Ottawa’s $2.1 Billion LRT Line Opens — and Fails
After more than six years of construction, at least 63 failed progress inspections and four missed deadlines, the first stage of Ottawa’s new light rail Confederation Line opened to the public. However, the 13-station line, running east-west between Gloucester and Tunney’s Pasture, was beset with problems from day one. Bus lines that had been cancelled were reinstated to meet demand. On 6 November 2019, city manager Steve Kanellakos criticized the line’s builder, Rideau Transit Group, for “inadequate management oversight, poor planning, under-resourcing and failure to anticipate predictable issues.” Kanellakos also said, “They have failed the city and its residents. We have not received what we paid for.” Another 44 km of track, to be added to the Confederation Line and the existing north-south Trillium Line, was approved in February 2019 with a budget of $4.6 billion.