To love light rail in this region is to improve it

For decades, light rail transit was just a dream in Waterloo Region.

But in 2019, the dream came true.

Even before the first, sleek Ion trains began their regular runs last June, the LRT project had spurred investments worth billions of dollars in new development along the line and changed Kitchener and Waterloo for the better.

Since that regular service began, hundreds of thousands of riders have climbed aboard a light rail train to experience a fast, safe, comfortable journey through these cities.

To call the megaproject a huge success is an understatement.

But that’s also not the full story. Ever since Ion trains began revolutionizing local public transit, The Record has reported on another side of light rail. That’s the one where pesky, unwanted bugs keep popping up in the system.

Technical problems with the Bombardier trains have meant they didn’t run as frequently as the region originally planned.

Glitches in on-board passenger information systems have left passengers guessing where they were on the LRT route.

In addition, sticking gates sometimes hold up traffic at LRT crossings — even when there isn’t a train in sight.

Some readers might wonder why the Record writes stories about these issues.

Well, imagine you’ve just bought an expensive, new car that you’re proud to drive. But when a door sticks, you run to the dealer to get it fixed ASAP.

You do this not because you dislike the car — you love it, in fact — but because you want it to do what it’s supposed to do. And you’re protecting your investment.

For Waterloo Region taxpayers, their LRT is the same kind of costly new purchase.

They paid $253 million for it. It was built in their interest. And it is in their interest that every significant problem in the system is accurately reported so it can be dealt with.

Only when that happens can the public be confident all the glitches will be fixed, that crossing gates will work properly and trains will run as often as promised. It’s a matter of accountability and transparency. This newspaper enthusiastically endorsed light rail and called for it to be built even before regional councillors voted to approve the project. The Record believed in light rail then. That belief is undiminished today.

We’re convinced that the better the LRT system works, the more people will use it and the more the public will embrace it.

We’re aware that in Hamilton, light rail never won the strong backing it got here and eventually the project was cancelled. We’ve read how horrible the service experience on Ottawa’s new light rail line has been — so horrible that the “O-Train” has been dubbed the “Woe-Train.”

And we don’t want public disillusionment with or opposition to light rail to become common here. We want the second phase of light rail to proceed and extend the line through Cambridge as planned.

The way to ensure public support for that extension is to keep the public satisfied with what we have today.

This is why the Record will keep looking out for the best interests of this community and provide the scrutiny the region’s light rail system deserves to make it the best it can be.

We want the second phase of light rail to proceed and extend the line through Cambridge as planned