The UCP funding snafu delayed any real construction out of 2021, but I believe some of the utility relocation work was still supposed to kick off this fall.
Even without any delays from the UCP government, I'm not sure any real construction could have started earlier given the leadership changes that were being made. The last managing director, Allan Neill, left in September 2020, a new Green Line board was formed over the new year to have better oversight of the project, and the new CEO position wasn't hired until July and a COO is still needed.

Some more details on work in progress can be found in the progress report to the Green Line board meeting held Friday.

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And the old contracting strategy before it was changed by the green line board, would have most likely led to a failed procurement of the tunnel. The tunnel segment had too much of the project at risk as a % of its budget. It would have been a nightmare - the city buying lrvs and the SE section and then scrambling to do something downtown.
 
Update from the city:

Green Line Board and the City Award LRV contract
The Green Line Board and The City have selected CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles) as the supplier of our new fleet of Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs) for the Green Line LRT Project.

The contract includes 28 modern low floor LRVs that will improve accessibility, reduce station footprint and enhance safety for pedestrians and vehicles. Low floor LRV technology has been the standard in Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand for decades. It is now becoming the choice for many new LRT systems across Canada and the United States including Ottawa, Waterloo, Toronto, Portland and Minneapolis.

In addition to the LRVs, the contract includes the tools and support for operating and maintaining this new fleet and an option to purchase additional vehicles to support the long-term vision for Green Line.

Green Line is the first project CAF will complete in Canada and follows more than 40 projects that the CAF Group is currently working on across five continents. They are a leader in the industry and our new LRV fleet will provide Calgary with a world class transit option.

The award of the LRV contract is an exciting milestone for the project and, coupled with the updated procurement schedule for the Phase 1 DBF main construction contract, charts a strong path forward toward delivering the Green Line.
 
Low floor LRV technology has been the standard in Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand for decades. It is now becoming the choice for many new LRT systems across Canada and the United States including Ottawa, Waterloo, Toronto, Portland and Minneapolis.
Super exciting, I'm a fan of low floor.

Although correct, Ottawa isn't the best case study to use as an example in your press release, especially if you're going to leave out Edmonton's Valley Line.
 
If they ordered 28 LRVs that means that on opening day of Stage 1 they will be running 2 car trains at 8 minute headways according the the info that was presented to Council last year. Not bad, not great but I'm guessing on par with what Calgary Transit is anticipating for ridership on opening day.
 
Here's a pic I took of an Urbos 3 in Sevilla a few years ago: (one bonus internet point for the first person to notice what isn't in this photo that you'd normally see):
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It's an exciting bit of news; unfortunately these CAF trams have recently (like last week!) been in the news for cracking appearing in these trams in Sydney and the West Midlands amongst other places. Hopefully these design flaws get fixed before they manufacture ours.
 

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