City of Ottawa ‘resets’ its fractious relationship with RTG

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The town has reached an out-of-court settlement with the Rideau Transit Group, although the monetary phrases of the deal will stay confidential.

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The Metropolis of Ottawa has reached an out-of-court settlement with the Rideau Transit Group that it says will “reset” its fractious relationship with the consortium employed to design, construct and preserve the problem-plagued LRT.

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The monetary phrases of the settlement haven’t been made public and can stay confidential, stated Renée Amilcar, the town’s common supervisor of transit providers.

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Phrases of the deal had been introduced in-camera throughout a council briefing earlier this week.

In an interview Friday, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe hailed the settlement as a big step in direction of bettering the service offered by the town’s $2.1 billion Confederation Line.

“It doesn’t simply resolve all of the disputes nevertheless it resets the connection and permits us to maneuver ahead, working collectively to resolve all the points and equipping ourselves to handle future issues,” Sutcliffe stated. “We are able to now resume and strengthen a partnership with RTG to ship the absolute best service for the individuals of Ottawa.”

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The general public inquiry into Ottawa’s LRT woes known as on the town and RTG to cease finger-pointing and work collaboratively in direction of fixing the system’s security, reliability and efficiency points.

The town stated the out-of-court settlement resolves contractual disputes with RTG that flowed from derailments in August and September 2021. Within the deal, RTG commits to “reaching a sustainable decision” to the Confederation Line’s current security and reliability points earlier than opening new LRT traces as a part of the Stage 2 extension.

“The settlement demonstrates each events’ acknowledgment of the significance of cooperation, which the fee report urged, and demonstrates each events’ ongoing dedication to the general public curiosity,” RTG and the town stated in a joint information launch.

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Sutcliffe famous the town has an ongoing, day-to-day relationship with RTG, which is accountable for the upkeep of the Confederation Line and, when it’s accomplished, of the Stage 2 extension.

“There are components of the settlement that can enhance service,” the mayor stated. “There are commitments that RTG is making and different components of the deal that can guarantee we’re discovering options, and delivering higher service, and resolving issues extra rapidly and extra successfully.”

In keeping with the LRT public inquiry report, the town’s as soon as productive relationship with RTG went off the rails in June 2016 after a big sinkhole opened on Rideau Road, swallowing a van and several other lanes of roadway. The sinkhole halted work on Rideau Station and flooded the underground practice tunnel.

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The sinkhole considerably delayed the completion of each Rideau Station and the tunnel. The town and RTG subsequently fought over who was accountable for the road’s collapse, who ought to pay for its restore, and whether or not the ensuing delays triggered contract provisions designed to compensate the town for missed efficiency targets.

The more and more dysfunctional relationship between the 2 events ended up in court docket.

In Might 2021, the town filed a $131-million lawsuit in opposition to RTG, claiming the consortium failed to satisfy contractual obligations, together with two key completion dates in 2018. The Confederation Line was handed over to the town in August 2019.

RTG then filed a countersuit in April 2022, which claimed $189.7 million in damages and requested the court docket to seek out that the town unlawfully withheld greater than $35 million for development delays that weren’t its fault. RTG argued the delays had been as a result of metropolis dragging its heels on design approval for the Alstom Citadis Spirit trains used on the Confederation Line, and different points out of its management.

These court docket instances, which centre on development points, stay lively, a Metropolis of Ottawa spokesperson confirmed Friday.

The LRT inquiry report beneficial the town and RTG rapidly resolve their excellent disputes, and restore their relationship “for the higher good of the challenge” and the individuals of Ottawa.

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