Global transit company, Transdev Canada, will play a key advisory role during the design and construction phases of the Ontario Line light rail system to ensure operations and maintenance requirements are addressed and fulfilled, following its selection to operate and maintain the line.
Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx have offered a 30-year contract to the company to run and upkeep the line, which will be a 15.6-km (9.69-mi) long, stand-alone metro transit line connecting the Ontario Science Centre to Exhibition/Ontario Place.
This is the second significant project awarded to Transdev in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the first being the Hurontario Line, a 19-stop light rail system running north and south along Hurontario Street from Port Credit in Mississauga to the Brampton Gateway Terminal.
Like the Hurontario Line, this contract is being delivered through a public-private partnership model putting much of the financial risk on the consortium while providing cost and schedule certainty, design and construction efficiencies and opportunities for innovation.
“Because of the worldwide scope of our operations, Transdev is very familiar with public-private partnerships for building transit,” says Arthur Nicolet, CEO Transdev Canada. “This approach involves the operator at the earliest stage of the design process and ensures the sustainability of the system over the long-term. Being awarded a 30-year commitment to operate the line, we are more than keenly interested in ensuring the final product delivers on all the expectations for riders.”
Globally, Transdev operates 24 light rail projects in 10 countries and manages 16 different modes of transportation like buses, coaches, ferries or heavy rail lines. The international insights from the success of these multi-modal transportation projects will help inform Transdev’s approach to the Ontario Line in Toronto.
