Trillium Line hits another delay, opening timeline pushed back through the summer

A train sits at Bayview Station as construction continues on the north-south Trillium Line. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

OC Transpo officials say the north-south Trillium Line could hit yet another delay, with the timeline for opening being extended into the summer.

Councillors have been told in a slide presentation obtained by CTV News on Stage 2 construction that OC Transpo is giving themselves a wider timeline than had been previously announced with an opening day potentially being in September.

A slide says the transit authority's period for handover could be between April and June, with passenger service happening sometime between May and September, but a firm date had not been given. Officials had previously said the window for handover would be between February and April and passenger service would be between March and June.

Transit services general manager Renée Amilcar had said the anticipated opening date would be in "spring of 2024" in recent months.

Construction for the Trillium Line was originally scheduled to be completed in August 2022, but was delayed until September 2023. On Sept. 29, Amilcar said that based on the progress to date, a fall launch was no longer possible and would be delayed again.

This could mean the Trillium Line would open a full two years behind schedule. This would be the third major delay.

At a media availability after last week's city council meeting, Amilcar said she was still anticipating the opening date to be sometime in the spring and added she would have "very good news" to share at Thursday's Light-Rail subcommittee meeting.

"I've always said that for the Trillium Line, it should be this spring, so I'm still there," Amilcar said last week.

The Trillium Line will run between Bayview Station and Riverside South, with a spur to the Ottawa Airport.

Confederation Line

The Confederation Line eastern extension saw some progress this week after OC Transpo announced an O-Train slowly travelled east of Blair Station for the first time Sunday evening.

"Travelling at walking speed, the train was escorted by staff on foot to verify the interface between the train’s pantograph and the OCS while the train was in motion," said OC Transpo's acting general manager Michael Morgan on Monday, calling it an "important milestone" on the O-Train east extension.

"Additional testing between Blair Station and Montréal Station is anticipated later this week as crews continue to test and validate the (overhead catenary system) system."

As part of Stage 2 of Ottawa's LRT system, the Confederation Line will be extended 12.5 km east from Blair Station to Trim Road, with five new stations at Montreal Road, Jeanne d'Arc Boulevard, Convent Glen, Place d’Orléans and Trim Road.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Josh Pringle