/ #confederation line #Jim Watson 

Province commits more than $1 billion to Phase 2 LRT

_ (press release) _ Ontario is committing more than $1 billion toward the City of Ottawa’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) expansion project to help grow the economy, reduce travel times and connect people to jobs.

Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the investment in Ottawa today. The funding represents the largest provincial transit investment in Ottawa’s history. New, modern light rail vehicles on tracks separated from regular traffic will offer fast, efficient service and improve travel for people across the region. The expanded LRT will also lower greenhouse gas pollution, improving air quality and fighting climate change.

The Stage 2 LRT project will add 30 kilometres of new rail and 19 new stations, extending the LRT network to the east, west and south. Ontario’s funding commitment will also help support the capital costs of two additional extensions: a spur to the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport and an extension to Trim Road in Orléans. These will add 6.5 kilometres of new rail and three stations. Construction on Stage 2 is expected to start in 2018, once the Stage 1 Confederation Line is completed. Stage 2 is expected to enter service in 2023.

Ontario’s funding for Stage 2 is part of the largest investment in public infrastructure in the province’s history – $160 billion over 12 years – for projects such as roads, bridges, transit systems, schools and hospitals. The planned investments would support 110,000 jobs on average every year across the province. In 2015, Ontario announced support for more than 325 projects that will keep people and goods moving, connect communities and improve quality of life.

Investing in priority transit infrastructure is part of the government’s economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs. The four-part plan includes investing in talent and skills, including helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education. The plan is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history and investing in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping working Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement.

Quick Facts






  * 
 Ontario has already committed up to $600 million towards the Stage 1 LRT project, called the Confederation Line — a $2.1 billion project that is jointly funded with the Government of Canada and the City of Ottawa.

  * 
 Stage 2 will extend the Ottawa LRT network to the east from Blair to Place-d’Orléans Station; to the west from Tunney’s Pasture to Bayshore Station and southwest to Baseline Station; and to the South from Greenboro Station to Bowesville in Riverside South.

  * 
 Ontario’s commitment of more than $1-billion will also support two additional extensions, a two-stop spur from the Trillium Line to Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, and a one-stop extension of the Confederation Line further east from Place-d’Orléans Station to Trim Road in Orléans.

  * 
 Construction is expected to generate nearly 24,000 person-years of employment, or nearly 1,000 full-time jobs.

I am thrilled to announce that the Province of Ontario is providing funding for Stage2 LRT. Connecting Trim, Bowesville, Bayshore, Airport.

— Jim Watson (@JimWatsonOttawa) June 3, 2016

Stage2 LRT funding largest one-time infrastructure investment by Province of Ontario. Historic moment for our City [ pic.twitter.com/ksbf4tEvNa ](https://t.co/ksbf4tEvNa) — Jim Watson (@JimWatsonOttawa) [ June 3, 2016 ](https://twitter.com/JimWatsonOttawa/status/738734943484907520)
Layout of the new LRT!
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 @JODYMITIC
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 @ottawacity
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 @Kathleen_Wynne
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 @JimWatsonOttawa
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— Innes Ward (@InnesWard) June 3, 2016

By 2023 [ #Orléans ](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Orl%C3%A9ans?src=hash) will be 1st community with LRT [ #LRT2Trim ](https://twitter.com/hashtag/LRT2Trim?src=hash) [ @JimWatsonOttawa ](https://twitter.com/JimWatsonOttawa) [ @Bob_Chiarelli ](https://twitter.com/Bob_Chiarelli) [ @mflalonde ](https://twitter.com/mflalonde) [ @StephenBlais ](https://twitter.com/StephenBlais) [ pic.twitter.com/vZqtqUI7zR ](https://t.co/vZqtqUI7zR) — Bob Monette (@BobMonette1) [ June 3, 2016 ](https://twitter.com/BobMonette1/status/738740333509550080)