Construction for the LRT is nearly complete but Waterloo Region doesn’t have a train to test out the system.
Only one Bombardier train, ordered back in August 2013, has been delivered.
And it doesn’t work.
Officials say the vehicle was sent to test the region’s storage facility and they knew it wasn’t operational.
The train may now be sent back to Bombardier says regional councilor Tom Galloway.
“They’ll have to either send it back to Kingston to bring it up to working standard or bring the staff down here."
Bombardier says all the trains should be delivered by the end of the year, but some still worry that this latest setback may mean Ion’s launch will have to be pushed back.
“We always have to be a little cautions about schedules coming from Bombardier because, of course, they are behind,” says Galloway.
Bombardier said in a statement: “Manufacturing and assembly of the vehicles in Bombardier’s Kingston [facility] is going very well, with high speed testing on our test track progressing accordingly. The question of the delivery schedule is under discussion between our team and the Region’s, and so we cannot comment further on this issue for the time being. We assure you that we will keep everyone informed as soon as we have developments.”
Officials say if they get a working train by the fall they can begin testing immediately.
