Ontario makes another big funding commitment to rail transit

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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The province of Ontario is committing more than CA$1 billion (US$779 million) toward the city of Ottawa's light-rail transit (LRT) expansion project, which the province says will help grow the economy, reduce travel times and connect people to jobs.

 

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said, “Our investment in the Ottawa LRT will make a big difference in people’s everyday lives. It’s one of a number of historic investments in infrastructure that our government is making. It will help to create jobs and grow our economy now and for years to come.”

Ontario has already committed up to CA$600 million (US$467.69 million) towards the Stage 1 LRT project, called the Confederation Line — a CA$2.1 billion (US$1.63 billion) project that is jointly funded with the government of Canada and the city of Ottawa.

Stage 2 will add 18.64 miles of rail and 19 new stations while extending the Ottawa LRT network to the east from Blair to Place-d’Orléans Station; to the west from Tunney’s Pasture to Bayshore Station and southwest to Baseline Station; and to the South from Greenboro Station to Bowesville in Riverside South.

The new funding commitment is the largest provincial transit investment in Ottawa’s history and will support two additional extensions, a two-stop spur from the Trillium Line to Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport and a one-stop extension of the Confederation Line further east from Place-d’Orléans Station to Trim Road in Orléans. These will add four miles of new rail and three stations. Construction on Stage 2 is expected to start in 2018, once the Confederation Line is completed. Stage 2 is expected to enter service in 2023.

“The province remains committed to working with the city of Ottawa as it moves forward with implementing its Stage 2 LRT project. We know how important public transit is to managing congestion, curbing emissions, creating jobs and building communities,” said Ontario Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca.

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