Amusing the different tones set by different headlines for the same story...

City hopes software upgrade will fix Edmonton's Metro Line LRT bugs
City officials hope a new software upgrade has finally fixed lingering bugs in the Metro LRT Line’s signalling system.

The train was having trouble keeping a reliable connection between its location system and the intersection crossing arm controls. That meant trains sometimes arrived at the crossing just as the arms started to go down. Other times, motorists waited behind flashing lights for what seemed like forever before the trains finally sailed through.

City manager Linda Cochrane said Sunday’s upgrade should fix the issue.

“It’s more than a patch,” said Cochrane, calling it a big win for a line that was supposed to open in 2014. The city first needed an outside auditor, Rail Safety Consulting, to prove to signalling contractor Thales Canada that there were holes in its safety case. That happened in May, resulting in the software upgrade.

But the city is still testing the upgrade, which means trains won’t make the September deadline to go full speed.
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Full Story (Edmonton Journal)

Metro Line delayed again, city not setting new deadlines
The Metro Line will not make its latest deadline for full speed service and while city officials insist they are close, they are not ready to set a new date.

Since the line missed its very first deadline back in April 2014, the city has struggled with signaling system problems that have prevented the train from operating at full speed.

Currently, the trains are moving at close to full speed, but have to slow down for several road crossings. The delay on the Metro line has also forced the main LRT line to slow slightly in certain areas.

The city has been pursuing a back-up option that will allow the line to work at full speed between Churchill and NAIT stations, but that would still lead to some slowdowns where the Metro Line crosses the existing LRT system.
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Full Story (Metro Edmonton)

City says it's close to Metro Line fix despite missed deadline
The city has a potential fix in place that could get the Metro Line running at full speed, but it won't be ready in time to meet the latest deadline for Aug 31.

"We're very close," city manager Linda Cochrane told council's executive committee on Tuesday.

The city hoped to have the trains running at full 50 km/h speed by the end of the month, but the software fix wasn't installed until Saturday. The city and a third-party auditor, Rail Safety Consulting (RSC), are testing the results to see if the major safety and reliability concerns have been resolved.

"We have good positive results from preliminary testing," Cochrane said.
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Full Story (CBC Edmonton)
 
Metro Line Testing November 6
November 2, 2016

The Metro Line will undergo testing from 1:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, November 6, 2016.

This testing is taking place after service hours and will not affect LRT service.

This testing will involve running trains at frequent intervals over the Metro Line tracks from Health Sciences to NAIT stations. The crossing gates will come down frequently throughout the test period, activating the warning bells and lights.

The City of Edmonton apologizes for the inconvenience this testing will cause.

For more information, please call 311.

For more information:
edmonton.ca/metroline

Media contact:
Mary-Ann Thurber
Communications Advisor
Integrated Infrastructure Services
780-442-1698

http://www.mailoutinteractive.com/Industry/View.aspx?id=858529&q=1109194650&qz=93625e
 
'Politics' to blame for some Metro Line troubles, Iveson admits
A culture of politicians not hearing city staffers' concerns contributed to problems with big Edmonton projects like the trouble-plagued Metro Line LRT, says Mayor Don Iveson.

The city's audit committee heard Thursday from administration about changes that have been made to make it easier for city staff to warn council about potential problems with projects.

Under a new risk assessment policy, administrators include potential risks for projects with their reports to council.

Iveson said it's important to let staff know they can be candid with council about potential issues.
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Full Story (CBC Edmonton)
 
Edmonton still without timeline on getting Metro Line to run at full speed
Adam Millie says he would spend 30 minutes in traffic just to travel a few blocks. The reason? The Metro Line.

“Four times a day and a half an hour each time,” said Millie, who lives near the Kingsway/Royal Alex Hospital station. “It was really frustrating — you’d call to complain and you’d get an answering machine.”

Some city councillors were also dismayed Tuesday when city officials said they have no timelines to get the Metro Line running at its intended 50 km/h speed — it's currently traveling at half that.
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http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmont...timeline-metro-line-to-run-at-full-speed.html
 
It's hard to avoid being cynical about the snails' pace progress on the Metro line, but at least this is progress:

Edmonton LRT signs fixed, after breaking last April
At long last, the LRT’s digital arrival signs are operational, nine months after going dark.

The signs, which tell people waiting when the next train arrives, have been undergoing testing during off-peak hours, and were turned on for the commuter rush for the first time Friday morning, Deputy City Manager Adam Laughlin said.

The signs were turned off last April after they’d started to show the wrong information, which city officials chalked up to a software problem.

The Metro line extension came with a new PA and sign system for both the Metro and the Capital line, but the new software clashed with the old, Laughlin said.
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http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmont...erational-eight-months-after-going-dark-.html

C2D_e9EVEAADWFE.jpg:large

Don Iveson ‏@doniveson 7 hours ago
Finally! This is still testing, but if it checks out then the departure boards are back in business! #yegtransit #yegcc
 
!!!

Use caution at Metro Line intersections
Speed restriction lifted

February 15, 2017

The City of Edmonton has been given the green light by Rail Safety Consulting—an independent safety auditor hired to ensure the Metro Line’s new signalling system is sound—to lift the speed restriction that has been in place at intersections.

The City of Edmonton is reminding commuters to stay safe once Metro Line trains start running at full speed through intersections on Sunday, February 19, 2017.

Trains will be moving at speeds of up to 50 km/h through intersections. Drivers, pedestrians and cyclists are reminded to:
  • Obey all traffic signs, signals and gates.
  • Never stop on the tracks.
  • Exercise patience. Trains may be moving faster, but there will still be waits at intersections along the Metro Line.

The lifting of speed restrictions is another step towards full delivery of the signalling system from the contractor, Thales.

Media Availability: Adam Laughlin, Deputy City Manager, Integrated Infrastructure Services, will be available for interviews at City Hall (City Room, main floor) today at 2:30 p.m.

Media contact:
Holly Budd
Communications
780-221-1189

https://secure.campaigner.com/csb/Public/show/es10q--bq039-5kftw913
 
Edmonton's Metro line cleared to run at full speed
Edmonton’s slow-moving Metro Line has finally gotten the green light to run full speed through intersections.

The city announced Wednesday that Rail Safety Consulting — an independent safety auditor hired to ensure the line’s new signaling system is sound — has lifted the speed restriction in place at intersections starting Sunday.

Mayor Don Iveson said the news was a major milestone for the 3.3-kilometre Metro Line, which has been plagued with problems since opening, behind schedule, in 2015.

“This is full speed ahead,” Iveson said, dryly. “We’ve been waiting a long time to see that gain, so this is a major step forward. We’ve been working hard to get it to function as designed and, at least with the Metro Line portion, we’ve now achieved that.”
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http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmonton/2017/02/15/edmontons-metro-line-now-running-at-full-speed.html

Metro LRT gets green light to run full speed through intersections
The Metro LRT Line will soon be running at full speed.

The City of Edmonton said Wednesday the line — plagued by setbacks long before and after its Sept. 6, 2015 opening — will be running at 50 km/h through intersections starting Sunday, Feb. 19.

Since the Metro Line's opening, the city has been forced to run the trains at half speed due to safety issues caused by software provided by the signalling system contractor, Thales.
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...un-full-speed-through-intersections-1.3984614

Trains on Metro LRT Line to run full speed starting Sunday

Metro Line set to go full speed starting Sunday
 
LRT trains along Metro Line finally running at full speed
It was a milestone years in the making. On Sunday, LRT trains on Edmonton’s Metro Line were operating at full speed for the first time.

The city said Wednesday it was given “the green light” by Rail Safety Consulting to lift the speed restrictions that have been in place at intersections along the track. On Sunday, the trains started running up to 50 km/h through intersections.

“It makes my commute to school and to work a little bit easier, that’s for sure,” student Joel said. “I don’t know about the traffic for everyone else, but for me as a student, it’s going to be a lot easier to get around.”
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http://globalnews.ca/news/3259483/lrt-trains-along-metro-line-finally-running-at-full-speed/

Step on it — Metro Line finally starts operating at full speed
After a long delay, trains on the Metro Line got a little closer to running on time on Sunday.

But despite being allowed to travel through intersections at 50 km/h starting Sunday, some riders on the delay-plagued LRT didn’t notice too much difference.

“Is it going faster now? It doesn’t seem that way,” said Jermaine Borland, who takes the LRT every other day.

Borland said it may not make much of a difference for LRT commuters themselves, adding he was alright with slowing down if it meant a safer ride, but argued the real difference will be felt by drivers waiting at intersections to cross the tracks.
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http://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...o-line-finally-starts-operating-at-full-speed
 
Metro Line LRT running at full speed: ‘so far so good’
The Metro Line LRT has been running at full speed for nearly three days now, with Tuesday being the transit line’s first true test following the weekend and holiday Monday.

Edmonton Transit officials said so far, everything is running smoothly.

“So far so good. What we’re hearing from the riders are not much of a difference,” said Adam Laughlin, deputy city manager with the City of Edmonton’s integrated infrastructure services.
“In terms of intersection performance, (we’re) still monitoring it. I think it’s something that we might see the odd hiccup here or there but at this point, we haven’t heard and we’re continuing to monitor.”
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http://globalnews.ca/news/3263665/metro-line-lrt-running-at-full-speed-so-far-so-good/
 
One month since going full speed, Metro Line largely gets positive reviews
It’s been exactly one month since the Metro Line has run full speed past her stop at MacEwan, which means Diana Tykha is now getting a little bit more sleep.

“I used to have to leave about an hour-and-a-half early before,” she said on the train Monday, as it zipped towards the core. “It’s nice to just have that extra 30 minutes to prepare for your day, so I’m happy.”

Last month, the city finally gave the formerly slow-moving Metro Line the green light to run at full speed when travelling through intersections.

The long-plagued LRT line had been operating at speeds below 50 km/h due to a broken signalling system, causing major headaches and requiring extensive software patches.

When Metro took a ride Monday, the train and signalling system appeared to be in order. Traffic wasn’t backed up on Kingsway heavily, either.
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http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmont...n-metro-line-full-speed-positive-reviews.html
 
OPERATE: Metro Line LRT (Downtown to NAIT)
The Metro Line LRT (Downtown to NAIT) extension included a 3.3 kilometre two-track extension from downtown’s Churchill Station to NAIT and also required integration of a new Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) signal system with the existing automatic fixed-block wayside system for the alignment. The Metro Line LRT was opened in September 2015 in limited operation.

● Current Project Status
The Metro Line has been running successfully in Plan B operations since implementation on February 19, 2017. The signal systems contractor is working towards the implementation of the Automatic Train Protection-Manual (ATPM) in 2017. Completion of the retrofit of some Light Rail Vehicles is also progressing and is required to be completed before Plan A operations can be implemented in 2017.
​
● Communications and Public Engagement
The next significant communication on this project will be focused on the implementation of Plan A.
​
● Upcoming Priorities
○ Service Levels
Administration is working to attain the designed operational mode of the Metro Line and restore the five minute service levels on the Capital Line.
​
http://sirepub.edmonton.ca/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=1863&doctype=agenda&itemid=59738
 
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