split out the LRVs to join in on the Metrolinx order (theoretically saving us money now and in the future), the costs associated with the delays of those systems and the parts of them that affect the overall system design (whether delays are Bombardier being unable to do things on time, or being hamstrung by Toronto City Council's political decisions) are on us as far as GrandLinq is concerned, and as much as we want to put that back onto Bombardier, contractually we are limited in that respect (but might have arguments that we shouldn't be limited as spelled out in the signed deals).

[trainspotter139]

Regional Staff told CTV Kitchener that the approximate cost of The Dome was around $1.25 million, and that the Region only had to pay around $112,000 for The Dome as Metrolinx is paying for most of it.

[darts]

Regional Staff told CTV Kitchener that the approximate cost of The Dome was around $1.25 million, and that the Region only had to pay around $112,000 for The Dome as Metrolinx is paying for most of it.

How did metrolinx get involved in that?

[Bob_McBob]

Regional Staff told CTV Kitchener that the approximate cost of The Dome was around $1.25 million, and that the Region only had to pay around $112,000 for The Dome as Metrolinx is paying for most of it.

How did metrolinx get involved in that?

From the budget committee agenda:

The construction of a road-rail grade separation adjacent to the intersection of King and Victoria Streets in the City of Kitchener was important to facilitate the LRT project. Because this grade separation project was planned prior to approval of the LRT project, it was funded outside of the $818 million LRT project budget (from Roads Capital Levy Reserve and Regional Development Charges (RDC) reserve funds, and through a costsharing agreement with Metrolinx). Metrolinx has recently approved an amendment to the cost-sharing formula for the grade separation project, in recognition of the plans to expand GO Rail service and the resulting increase in train movements. Under the revised cost-sharing agreement, Metrolinx will contribute approximately 85% of the capital cost of the grade separation (up from 15%) and the Region will fund the balance of the costs. 

[darts]

Still seems odd, wasn't the region earlier in the year insisting that The Dome ® was going to be paid for by Grandlinq? Was metrolinx insisting that the work be done over the winter? I'm just thinking from their perspective they would have preferred work being done during the summer so they wouldn't have to pay out more than what is necessary.

[danbrotherston]

Regional Staff told CTV Kitchener that the approximate cost of The Dome was around $1.25 million, and that the Region only had to pay around $112,000 for The Dome as Metrolinx is paying for most of it.

How did metrolinx get involved in that?

Metrolinx owns the railway, I assume it is related to that.

[Viewfromthe42]

Either a misunderstanding of who would be paying on the part of those quoted formerly, or a good reading of the crowd by Metrolinx in agreeing to figure out how to avoid the appearance of a huge seemingly unnecessary cost being borne by the public, depending on when these details were actually put into firm contracts, original or amended.

[Canard]

Yeah, and it’s a pretty big hint at what’s going on that isn’t public when Metrolinx quietly coughs up $25M to cover vehicle delays. A really big hint.