By Bill Wilson, Editor-in-Chief, RT&S Magazine; June 21, 2019
The first of the two phases of the ION Light Rail Transit (LRT), the region of Waterloo’s new rapid transit system in Ontario, Canada, was launched June 21 at Kitchener’s Fairway station. The modern system will serve the residents and visitors of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, as well as surrounding rural municipalities. As part of the GrandLinq Consortium, Keolis Grand River, Keolis’ local subsidiary, is responsible for the 16-km light-rail line operations for the next 10 years and maintenance for the next 30 years. The contract, which was awarded in May 2014, is under a public-private partnership (PPP). This is Keolis’ first light-rail operation in North America.
The ION LRT is transformative for the region of Waterloo, which is the fourth largest community in Ontario with an existing population of over half a million. The network is funded by all three levels of government and fully integrated within the region of Waterloo’s existing public transport service, Grand River Transit (GRT). The transport options, for which just one fare applies, will be flexible and inclusive as the population grows.