Ion rapid transit

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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 [1]
Number of stations	19 (6 of the 19 stations serve one direction only)[2]
Daily ridership	25,000 (as of November 2020[update])[3]
Operation
Began operation	June 21, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-06-21)
Operator(s)	Keolis, GrandLinq, Grand River Transit
Number of vehicles	15 Flexity Freedom, 9 New Flyer Xcelsior[4]
Technical
System length	19 km (12 mi)[5]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC overhead
System map Show static map Legend King Street Conestoga Highway 85 (Conestoga Parkway) Northfield Drive Waterloo Spur Northfield Maintenance facility Research and Technology University of Waterloo Laurier–Waterloo Park Laurel Creek Waterloo Spur King Street Caroline Street Waterloo Public Square Willis Way King Street Allen Waterloo Kitchener border Grand River Hospital Central Station Charles Street Kitchener City Hall Victoria Park Frederick Queen Duke Street/Frederick Street Kitchener Market Borden Borden Avenue Ottawa Street Ottawa Street Mill CN Rail Highway 7 / Highway 8 (Conestoga Parkway) CN Rail Block Line Fairway Ion aBRT to Cambridge This diagram: view talk edit Show diagram map

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]