ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[KevinL]

Another excellent vantage point is the top of the Madison ramp above Charles. This was the view this morning:

     

[Markster]

...spots like King St that have been paved for months don't have sidewalks yet.

I noticed that between Union and William, they've laid some (temporary) asphalt sidewalks, and I gotta say, they look wonderfully wide. Considering they've forgotten to design on-road cycling infrastructure, I almost want them to declare them multi-use.

Charles is also paved in both directions from Benton to Cedar. Completely driveable now. Crossing Eby has been closed — the plans show this as no longer being a through street, but the shape of the curbs say it is?

I was thinking that this might be an emergency services access thing.

[ijmorlan]

Not sure if this was posted, from The Record.

http://m.therecord.com/opinion-story/618...nnect-them

There was an ironic moment of truth in the comments. One of the commenters claimed that in a year we’ll see empty trains travelling up and down the line, the implication being that nobody will ride the system once it is done. But as it happens in a year we will indeed be seeing empty trains travelling the line as they begin testing. Of course, in two years, they will not be empty any more, except at far off-peak times.

[Canard]

The day the first train arrives is the most exciting part of this project to me. Counting down the hours practically. I'm going to stalk that thing during testing like you wouldn't believe!!

[insider]

The day the first train arrives is the most exciting part of this project to me. Counting down the hours practically.  I'm going to stalk that thing during testing like you wouldn't believe!!

When is that approx. date again?

[timio]

When is that approx. date again?

Originally targeted for first delivery late 2016/early 2017, I believe, but that's pending Bombardier's ability to keep things on schedule. Anyone from Toronto might look at you funny if you suggested they could deliver on time.

[Canard]

September 2016.

[MidTowner]

That's barely 250 days away!

[chutten]

Can anyone shed some light on why the trains might need such a long (Sept 2016 -> "late 2017 first passengers" is more than a year!) track test time? What are they doing with that much time?

[Viewfromthe42]

These trains have never run in Canada before. The region has never run trains before. Drivers have never had to deal with this kind of fixed transit before. We want to see them under a harsh winter (this year would be terrible for that purpose). GrandLinq has not hired or trained their drivers for these vehicles and our routes yet. We don't want to put people on this service without knowing that we won't see bottlenecks from unforeseen traffic circumstances. More, I'm sure.

[SammyOES]

I assumed testing could begin before construction was finished. I'm sure they don't need the whole line done to do a lot of the early testing.

[Viewfromthe42]

You would only do testing on sections connected to the OMSF, which is not finished. No section of track has any catpoles, nor the power substations to make them work. And we definitely can't test without the trains, which will indeed not arrive by their September 2016 date unless by miracle.

[Markster]

I assumed testing could begin before construction was finished.  I'm sure they don't need the whole line done to do a lot of the early testing.

Yes, but they do need vehicles first, so no testing until they arrive. At the rate construction is going, we'll have good sections of track ready by the time they get here.

There will be a couple months of testing of the vehicles themselves, mostly restricted to the maintenance yard. Getting the mechanics used to the machine, doing test drives around the loop, etc.
Then they'll start taking it on trips across the system. They'll test clearances, platform alignment, pantograph connection, traffic light signals. This will all be done with the expectation that some things will need to be fixed, which could take additional weeks.
Then they start training their drivers in earnest, now that the full run of the track is certified.
Finally, they'll eventually ramp up to "Full Service" pre-launch. An extended dress rehearsal, as it were. Making sure that with trains every 10 minutes, they're not getting into constant accidents, that they can do timely turnarounds at the ends, shift changes are quick, etc.

And then there are all the things that aren't the trains. Making sure that the platforms are finished, with all the fine touches done. Installing the new fare machines at stations. Switching the rest of GRT over to electronic fare payment to be compatible.

And if they're done all that early?

They can beat their target of "Late 2017", and get accolades.

[Canard]

One year from train delivery to start of service is pretty standard on most rapid transit systems. Markster's post nails all the key points.

Re: the comment about them never running in Canada, not totally accurate: they've never run anywhere in the world before. We're the launch customer for FLEXITY Freedom - something I'm very pleased about!

[KevinL]

Forgot to post these last night. Charles at Madison, Thursday morning (same vantage as my Tuesday post, be sure to compare):

     

Interestingly, that big stack of rails has been there for months - and we can now see they were perfectly placed to lie between the platform and the roadway, all this time.