No deadline extension for Thales on Metro Line LRT, Iveson says

City council will absolutely not extend the deadline if Thales Canada fails to have the Metro Line LRT running properly by the end of Monday, Mayor Don Iveson warned.

“Council set a firm deadline,” Iveson said, promising more information on the consequences council threatened if Thales does not have the line running properly April 30.

“Today is the deadline and the day after the deadline, once we have judged what the performance is today, we’ll have more to say. Stay tuned,” he said, speaking to reporters outside a council committee meeting. “Today is still technically part of the performance period.”

Council set April 30 as the deadline after a public debate last December. It was Thales’ best estimate then for when it would have the line running properly.

The Metro Line trains to and from NAIT are running at full speed, but because they cannot weave between the existing trains on the original Capital Line yet, Edmonton’s northeast is still suffering from lower train frequency. Under the current operating arrangement, every third train on that main line is diverted to NAIT rather than going to Clareview.

The new high-tech signals Thales is installing on the line and in the tunnel should allow both Metro Line and Capital Line trains to operate at full frequency at the same time in the tunnel with only 21/2 minutes between them during peak hours.

Thales officials have been unavailable for comment all month.

Thales and city officials were testing the line again on the weekend. The other sign of progress is the old-style trains now running on the new line. Part of Thales’ contract was to upgrade all of Edmonton’s trains with new technology.