Track installation begins on Trillium Line South extension yard

Dec. 14, 2020

The Walkley Yard facility will be where the Trillium Line South extension vehicles are cleaned, maintained and stored.

Track installation has begun at the Walkley Yard Maintenance and Storage Facility, a key component of the Stage 2 LRT Trillium Line South extension.

The Walkley Yard facility is where the extension’s 13 vehicles, including six refurbished Alstom Coradia Lint and seven Stadler FLIRT vehicles, will be cleaned, inspected, maintained and stored.

Construction began last year on the new Walkley Yard, which will include a 4,700-square-meter (50,590-square-foot) LEED certified facility with three train maintenance bays, a train wash facility, 1,800 meters (5,905 feet) of ballasted track and 500 meters (1,640 feet) of interior track.

The Trillium Line South extension is scheduled to begin service in 2022 and includes eight new stations along 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) of track. The design allows for conversion to twin-track electric LRT in the future. It will also accommodate the planned widening of both the Airport Parkway and Lester Road. The extension is being constructed by TransitNEXT. The contract also includes maintenance of the line for 27 years.

The extension is one of three that comprise Ottawa’s Stage 2 LRT project that will bring 77 percent of the city’s residents within five kilometers (3.1 miles) of rail transit.

“Stage 2 is being built with the future in mind. It will connect growing communities in Ottawa South, such as Riverside South, Manotick, Findlay Creek, Greely and Osgoode, and bring them much closer to high quality train service. It will encourage active transportation through the creation of three new pedestrian bridges and a new 13.6-kilometer (8.5-mile) multi-use pathway (MUP) along the length of the new extension, connecting Riverside South with adjacent communities, the NCC Greenbelt pathway network and the city’s pathway network. Stage 2 will help ensure that Ottawa continues to be one of the best places in the world to live, work and play,” said Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.

About the Author

Mischa Wanek-Libman | Editor in Chief

Mischa Wanek-Libman serves as editor in chief of Mass Transit magazine. She is responsible for developing and maintaining the magazine’s editorial direction and is based in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Wanek-Libman has spent more than 20 years covering transportation issues including construction projects and engineering challenges for various commuter railroads and transit agencies. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.

She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and serves as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.

She is a graduate of Drake University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a major in magazine journalism and a minor in business management.