Rideau Transit Group Partnership (RTG) has signed a contract with the City of Ottawa for the expansion of a maintenance and storage facility located at Belfast Road for Stage 2 of the Confederation Line.

The RTG is a consortium composed of SNC-Lavalin, ACS Infrastructure Canada Inc. and EllisDon. The consortium is currently delivering Stage 1 of the Confederation Line in Ottawa.

Worth approximately CAD106 million (US$85 million), including the value of the Early Work Package Variation Directives, which allowed preliminary work to start last April, this variation of the Original Project Agreement is part of the fixed price Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) ratified by RTG with the City of Ottawa on March 24^th, 2017 for a portion of Stage 2 of the Confederation Line for CAD492 million.

RTG responsibilities as part of this new contract include:  

• The design, construction and financing of the Belfast Expansion Project, to house and maintain the additional Stage 2 fleet, which will bring to 72 the number of light rail vehicles for the Confederation Line.
• The scope of work include the following :
  • Extend the storage shed to house part of the new vehicles fleet
  • Build three new maintenance bays to provide additional capacity
  • Extend the administration building to accommodate a larger control room
  • Replace the existing earth berm by a noise wall to allow sufficient space for the buildings
  • Rearrange the train yard, utilities, tracks and systems according to the new layout
  • Ensure these works are executed without impacting the planned revenue service date

The remaining scope of work elements to be finalized under the Stage 2 project includes the maintenance and rehabilitation of the additional vehicles, facilities and the East-West expanded alignment, throughout their lifecycle, and interface and design management services to the City for maintainability.

The Confederation Line is a sustainable and affordable rapid transit solution that will get passengers to their destination more quickly, and significantly relieve pressure on Ottawa's existing public transit system, including its bus infrastructure. The Stage 2 work began in May 2017 with the provision of procurement support services and preparatory works at Belfast Yard Maintenance and Storage Facility. That expansion is slated for completion at the end of 2018.