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Slipping under the radar of Ontario's recently acquired PC government, the recent arrival of the last of Kitchener-Waterloo's 14-car fleet of Flexity Freedom LRVs marked a major milestone for the imminent start of service for the region's ION LRT network. Brought in by train with the help of a special "TrackMobile" car which has the ability to load, carry, and unload light rail vehicles, the final few Bombardier-built cars made their way into K-W.
A steel ramp helped ease the cars onto local tracks, from which point the LRVs were shunted into their new shed to be cleaned and expected prior to testing. The recent snowfall created the perfect "real world" test conditions for the new fleet, the new arrivals put to the test on the mean streets of K-W in the middle of a snow storm.
In total, the ION LRT network entails 19 km of track, running from Connestoga Mall south through the University of Waterloo, Wilfird Laurier University, Waterloo Public Square, Kitchener City Hall, and onwards to Fairview. Spread across 19 stations, the network has the potential to truly transform SW Ontario's tech sector, the line representative of the twin cities' progressive urban planning and propensity for technological innovation.
While delays have pushed back the start date more than once, it would seem that all is on track to keep more or less to the anticipated opening of the line for late 2018/early 2019. For those curious, Grand River Transit is encouraging the public to come to Kitchener City Hall on Dec. 7 from 11AM-2PM to see the ION LRV in person.
SkyriseCities will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Forum page, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.
