Delayed Edmonton LRT line resumes testing, express bus route launches in Terwillegar

As the delayed southeast leg of the Valley Line LRT is expected to resume testing in the downtown area this week, one Edmonton city councillor has a message for the company in charge of construction.

“Hurry up,” said Ward pihêsiwin Coun. Tim Cartmell.

A City of Edmonton spokesperson said a potential opening date for the line could come in the next few weeks.

“Passenger service cannot begin until the independent safety auditors complete their assessments,” said Jyllian Park, a communications advisor in the city’s integrated infrastructure services department.

“More information about a potential opening date for Valley Line Southeast will be provided as the cable replacement, testing and independent certification processes are finalized in the coming weeks.”

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi couldn’t give any more details on an opening for the line, which was scheduled to open in December 2020, but expressed his frustration at the continuous delays.

“Even though (the delays) are not costing us more, that service should have been in place two years ago,” Sohi said.

“We expect soon it will open, but I don’t have a firm date at this time.”

“We want it to be safe. We know we have to do all the checks and balances. I think everybody understands that,” said Cartmell.

He added the delays raise questions around the quality and longevity of the line.

The latest issues were announced in June, when TransEd, the private industry consortium contracted to build and operate the transit line, said it discovered signalling system cables needed to be replaced to improve long-term system reliability.

Sohi and Cartmell’s remarks were made at an opening ceremony Thursday for a different transit accomplishment: a new express Edmonton Transit Service bus route on Terwillegar Drive.

Route 31 will run on weekdays, excluding statutory holidays, and will take 35 minutes to get from Leger Transit Centre in Terwillegar to the University of Alberta, thanks in part to a dedicated bus lane along the newly expanded Terwillegar Drive, the city said.

“Investing in transit infrastructure, like this new bus lane, is an important step in transforming our transit network to meet future population growth and give people more choice in how they move around,” Sohi said in a news release.

The route will run every 12 minutes at peak times and every 20 minutes at non-peak times, the city said.

Route 31 is meant to eventually run between Ambleside, located south of the Terwillegar area on the other side of Anthony Henday Drive, and the university as a bus-rapid transit route, the news release said.