More LRT shutdowns for Metro Line signal testing: spokesperson

City politicians continued to debate in private the future of Edmonton’s troubled Metro LRT Line Tuesday, spending more than one hour behind closed doors before postponing the discussion until Wednesday morning.

Several councillors have said they are pushing for a public release of information.

But after coming out of the closed-door session Tuesday, Coun. Andrew Knack said he isn’t sure what they’ll accomplish. “Honestly, I don’t know.” He’s asking for the public to at least be told whether Thales Canada’s proposed new schedule for completion has been accepted and when is their next deadline.

On May 1, council issued a notice of default and gave signalling contractor

Thales Canada one last chance to get the line working properly before they end the contract.

But city officials haven’t said what the new schedule is for that work.

The company shut down the LRT to allow for system-wide testing Sunday, but haven’t said how that went.

In a brief statement Tuesday, city spokeswoman Holly Budd said they are continuing to work with Thales on the testing schedule and timelines. She said residents should expect to see more signal tests like Sunday’s in the coming months.

Mayor Don Iveson said council’s focus has been on ensuring there is a viable alternative to Thales’ hightech signalling system.

“One way or another, there will be service continuity. That’s what we’re working on,” he said after coming out of the closed-door discussions. “As for the contract, we’re not going to negotiate it in public.”

The Metro line between downtown and NAIT is now running at full speed.

The final hurdle is to restore full frequency for northeast passengers riding the original Capital Line.

To do that, Thales Canada has to get its radio-frequency based signals to work in the downtown tunnel, allowing Metro Line trains to weave in between Capital Line trains.

It’s the last hurdle in a challenging project that involved retrofitting 40-year-old train cars and adapting heavy subway technology for an at-grade light rail system.