*UPDATE: On May 2, Global News asked the city about this timeline for the Metro Line being up to full speed by May. The city said it would be providing a public update about the LRT line at the May 24 council meeting.
EDMONTON – The Metro Line LRT could be running at full speed by May once a safety audit into signalling contractor Thales is complete.
However, that all depends on whether the audit reveals any further issues with the line, the City of Edmonton’s Transportation Committee was told Wednesday.
“They’re saying mid-Q2 which would put it somewhere into May potentially, so people seem to be working hard to try to address the issues on all sides,” Mayor Don Iveson said.
The city’s infrastructure general manager Adam Laughlin said they’re being cautious around the May timeline because there is still much work to do.
“It doesn’t happen automatically,” Laughlin said, adding that if the city gets a positive audit it will still take some time to get things up and running to full speed.
“I think summer is probably a good way to describe it. This is a really, really complex system.”
There is also still much work to do to get the entire line up to full operation, Iveson said.
“In terms of restoring the Capital Line to full frequency and having the trains weave together with shorter time in between… That may take a little while longer. I have no timeline for that at this point,” Iveson said.
“We’ll wait for firm word once all of the issues have been resolved.”
Right now, the Metro Line runs at 25 kilometres per hour. By summer, though, that speed could be doubled, to 50km/h.
READ MORE: Edmonton councillor wants to know how much Metro Line delays are costing the city
Work to get the line running at capacity is ongoing, the city’s Transportation Committee was told Wednesday. New software is being installed to improve control centre efficiency, and new equipment is being installed in older trains.
Testing to address issues that lead to unnecessary system failures is also ongoing.
There were only two signalling incidents in February, which amounted to 10-minute delays. In comparison, there were 11 service delays on the line in November.
READ MORE: Metro LRT Line experienced 11 service delays in November
After nearly two years of delays, the Metro Line opened for service in September 2015. However, the line has never been fully operational.
Due to ongoing troubles with the signalling system, trains run every 15 minutes between the Churchill and NAIT stations.
City staff estimate about 10,000 people ride the line each day, with peak periods between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.
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