LRT milestone not really that exciting

Re: Confederation countdown, May 24

Are we supposed to be excited by the fact that in one year the Rideau Transit Group (RTG) will “hand over the keys to our brand new $2.1-billion Confederation LRT Line?”

What exactly can we do with those keys? Just start using the transit system?

No, says Steve Cripps, director of O-Train Construction.

Making it sound like it is “the keys to a new car” is a complete exaggeration. The city still has to test everything; the vehicles, power supply and distribution, tracks, switches, radios, gates, elevators, escalators and fire alarms in all 13 stations.

Haven’t these facilities been tested by the suppliers?

The “milestone” we reach a year from now should be made pretty low-key or we’ll expect those “keys” to actually mean something. Ed Papazian, Kanata