Councillors grill city administrators over Metro Line LRT safety

Edmonton city councillors grilled administrators Tuesday about the safety of the Metro Line LRT in the wake of two weekend incidents whena southbound train ended up on the same track as a northbound train.

"How many system failures have we had?" Coun. Mike Nickel asked in Tuesday's council meeting.

• Councillors want answers about Metro Line mishaps
• Edmonton Metro Line LRT riders worry about safety after latest incidents
• Investigation sought after northbound, southbound Metro Line trains end up on same track
• Repeated failures of Edmonton's Metro LRT Line signalling system raise safety questions

City manager Linda Cochranesaid she didn't have an answer to that, but administrators tried to assure councilthe line is safe.

They said thesignallingsystem didn't work properlybut that the safety system worked "perfectly."

Safety protocolspreventthe trains from getting too close, they said. Automatic brakes come on when trains are within 25 metres of each other.

City operations manager Doug Jones said a number of components are in place to make sure trains don't collide including the train operators, the control centre and a technical safety system.

On Monday, city spokesperson Katherine Sweet said another safety protocol has been added:LRTdrivers arenow expected to call the control centre to verify which track they should be on when pulling intoNAITstation.

Sweet said she's not sure how long that measure will be in place.

"When you have two trains going on the same track heading towards each other, [it] begs the question of safety," Nickel said.

"If you want to ask very simple questionslike how many safety-related incidents have we had to dateand they couldn't even [answer] that question today,I got to admitI'm frustrated."

Mayor Iveson defends LRT safety

7 years ago

Duration 0:39

Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson acknowledges problems with the new LRT but says the line is safe.

Mayor DonIvesonsaid he was convinced theLRTis safe.

"I have no hesitation, I'll go ride it with you after the meeting," he told media on Tuesday.

"Our city officials are not in the business of opening or running systems that are not safe."

At Tuesday's council meeting, Coun. Bev Esslinger said council was not told LRT drivers now have to call in.

Signal trouble since 2015

The Metro Line LRT has been plagued with signalling glitches since it came online in 2015.

On Saturday, atrain had to back up after it ended up on the same track as one that was ready to head southbound near the NAIT LRT station. No one was hurt in the incident.

While the city worked with LRT software providerThalesto figure out what went wrong with the track switcher, there wasanother software system malfunction Saturday, said Eddie Robar,the city's transit service branch manager.

That one caused a service delay of six to seven minutes.

Thalesissued a statement Monday saying the company "takes this issue very seriously" and stressed that passengers weren't at risk.

"At no time was passenger safety compromised," the statement said. "We continue to work in close partnership with the City of Edmonton in resolving this issue."

The city is withholding payment toThales until the signalling issues are solved.

"They're a long way away from getting paid," said Iveson.

He said the company's reputation is at risk if they don't come through with a solution.

"This is as embarrassing for Thales as it is for the City of Edmonton," he said, adding that the city won't be looking again to use the same signallingsystem.

Before the weekend incidents, the signalling system failed on Oct. 30whenthe crossing gate lifted as a train was about to cross the intersection of Princess Elizabeth Avenue near the main campus ofthe Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.

CBCNews has also confirmed an incidentin July.

Time to scrap it?

Councillorsare now asking whether it's time to move to another LRTsystem provider.

"Is the system salvageable?" asked Coun. Michael Walters. "Will it ever run as it's designed?"

Walters said transit users are asking that question more and more.

Cochrane said she didn't have anansweryetbutoptions will beincludedin a written report due at the next council meeting Dec. 5.

"At what point do you say, 'Enough's enough,' and you move to another provider?" Esslingerasked. "Or how to do you get it on track?"

Iveson said switching providers could cost a lot more money but council will discuss the options at the next council meeting and seek legal advice onpossible options.

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