The manufacturing of the first Ion light rail vehicle may have taken far longer than anyone expected, but its delivery was a little bit quicker.

The vehicle arrived in Waterloo Region on Wednesday, following an eight-day journey from the Bombardier plant in Thunder Bay.

Late Wednesday afternoon, it was spotted at a rail yard in Cambridge. From there, it was expected to make its way to Waterloo’s north end for testing.

Regional officials had expected the journey from Thunder Bay to take 10 to 12 days.

They had also expected the first vehicle to make that journey much sooner, as the region’s contract with Bombardier called for it to be delivered by August 2016.

That deadline was pushed back several times. The region is able to fine Bombardier $21,000 per vehicle for every day its vehicles are delayed, up to a maximum of $3.3 million.

Bombardier is manufacturing 14 vehicles for the Ion system, 12 of which will be in service at any one time.

Delays in the manufacturing process have pushed the estimated start date for the service from late 2017 to early 2018.

A special event to unveil the first vehicle to the public is expected to take place in April.

With reporting by Rosie Del Campo