OTTAWA, Ontario — The reopening of Ottawa’s light rail Trillium Line, the diesel-powered, north-south route which has been closed since May 2020 for expansion, has been further delayed and will not come until “the end of the year,” the Ottawa Citizen reports.
The 16-kilometer (9.9-mile), eight-station southward extension of the Trillium line was supposed to have been completed in August 2022. But the Citizen reports that Michael Morgan, director of rail construction, offered the new, imprecise target in a memo to the city council on Wednesday. Morgan had previously indicated service could start as soon as October.
The extension, which will include service to Ottawa’s airport, is part of the C$4.66 billion second phase of Ottawa’s light rail development that also includes expansion of the troubled, electrified east-west Confederation Line. That project is also running behind schedule, with an eastward addition now not expected to open until early 2025 and a westward expansion expected to be completed in late 2026.
The Trillium line opened in 2001. Its original segment covers 8 kilometers (5 miles) and five stations. The expansion work has been designed to allow for eventual electrification.
There is a bright light at the end of the tunnel for the Trillium Line. Better late than never!
Dr. Güntürk Üstün