Article: Ontario's Waterloo region approves light rail line

[colinw]

Railway Gazette International -> click here

21 June 2011

CANADA: The Waterloo Regional Council on June 15 approved construction of a C$818m light rail line linking Conestoga Mall in Waterloo with Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener. 

The 19 km line with 18 stops, tentatively set to open in 2017, will run along dedicated lanes on existing streets. Services will run at 7½ min intervals during peak periods and every 15 min at other times, operating at an average speed of 30 km/h. End-to-end travel time is estimated at 39 min, up to 9 min faster than the current express bus as the LRT will have traffic signal priority. Funding will come from a property tax increase. 

A proposal to extend the line by 17 km to Ainslie Street in Cambridge was rejected owing to lower ridership and redevelopment potential. Instead, a dedicated express bus service will provide a connection to the light rail line once Phase I is completed. The possible extension to Cambridge will be reassessed in 2014.

[SurfRail]

Interesting.  Basic parameters sound very similar to the Gold Coast, although I cannot claim any understanding of what the built environment and surrounding area is like.

[Zoiks]

Basic operations seem similar too. I wouldn't be surprised if they have underestimated the loads they will achieve at the gc quite significantly

[colinw]

That is why I posted that particular snippet.  Struck me as being a Canadian equivalent to GCRT.

What is interesting is the amount of LRT development going on in Canada at present.  There are several start-up systems in planning or tendering, including in Ottawa, the former World Capital of Busways and inspiration for Brisbane's busway system.

[ozbob]

It is only a matter of time ... 

[colinw]

Railway Gazette International -> Waterloo light rail engineering consultant appointed

12 June 2012

CANADA: The Regional Municipality of Waterloo has appointed Parsons Brinckerhoff as its general engineering consultant for the C$818m project to build a 19 km light rail line and a 17 km bus rapid transit network.

The light rail line would run from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener, with 16 stops including an interchange with bus and rail services at King Street. A second phase would extend the line 17 km to Ainslie Street in Cambridge.

Parsons Brinckerhoff will assist with the preparation of design criteria and performance requirements for the project.

The municipality plans to invite expressions of interest later this year in a design, build, finance and operate public-private partnership contract, with a view to construction getting underway in 2014 for completion in 2017. Initial estimates suggest 14 light rail vehicles would be required.

[O_128]

Seems very cheap. Though considering that a stretch of road in southport has been ripped up and repaved about 4 times you can see where the money is being burnt.

[SurfRail]

Seems very cheap. Though considering that a stretch of road in southport has been ripped up and repaved about 4 times you can see where the money is being burnt.

Depends on what engineering is involved with their project (tunnelling, excavation and culverts, long bridges etc), and the relative expense of construction costs (probably much higher here).  It isn't really too much different from ours.