Region offering Ion train tours at nine stations
WATERLOO REGION — You can take a tour of an Ion train at several stops throughout Kitchener and Waterloo next Saturday as it travels between the Fairway and Conestoga stations.
An Ion train will stop at nine stations and be open for 30 minutes at each stop for tours of the train. Residents will also be able to ask staff questions about the light rail transit network.
“We wanted to make it convenient for people to get to the trains,” said regional councillor Tom Galloway, who is also chair of the region’s planning and works committee.
“Every time we open a train up, it’s always of great interest.”
This is the fifth time the region is offering tours of one of its new trains, but the first time the train will travel between different stops to offer stationary tours at a variety of different locations, making it accessible for residents throughout the two cities to check out a new train.
Galloway said the region is focusing on safety education for everyone who will share the road once the trains are up and running. Some of that safety messaging will occur during train tours as well.
“We’re just trying to get them out there and to raise awareness,” Galloway said.
While the trains are not yet ready for the public to test ride, Galloway did have a chance to take a ride earlier this week after completing some required safety training.
“It was a really, really smooth ride,” he said.
“It was interesting to see all the new buildings going up and all the new development planned. That is one primary purpose of Ion, to protect our farmland and incent development.”
The region’s anticipated light rail transit project was expected to launch in December, but has been delayed once again until the spring.
Keolis, the region’s operations and maintenance partner for Ion, will collect non-perishable food
donations for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region during the tour.
The station tour is Saturday, Nov. 24. It will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Fairway Ion station and end at the Conestoga Ion station at 4:15 p.m.
For more information, go to the website www.grt.ca/ion.