As the Stage 3 plan is neither complete nor funded, there isn’t a lot of definitive detail.
In Stage 3 Ottawa may extend commuter rail west to Kanata and south to Barrhaven, both from the west side of Line 1 (the red line, also called the Confederation Line).
It may also extend rail to Quebec over the existing but currently unused Prince of Wales Bridge, although there is also a Gatineau proposal to create a west-end rail system in Quebec that would run across the Prince of Wales Bridge that is proposed to run across the Portage Bridge.
UPDATE 2019-07-12: Here is a high-resolution Stage 3 map
from slide 109 of the Stage 2 Light Rail Transit Project: Technical Briefing – February 22, 2019 (PDF) – Stage 3 extensions to Kanata and Barrhaven in purple
Based on Stage 2 completing in 2025, we would expect Stage 3 to be completed in the 2030-2031 timeframe, assuming they can secure Stage 3 funding.
See below for details of
Kanata
and
Barrhaven
Stage 3 extensions.
Note that the extension across the Prince of Wales Bridge may be complicated by STO’s proposed rail plan that would run instead on the Portage Bridge.
END UPDATE
To some extent you can get a sense of the earlier Stage 3 vision from the transportation network in the 2013 Transportation Master Plan. (The Transportation Master Plan normally would have been updated in 2018, but the city wants to complete Stage 1 of the rail system first.)
This map was a vision for the future (roughly 2028-2031 timeframe). The actual network will depend on many different factors including funding and route optimisation. Red is rail (Light Rail Transit), blue is bus (Bus Rapid Transit).
Above from [2013] Transportation Master Plan, page 123 in the full PDF document or separate map download Map 3 Rapid Transit and Transit Priority Network – Ultimate Network (PDF).
Stage 3 is still at least 5 years (2023) from being finalised and started, since Stage 2 has to complete first. Completion of Stage 3 would be something like 2028 at the earliest. (See updates below.)
UPDATE 2018-02-15: I would characterize the surface rail (tram) line running along Carling depicted in the map above as highly speculative. If implemented as a tram, sharing the roadway with cars, it would have the same reliability problems other North American streetcars have. (This type of tram with shared road space is common outside North America, and works well there due to a variety of factors including different road designs and slower vehicle speeds.) END UPDATE
UPDATE 2018-02-23: There has been a detailed announcement about Stage 2, including a new prospective map for Stage 3 and a new timeline.
Mayor Jim Watson tweeted
We are setting the stage for future
#OttLRT expansion of 12km to Kanata-Stittsville [from Moodie Station]and Barrhaven. Additionally, the Baseline Station is protected for a future 10km extension to Barrhaven, and Bayview Station is protected for a 1.5km interprovincial rail link to Gatineau [over the Prince of Wales Bridge].
[Bracketed comments] and strikeout mine.
He tweeted a map with Stage 3 rail extensions in blue, but this is usually used for Bus Rapid Transit, so I have changed the extension colour to purple. The map is low-resolution to start with, but I increased the size a bit anyway. UPDATE 2018-02-24: The map is from slide 109 of the Stage 2 Light Rail Transit Project: Technical Briefing – February 22, 2019 (PDF) END 2018-02-24 UPDATE
[a low-resolution map was here, see top of post for high-resolution version]
Stage 3 is now at least six years (2025) away from being finalised and started, based on the new timeline for Stage 2. This would mean completion of Stage 3 in the 2030-2031 timeframe.
END 2018-02-23 UPDATE
Kanata (Line 1 West)
Ottawa’s east-west commuter rail Confederation Line (Line 1) is completely grade-separated, which means that it never intersects with car traffic. This is absolutely the correct design for a high-reliability commuter rail network. When extending the network into car-designed Kanata, however, it has the unusual result of a recommendation that part of the line be elevated. Any time you put rail under the ground or elevated above ground level it’s more expensive, but I guess there are a lot of highways for the Kanata extension to cross.
The website is ottawa.ca/kanataLRT
See below for the Kanata map.
Documents are available from the May 9, 2018 City Council:
- Report (PDF)
- Corridor Options (PDF)
- Station functional designs (PDF)
There are also draft documents from August 2018 available from the kanataLRT webpage itself, but rather unusually they’re in DropBox, so caveat downloader:
- Kanata Light Rail Transit Planning and Environmental Assessment Study – TRANSIT PROJECT ASSESSMENT REPORT DRAFT (PDF)
- Kanata LRT – TRANSIT PROJECT ASSESSMENT REPORT DRAFT – Appendix A (PDF)
- Kanata LRT – TRANSIT PROJECT ASSESSMENT REPORT DRAFT – Appendix B (PDF)
UPDATE 2018-11-25: The final Environmental Project Report (EPR) is available, dated November 21, 2018 and is also stored in Dropbox:
- KLRT-EPR_FINAL_Rev2.pdf
- KLRT_Appendix A.pdf
- KLRT_Appendix B1.pdf
- KLRT_Appendix B2.pdf
- KLRT_Appendix B3.pdf
END UPDATE
Kanata LRT Stage 3 Map
In the map below, the proposed corridor and station locations are shown, with elevated portions of the line in green, at-grade in blue, and underground in yellow.
Map from section 8-3, page 168 of the August 2018 Report Draft from DropBox.
Stations heading west and then south:
- Moodie Station (planned for Stage 2)
- March Station
- Kanata Town Centre Station
- Terry Fox Station
- Didsbury Station
- Campeau Station (line turns south after this station)
- Palladium [stadium] Station
- Maple Grove Station
- Hazeldean Station
A clearer map, but without indication of the sections above and below ground
from Kanata Light Rail Transit Planning and Environmental Assessment Study – Notice of Completion of Transit Project Assessment Process
In the map above “LMSF” means Light Maintenance and Storage Facility.
The older diagram below from the earlier May 2018 report to City Council – Corridor Options (PDF) also shows the stations.
Barrhaven (Line 1 South)
Barrhaven is new addition to the LRT evaluations, although a rail line to Barrhaven was always envisioned as part of the Ultimate Network. The line would connect south from west Line 1 Stage 2 Baseline Station.
The website is ottawa.ca/barrhavenLRT
UPDATE 2019-10-14: There will be an open house on October 30, 2019 at 6pm at the Nepean Sportsplex – Barrhaven Light Rail Transit (Baseline Station to Barrhaven Town Centre) and Rail Grade-Separations Planning and Environmental Assessment Study. END UPDATE
There is a document from Transportation Committee on October 3, 2018 (also see meeting Agenda):
- A – Barrhaven Light Rail Transit (Baseline Station to Barrhaven Town Centre) – Planning and Environmental Assessment Study – Statement of Work (PDF) – September 25, 2018
Barrhaven LRT Stage 3 Maps
Above from page 5 of the Statement of Work document. Note that this is a study corridor, it’s not a proposed or final alignment.
Newer map highlighting study area:
Above from https://ottawa.ca/barrhavenLRT
In the above map BRT (the blue line) means Bus Rapid Transit.
There was to have been an open house in June 2019 on Barrhaven Light Rail Transit (Baseline Station to Barrhaven Town Centre) and Rail Grade-Separations Planning and Environmental Assessment Study as part of the Transit Project Assessment Process (TPAP). The open house has been postponed.
Prince of Wales Bridge
You can see in the maps at the top of this blog post that there is a plan for OC Transpo’s commuter rail service to cross the Prince of Wales Bridge, but I don’t know any details. I don’t even know whether they would use Line 1 or just extend Line 2 northwards. I’m happy to add details if they are provided.
Addendum
These are very early days, so rely on the City of Ottawa for official word on the specific rail lines and stations for Stage 3 LRT.