The city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and TransitNEXT reached financial close on the Stage 2 Trillium Line south extension. TransitNEXT is a wholly owned subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin and will design, build, finance and maintain the new extension, and will also assume responsibility for the long-term maintenance of the existing Trillium Line.
TransitNEXT was selected by the city as the preferred proponent for the Trillium Line earlier this month and financial close was achieved following the execution of the transfer payment agreements with both the federal and provincial governments, securing a total C$2.366 billion (US$1.77 billion) contribution to Ottawa’s Stage 2 LRT Project. Reaching financial close enables access to funding and project implementation. The city notes that the contract will be posted on the accountability and transparency section of the its website, with appropriate redactions pursuant to MFIPPA and translation requirements.
The TransitNEXT team will begin to mobilize on-site and start site preparatory work in the coming weeks. Construction is anticipated to be complete in 2022, with testing, commissioning and training carried out as segments are completed.
The Stage 2 Trillium Line south extension will add 16 km (9.9 miles) of new rail and eight new stations, extending the O-Train network farther south from Greenboro Station to Limebank Station, with a link to the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport. TransitNEXT will also be responsible for upgrading the existing stations, as well as maintenance for the existing infrastructure and rolling stock.
“The Trillium Line Extension Project is meaningful to us as it is a continuation of our involvement in providing strong, knowledgeable, experienced designers and engineers who contribute to the development of Canada’s National Capital Region,” said Neil Bruce, president and CEO, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. "It is an opportunity to share with the region our digital design and state of the art project management systems that we’ve used on other similar light rail transit projects to enhance our engineering and construction performance and offer a value-added outcome for the end-users."
SNC-Lavalin explains that the agreement with the city of Ottawa for the Trillium Line Extension marks the beginning of a fixed-price contract worth C$663 million (US$474.26 million), with SNC-Lavalin providing C$136 million (US$101.89 million) in an upfront private deferred contribution. When factored to include the long-term cost to maintain and rehabilitate both the existing Trillium Line and its new extension, SNC-Lavalin says the total project is valued at C$1.6 billion (US$1.2 billion).
Stage 2 will extend the O-Train network farther south, east and west by adding approximately 44 km (27.3 miles) of new rail and 24 new stations. The expansions will be completed in phases with openings scheduled 2022, 2024 and 2025. Earlier in March, Ottawa City Council approved TransitNEXT to design, build, finance and maintain the expanded Stage 2 Trillium Line and East-West Connectors to design, build and finance the Stage 2 Confederation Line east and west extensions. The city anticipates that it will reach financial close with East-West Connectors by the end of April 2019.
When complete, Stage 2 will bring 77 percent of Ottawa residents within five kilometres (3.1 miles) of fast, efficient, clean and reliable rail.
On twitter, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said the achievement brings the city"a step closer to delivering on a world-class fast, efficient, clean and reliable LRT system."
