ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[jamincan]

Also, the track isn't in the final position. A special vehicle will come along and position the tracks and ties precisely and then tamp in the ballast around the ties to keep it in place.

[Canard]

Yes, as I mentioned in my post above, the alignment is just preliminary.  They place the ties in approximately the right position on the ballast, set the rails temporarily on top, then the tamping machine (you've all likely seen it by now parked either up at the OMSF or at Waterloo Station) comes along and precisely aligns the track. It does this by lifting the track slightly and tugging it a bit to the left or the right. The long extension in front of it has a measuring system so it knows how much it needs to move the track by.

[Canard]

Perhaps a better video outlining all of the steps to track construction; using all the same equipment, too, like the Harsco MK IV above. The 'tie dragon' was behind McCormick arena as of Saturday morning.

[goggolor]

Article from the Record on GrandLinq's lack of responsiveness to their phone and email hotlines: http://www.therecord.com/news-story/5790...-was-cold/

In the article the manager for community relations calls it "an isolated incident" but I've had the same experience - send an email to the ION contact address, get the auto-reply that says "We will get back to you within 3 days", never hear anything back.

The last time I tried to contact them I wanted to use the form on their website - but their "Email us" form was a repurposed "Sign Up For Our Newsletter" form, so when you hit "Submit" it just subscribed you to their newsletter. It looks like they've fixed that sometime in the last couple weeks and now have a proper contact form.

[Canard]

They always write back on Twitter right away, and send out bi-weekly email updates that have all the information you could ever want. I can't imagine how they could be any more responsive or forthcoming with information!

Some people are just never happy, and need to have something to complain about...

Slow news day for sure.

[taylortbb]

As soon as I saw it was from Cambridge I was pretty sure what happened. The phone and email line is answered by GrandLinq, but the question was about the Ion aBRT which is built and operated by the region. GrandLinq only has responsibility for the LRT portion of Ion. GrandLinq staff have no idea what the answer is, and my guess is it got lost in the process of being passed over to regional staff.

There should be a process for doing that, and he should have gotten an answer within three days, but at least it's better than GrandLinq simply ignoring enquiries.

[numberguy]

Article from the Record on GrandLinq's lack of responsiveness to their phone and email hotlines: http://www.therecord.com/news-story/5790...-was-cold/

In the article the manager for community relations calls it "an isolated incident" but I've had the same experience - send an email to the ION contact address, get the auto-reply that says "We will get back to you within 3 days", never hear anything back.

The last time I tried to contact them I wanted to use the form on their website - but their "Email us" form was a repurposed "Sign Up For Our Newsletter" form, so when you hit "Submit" it just subscribed you to their newsletter. It looks like they've fixed that sometime in the last couple weeks and now have a proper contact form.

That is, by any standard, poor customer service. Hopefully GrandLinq will improve. The Kitchener subreddit has monthly complaints about the same issue, but it has tapered off somewhat.

[Waterlooer]

Both tracks are in at University! Laurel Trail crossing is now on the west side of the railway.

[KevinL]

If anything, the work at Charles and Ontario has only intensified - the Charles sidewalk alongside The Sports Link has been cleared out, and pedestrians are directed down the alleyway on the building's other side.

[Canard]

Charles/Borden is going to be amazing to watch when they get to it. They have to reprofile the entire area!

[chutten]

Charles/Borden is going to be amazing to watch when they get to it. They have to reprofile the entire area!

How d'you mean?

[clasher]

If anything, the work at Charles and Ontario has only intensified - the Charles sidewalk alongside The Sports Link has been cleared out, and pedestrians are directed down the alleyway on the building's other side.

I wonder if someone is still parking that white toyota matrix in the laneway. Barely enough room to walk by when it's there let alone get a stroller or buggy through.

[timio]

Seagram construction is starting Friday Aug 14 for up to 3 weeks.

Beginning on or about August 14 for a period of approximately three weeks, crews will work on the CN railway tracks on Seagram between University and Central Drive. This section of Seagram will be closed to traffic. The Waterloo Park parking lot, located on the west side of the track, will also be closed during this time. Central drive will permanently be detoured to run along the path east of the tracks to access Seagram.Generally work takes place Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., however, over the weekends, (August 14-17, and August 21-Aug 24), crews will work around the clock for an 88-hour period.Work will require temporary closures of the Laurel Trail between Seagram and University. Signage will be in place to help inform pedestrians and cyclists in the area

Source: rideion.ca

Interesting to note the permanent reroute of the roadway through the park.  This aligns with the master plan for Waterloo Park which eventually has that roadway gone and parking lot moved to a different location.

[Markster]

And so my Laurel trail detour grows yet again.

[Canard]

Charles/Borden is going to be amazing to watch when they get to it. They have to reprofile the entire area!

How d'you mean?

The intersection is too steep for the trains. When I spoke with Engineers about this a few years ago, they said it was one of their biggest headaches, outside of the King grade separation. The entire intersection will be flattened/smoothed out, and Benton heading toward Downtown there is already really, really steep.