The Region of Waterloo voted on July 11 to approve the purchase of 14 Bombardier Flexity Freedom light rail vehicles for use in ION, their rapid transit network that has been in planning stages for a few years. Anyone following the light rail transit (LRT) developments in Toronto would recognize the vehicles, as they are also being used for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and the other LRT routes in Toronto that are being planned with Metrolinx, the government agency tasked with coordinating transit projects in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. The Region chose to display a model of the vehicle, as well as one of their redesigned GRT buses, at an open event on the following Saturday.
Like the Toronto streetcar replacements, which are Bombardier Flexity Outlook models, the Freedom makes use of overhead wires. The Freedom has 100% low-floor seating, so all parts of the vehicle should be accessible to people who have mobility concerns. The car consists of five modules, overall containing 56 fixed seats, with a capacity of 200 people. ION is supposed to come every seven and a half minutes during rush hour. The Freedom is also able to combine cars together to form up to four-car trains, which would have a capacity of 400 people per train. The vehicles will be built starting next year, with vehicle delivery starting Summer 2016 until December of the same year.
Construction on the ION rail bed will be started next year, and the first stage is expected to be completed by 2017. The first stage will begin at Conestoga Mall in Waterloo and end at Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener, while the second stage will start at Fairview Park Mall and end at Ainslie Terminal in Cambridge. As the first stage of ION operations, the second stage will use an adapted bus rapid transit (aBRT) network until its rail line is built, likely using the current 200 iXpress service that covers the route.
The stations on the ION have changed since last year, adding more stops in Waterloo than previously planned. Starting from Conestoga Mall, the following stops are Northfield Drive, Research and Technology Park, University of Waterloo, Seagram Drive, Uptown Waterloo and King / Allen, before continuing down the currently existing iXpress route for the majority of the remaining route. From Northfield Drive to Uptown Waterloo, the ION will use the rail line currently used by the quaint railway and industrial trains that goes past Engineering 5. A noticeable change in Kitchener will be the addition of the Transit Hub at the corner of King and Victoria, which is currently served by the Victoria stop on the iXpress. The stop will be the same, but the station will connect the GO train, VIA, Grand River Transit, intercity services like Greyhound, making it more convenient than the currently separated Charles Street Terminal and Kitchener railway station.
In preparation for getting supporting routes ready for the ION, the iXpress routes are being modified to better align with the future vision of the service, as announced this past May. The 200 will be staying the same, but the 201 Fischer-Hallman iXpress is being permanently moved onto Columbia Street from University Avenue. As well, instead of going to Laurier, it will continue from Columbia / Hagey to King, then to Conestoga Mall. This may seem like unnecessary overlap with the 200 iXpress between uWaterloo and Conestoga Mall, but the ION will be eventually replacing that route and the 201 will be better servicing those who live on Columbia. The new 202 University iXpress will connect The Boardwalk to Conestoga Mall by going on Erb, then University, then connecting to Conestoga Mall from the east. This route will be good for accessing uWaterloo, Laurier, Conestoga College’s Waterloo campus and RIM Park. Both of these route changes will go into effect on September 2 this year.
As always, there are exciting new changes for Waterloo’s transit system, and now we have a name and a vehicle to keep our interest until 2017. Most of us will be gone by then, but the improvement will be greatly welcomed by future students and those who live in Waterloo for years to come.
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