City’s request for HSR-run LRT in hands of province
Bid came ‘a little bit out of right field,’ Metrolinx spokesperson says
Hamilton’s belated request to have HSR run light rail transit is now in the hands of the province and its rapid transit agency.
Council signed off Friday on a request to have its own transit employees run and maintain the provincially funded $1-billion LRT, despite the preference of project head Metrolinx to contract out the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the system.
Metrolinx has already closed a request for qualifications process to narrow the field of prospective bidders on the project, but the list of qualified bidders has not been made public.
Metrolinx spokesperson Jamie Robinson said the agency must now consult with the province on the feasibility of the city’s request, adding it came “a little bit out of right field.”
Members of the HSR, including many Amalgamated Transit Union Local 107 members, were at City Hall to applaud the decision, with several yelling “We did it!” as they trooped out of council chambers.
Union head Eric Tuck had a fivefoot-high “thank you” card ready for council ahead of the vote. “We won’t need a Plan B card,” he said. “We appreciate the support we’ve had to keep transit public.”
Neither Robinson nor Metrolinx project head Andrew Hope could say how long it would take to get an answer from the province, or even how such a change might affect the RFP process.
Hope previously said restarting the process might add months to the project timeline.
It’s unclear what, if any costs might be associated with rejigged LRT procurement, or whether the city would be expected to share or cover such costs.
Premier Kathleen Wynne told The Spectator recently she is “not philosophically opposed” to allowing the city to run LRT. But local Liberal MPP Ted McMeekin has expressed surprise at the latein-the-game timing of the request and suggested it could add to costs.
Cities like Ottawa and Toronto are operating their own new LRTs, but Metrolinx has said it wants to contract out operations in communities with no prior experience running light rail.
Only councillors Aidan Johnson and Rob Pasuta voted against asking to take over operating and maintenance responsibilities. Missing for the vote were Mayor Fred Eisenberger and councillors Lloyd Ferguson and Doug Conley.