Ion rapid transit information

Ion
Ion
	Bombardier Flexity Freedom unit #506 approaches Fairway Station
Overview
Owner	Region of Waterloo
Locale	Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario
Transit type	Light rail; Bus rapid transit
Number of lines	1 LRT; 1 BRT
Line number	301 ION Light Rail; 302 ION Bus
Number of stations	19 (6 of the 19 stations serve one direction only)
Daily ridership	25,000 (as of November 2020)
Operation
Began operation	June 21, 2019; 5 years ago
Operator(s)	Keolis, GrandLinq, Grand River Transit
Number of vehicles	15 Flexity Freedom, 9 New Flyer Xcelsior
Technical
System length	19 km (12 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC overhead
System map
	Legend
	Waterloo
	Kitchener
	Highway 7 / Highway 8
	(Conestoga Parkway)
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

Ion, stylized as ION, is an integrated public transportation network in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.^[6] It is operated by Keolis and is part of the Grand River Transit (GRT) system, partially replacing GRT's Route 200 iXpress bus service. The section of the bus route serving Cambridge has been renamed "Ion Bus", and renumbered as 302. The first phase commenced operations on June 21, 2019, between the north end of Waterloo and the south end of Kitchener.^[7] A future extension of light rail to the downtown Galt area of Cambridge (Phase 2) is planned but construction may not begin on that line until 2028.^[8] In 2023, Ion LRT had an annual ridership of 4.3 million,^[9] and a daily ridership of 11,780.

In 2009, an Environmental Assessment (EA) began to create a proposal of electrically powered light rail transit through Kitchener and Waterloo, and adapted bus rapid transit from Kitchener to Cambridge. On June 24, 2009, Regional Council voted to approve the project, subject to funding from higher levels of government, which was in turn approved by council on June 15, 2011. This was followed by a community building strategy to guide development, identify key destinations, and strengthen regional connections.^[10] The strategy, led by Urban Strategies Inc. of Toronto, consulted hundreds of individuals and stakeholders from Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo.^[11]

Construction began in August 2014 and service was expected to begin in late 2017;^[12] however, because of delays in the manufacture and delivery of rolling stock, the introduction of the light rail service was significantly delayed.^[13]^[14]^[15] The total cost of the system was estimated at $818 million, but in December 2017, the overruns were estimated to total approximately $50 million.^[16] The Province was expected to provide $25 million of that amount.^[17]

^ "Schedules". August 9, 2021.
^ "Ion". official site. 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
^ "Public transit numbers on the rise since Ion launch in June". Keolis. November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 21, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "What is Ion?". official site. 2015. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
^ "Ion approved as name for Waterloo Region LRT". Waterloo Region Record. April 30, 2013. Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
^ "Ion launch date set for June 21". Waterloo Region Record. May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
^ Cite error: The named reference Cbc2022-08-21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Performance Measure. Grand River Transit".
^ http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/opendatadownloads/The_Corridor_Today-chapter_1.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ "Central Transit Corridor Community Building Strategy » Project Team". Archived from the original on June 10, 2012.
^ "Waterloo Region's Rapid Transit System to Shape Growth, Development". Metro Magazine. October 13, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
^ "LRT rollout delayed, Bombardier blamed". Waterloo Region Record. May 24, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
^ Sharkey, Jackie (February 2017). "Stage 2 ION: Light Rail Transit (LRT)" (PDF). Region of Waterloo. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
^ Pender, Terry (April 10, 2017). "First of the Ion trains wows thousands". Waterloo Region Record. Kitchener. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
^ "Ion construction costs run $50 million over budget". December 11, 2017.
^ "Residents keep up pressure to alter Stage 2 LRT route". December 15, 2017.

[1] "Schedules". August 9, 2021.

[RideIon-2] "Ion". official site. 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2015.

[Ion_Ridership-3] "Public transit numbers on the rise since Ion launch in June". Keolis. November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.

[4] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 21, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[WhatIsIon-5] "What is Ion?". official site. 2015. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2015.

[6] "Ion approved as name for Waterloo Region LRT". Waterloo Region Record. April 30, 2013. Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2013.

[June_2019-7] "Ion launch date set for June 21". Waterloo Region Record. May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.

[Cbc2022-08-21-8] Cite error: The named reference Cbc2022-08-21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[9] "Performance Measure. Grand River Transit".

[10] ttp://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/opendatadownloads/The_Corridor_Today-chapter_1.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[11] "Central Transit Corridor Community Building Strategy » Project Team". Archived from the original on June 10, 2012.

[12] "Waterloo Region's Rapid Transit System to Shape Growth, Development". Metro Magazine. October 13, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.

[13] "LRT rollout delayed, Bombardier blamed". Waterloo Region Record. May 24, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.

[14] Sharkey, Jackie (February 2017). "Stage 2 ION: Light Rail Transit (LRT)" (PDF). Region of Waterloo. Retrieved March 24, 2017.

[PenderApril-15] Pender, Terry (April 10, 2017). "First of the Ion trains wows thousands". Waterloo Region Record. Kitchener. Retrieved April 10, 2017.

[16] "Ion construction costs run $50 million over budget". December 11, 2017.

[17] "Residents keep up pressure to alter Stage 2 LRT route". December 15, 2017.

Ion rapid transit information

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