Capital City Beat

City Beat

Fast tracking the light rail pilot project

Bombardier diesel vehicle is region's top choice

by John Crupi

A sleek, state of the art commuter train built by Canada's Bombardier is Ottawa-Carleton's top choice for its new light rail pilot project.

The Bombardier diesel rail vehicle is named the "Talent" and the model is currently used in public transit programs in Germany and Norway. With the region setting August, 2000 as a start date for the light rail project, it left little flexibility when the bidding went out for Ottawa-Carleton's train order. The timing of the order is seen as a lucky break

"The Norwegian state railway is already ordering similar type of equipment so we were able to piggy back off that order. We were able to go off the shelf -- which is positive because we're not going to take the major engineering design costs hit and it improves the delivery date," explained Greg Percy, who is overseeing this project for Canadian Pacific Railway.

The Bombardier Talent will roll down an eight kilometre corridor of CP Rail track that extends from Bayview, in Lebreton Flats, to South Keys, near the Greenboro Transitway stop. For this project, three rail cars are needed. The Talent can carry 200 passengers -- when it is full of seated and standing patrons in each car. The project calls for the construction of six stations: Bayview, Gladstone, Carling, Carleton University, Confederation Heights and a final stop at South Keys. The stop at Carleton University is seen as one of the main attractions of this route.

"Experience with serving university campuses shows they're great traffic generators and the other places this line serves will complement that. The connection with a transit way at each end of the train route is a big plus also," said Henry Gow, with the Transport 2000 lobby group.

Gow points to Edmonton's light rail project as an example where passenger traffic increased by 20,000 people a day when the university station stop was added to the train route in that city.

The Bombardier Talent beat out three other competitors: the Siemens' RegioSprinter, Adtranz' GTW and the proposal by Montreal based GEC-Alsthom to rebuild Budd cars. Most of these vehicles are designed to meet European safety standards which means the Bombardier Talent will have to modified for use in Ottawa-Carleton. All that's left for Bombardier to win the contract outright is an agreement on price.

The light rail project has its critics. Regional Councillor Gord Hunter (Knoxdale-Merivale) says he doesn't believe the ridership projections of up to 7,000 riders per day. Another consideration is the expense of building new train station, especially if major work like rock cutting will have to be done.

Regional Chairman Bob Chiarelli says the light rail project is long overdue because roads are congested and the public transit demand is no longer confined to just moving people to the downtown core.

"This project is on the fast track. It is one of our key election promises and it's supported by a majority of residents in this region," said Chiarelli.

It's important to note the light rail project is intended to complement the bus system, not replace it. That's why service to Kanata and Barrhaven is also being considered.

"We want to make this successful so that the right business case is there to extend light rail to the airport, to go over to Hull, to go right downtown if we can do it. And then jump to an east-west link because of the projected growth in those areas. This is just the beginning," said Greg Percy, with Canadian Pacific Railway.

A proposal for service to Barrhaven is also being pursued by a private consortium which includes CN Rail. That project is not part of the regional government's light rail agenda. At least not yet.

The Bombardier Talent trains for Ottawa-Carleton will be delivered in June, 2000. Gow, for his part, predicts commuters will be impressed.

"It's a hot little number. It's a medium floor vehicle -- which means problems for loading passengers in wheelchairs. That's the only drawback as far as I know," said Gow.

For anyone wanting more information on the light rail project, the region is holding two more public sessions Wednesday, Jan. 13 at the Jim Durrell Recreational Centre and next Thursday night at the Tom Brown Arena.

--John Crupi

 

The new spirit of giving

What's that? 'Tis the night before Christmas and you're still five gifts short? But you don't want to be stuck in the mall with everyone else whose put off their shopping till the last minute, do you? So take a look around your house and I'm sure you'll be surprised at the inexpensive gift ideas just staring you in the face.

1. Your old socks

Unless your friends and relatives live on Sparks Street and sing songs to garbage cans, chances are they wear socks. But who likes to go sock shopping? I guarantee you the looks of joy on their faces as you hand them a pair of argyles will be well worth the effort to peel them off your feet. And you know they're good socks, you've worn them yourself!

2. Your Christmas tree

Is there anything that says "Christmas Cheer" more than a lovely green Christmas tree? I think not. And you can be sure anyone who actually bothers to attend a Christmas party is looking for some cheer. So do them a good turn, and hand them your tree. The live ones have a lovely pine scent that freshens even the dingiest apartment; the plastic ones can be reused over and over again.

3. Whatever they gave you

Come on. If they didn't like it, they wouldn't have bought it for you, right? And what's more charitable than giving up your Christmas present to somebody else? Not only will you be thanked for your kindness, but you'll be admired for your selflessness.

4. A box of Kleenexes

Ahhh, Kleenex. Tissue of the gods. Is there a more multi-purpose paper product than Kleenex? Whether it's drying your eyes after the annual Christmas depression, or cleaning up that unfortunate spill before a special prosecutor can get hold of it, Kleenex does it all.

5. Snow

Snow is nature's Transformer. In the cold, it's a powdery white thing. Heat it a little and it becomes crisp, refreshing water. Heat it more and it becomes steam, but cool it again and it becomes ice! Hours of fun for children of all ages, and it's sitting right outside. Just open a window and grab a handful. Oh, it also makes a lovely projectile -- will the wonders of snow never cease?

And what can you do for wrapping paper? After all, if you don't go out and buy the present, then giving it in the bag it came in is hardly an option. Well, the paper you're reading is free, you know.

David Kolbusz will return in two weeks.

--Jamie Rosen

 

Ottawa Vox

 

'tis always the season to educate

Dear Mike:

'Tis the season for peace and good will to all -- a time for reflection and a time to plan ahead to the new year. With that in mind, here are a few requests to make life in Ontario better next year.

We just want to reaffirm our support for the hard work you've been doing to return us to the lifestyle of yesteryear, which as far as we can tell existed before the social revolution which followed the Second World War. We encourage you to continue on the path of the righteous, a rugged trail where your nose and reputation might get muddied but where your quest for change will be well rewarded in the end.

Please continue the non-stop barrage of partisan propaganda messages heralding you as the saviour of education and healthcare. Even if the opposition parties aren't complaining about the legality of using public money to fund Progressive Conservative Party messages don't let this stop you from giving us a good holiday helping of Queen's Park cheer. You might want to consider giving tax breaks to cities and towns that erect large statues in your likeness to adorn their parks and public buildings.

Please continue to institute the workfare system. What unemployed Ontario resident wouldn't appreciate a Christmas present from the Ontario government, in the form of a low-skill job which offers no opportunity for training or advancement. Think of how great conversations on the golf courses will be when you tell your business buddies about the possibility of replacing those expensive minimum wage workers with a crew of happy and free workfare labourers paid for by the taxpayers of Ontario. Imagine the excitement you will be giving the listless and the wayward when they open up their mail to discover you are giving them the opportunity to get up off the couch, but out their cigarettes, give up the drink and apply themselves to furthering the separation between themselves and the financial elite of the province. You will be spreading joy all around, just like the jolly fat man from slightly further north than your home in North Bay.

Please continue to decry the evils of organized labour and demand an end to the interference of union activists in the province. These are the people who are holding up your master plan of opening Ontario up for business. Perhaps this year you could eliminate the complaints of the union activists by demonstrating to them how successful a business can be once it is freed from environmental, safety concerns and, especially, the crippling yoke of paying employees a living wage. Perhaps you could augment your point of view by using examples of the improved fortunes Ontario businesses have enjoyed once they moved their operations to Mexico and Indonesia -- where the influence of the labour movement is rather muted.

Please continue to reduce taxes on the citizens of your fiefdom. Make sure that those who want to use the excesses of socialism -- like hospitals, libraries and parks -- pay for the privilege with user fees.

Please continue to knock those overpaid and underworked teachers down a peg. We can all remember how those teachers neglected to spend extra hours helping us with our schoolwork and how they never helped out with our extra-curricular activities. And thanks for making it clear to them that they have to do more with larger classrooms and students that we feed a daily dose of television, video games and junk food to. And Mike, keep up the good work of closing schools and instituting a business oriented curriculum like our well-educated neighbours to the south.

Thanks for your Christmas gift to all of us when you handed back a little bit of the cash you took from the healthcare system. It was touching to see how concerned you were when the young couple in Toronto were having a premature baby and had to drive all the way to Kingston to get admitted to a hospital. Even if hospitals are closing right now and the waiting list to get medical attention is increasing -- we can rest easy knowing that you are at the helm and steering us into safer southern waters. It's a realm where the access to healthcare is limited but, for those who can afford, it the care is the best in the world.

Finally, we would like to remind you about the perils of reading Dickens' Christmas Carol, the parallels were just too frightening, with Mulroney being the ghost of Christmas past. We wouldn't want you turning into Scrooge; you know what happened to him on Christmas day.

All the best of the season, Happy Holidays, good luck in '99.

PS: By the way, we haven't got our PC Party Christmas card or contribution forms yet. It must be those damned unionized workers in the post office.

--Matthew Crosier

 

 

 

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