PROJECT PROFILE
Ottawa’s LRT Stage 2
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tage 2 of the light rail transit (LRT) development in our nation’s capital is underway and is one of the most complex public transit projects in Canada. The multi-line project is an estimated $4.66 billion expansion that is slated to provide access to the city’s LRT network within 5km for nearly 80% of Ottawa’s citizens. The project consists of three main extensions; the Confederation Line East Extension, Confederation Line West Extension and the Trillium Line South Extension. Funded by all three levels of government, the contracts are being delivered under a Public Private Partnership (P3) model. After a threeyear procurement process, the City of Ottawa has contracted with two separate consortia. The East-West Connectors (EWC), a joint venture between Peter Kiewit Sons and VINCI Group along with design partners Hatch and WSP Canada will be constructing both Confederation Line Extensions over the next half decade under a design-build-finance agreement. Stage 1 of the Confederation Line, built by the Rideau Transit Group (RTG), opened in late 2019 and consists of 12.5 km of track. The line is completely grade separated and uses all-electric trains. The two extensions on either end of the line will stretch Ottawa’s LRT system another 27 km in total. The East Extension begins at the Blair Station of Stage 1 and reaches 12 km east northeast along Highway 174 to Trim Road on the eastern edge of Ottawa’s suburbs, just south of the Ottawa River. It includes dual tracks, five new stations and, similar to Stage 1, will utilize an all-electric system. The extension begins with the line underneath Blair Road before coming above grade west of the new Montreal Road Station and continues in
the median of Highway 174. Three of the five new stations, Montreal Road, Jeanne d’Arc and Orleans Boulevard will be totally new, while Place d’Orleans Station and Trim Station, the train’s last two stops, currently serve as a Park & Ride for OC Transpo. Both will be converted to transfer stations. This Confederation Line East Extension is expected to be in service by November 2024. The Confederation Line West Extension, being the larger of the two expansions to the east-west line, is a 15 km extension that connects to the existing system at the Tunney’s Pasture Station before heading west, ending at Moodie Station near the intersection of Moodie Drive and Highway 417. A little past halfway, between the Lincoln Fields and Queensview Stations the LRT line splits, with the offshoot heading south to end at the Baseline Station. Where the line ends at Moodie and Baseline, the West Transitway and Southwest Transitway begin. These connections allow passengers to commute efficiently from the Kanata and Barrhaven neighbourhoods respectively. Using much of the existing bus rapid transit corridors,
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the electric trains run both at and below grade. With the line proposed to be in service in May 2025, it will see the construction of three new stations and the conversion of 8 existing bus stations into LRT stations. At the end of the west line, the expansion features the new Moodie Light Maintenance and Storage Facility (LMSF). Simple maintenance, light repairs and cleaning, along with vehicle storage, are available at the LMSF, and it will offer the potential for future expandability. The Stage 1 contractor Rideau Transit Group (RTG) has inked an agreement with the City of Ottawa to maintain the existing Confederation Line and both East and West Extensions and provide additional vehicles to operate on the lines. This agreement was an option in RTG’s existing Stage 1 contract so the line would see equipment continuity and cost efficiencies. This maintenance arrangement will be in place until 2048. SNC-Lavalin lead TransitNEXT is tasked with the Trillium Line Extension. Beginning at the Greenboro Station, the Trillium Line will run south to the
