The City of Ottawa has announced its preferred proponents to deliver the second stage of the light rail transit (LRT) system in the city, located in Ontario province, south-east Canada.

Stage 2 is made up of two projects extending the existing Confederation and Trillium Lines a total 44 km to 24 new LRT stations. It will extend the Trillium Line south to Riverside South with a link to the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, and it will extend the Confederation Line, scheduled to open this spring, farther east to Trim Road and west to both Moodie Drive and Algonquin College.

The total cost of the projects is estimated at CAD4.657 billion (US$3.529 billion).

East-West Connectors has been recommended as the private sector partner to design, build and finance the Stage 2 Confederation Line Extension, which adds 12.5km of new rail and five new stations in the east, extending the line from Blair Station to Trim Station, and 15 km of new rail and 11 new stations in the west, extending the line from Tunney’s Pasture Station to Moodie and Baseline station.

TransitNEXT has been recommended as the preferred proponent to design, build, finance and maintain the Stage 2 Trillium Line Extension, which adds 16 km of new rail and eight new stations extending the line farther south from Greenboro Station to Limebank Station, with a link to the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport. The preferred proponent will also be responsible for upgrading the existing stations as well as maintenance for the existing infrastructure and rolling stock.

East West Connectors is a joint venture of Kiewit Corporation and VINCI. TransitNext is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin.

The preferred proponents' submissions indicate staggered construction completion dates with the Trillium Line South Extension completed in 2022, with the Confederation Line east and west extensions opening in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Upon completion of Stage 2, Ottawa's LRT system will have capacity to transport up to 24,000 passengers each way during peak periods. Construction is projected to generate economic output of approximately CAD5.6 billion (US$4.24 billion). The fully grade-separated system will span nearly 64 kilometres to include 41 stations, 85 vehicles and three maintenance and storage facilities.