Councillor wants investigation after northbound, southbound Metro Line trains end up on same track

An Edmonton city councillor wants an investigationto determinewhether the beleagueredMetro LineLRT poses arisk to public safety after a pair of incidents near theNAITStation on Saturday, including one that saw a northbound train on the same track as one that was preparing to head south.

"If it's safe, then why are we having all these problems?" Coun. Mike Nickel said Sunday.

"Are we at this point where this line is so dysfunctional, do we have to shut it down?"

Northbound, southbound trains on same track

EddieRobar, the city's transit service branch manager, confirmed that just before 6:30 a.m. Saturday,a train departedKingswaystation, northbound forNAITstation, and was onthe same track as a train that wasready to go southbound.

"Any time we give a line assignmentwhere a train is routed on to a track that's occupied, that shouldn't happen in the system itself,"Robarsaid. "Having to ... back a train into a station is not something that's ideal."

While the city worked with the software provider,Thales, to figure out what went wrong with the track switcher, it caused another softwaresystem malfunction,Robarsaid, noting there was a service delay of six to seven minutes.

An investigation is underway, Robar added.

The incidentson the weekend are the third and fourth mishapsthis year to result from software system failures. On Oct. 30, the crossing arm lifted prematurely at a busy intersection near NAIT. CBCNews has also confirmedan issue in July.

"If you don't call the Metro Line a failure at this point, I don't know what you would call it," Nickel said.

• Repeated failures of Edmonton's Metro LRT Line signalling system raise safety questions
• City leaning on LRT drivers to catch software glitches

Nickel said he will make aninquiry at the city council meeting Tuesday calling for an investigation, andwill also ask the city manager and city auditor to get involved.

"Obviously, I have some very grave safety concerns now surrounding the entire Metro Line," Nickelsaid.

Ongoing problems

The city is withholdinga $17-million final payment toThalesuntil the company can resolvethe software issues.

"If we can't get to a resolution at some point, there's always different alternatives we can take," Robar said. "To say that we'd do that right now, I'm not sure that's the case."

The $700-millionMetro Line LRTopened in September 2015,more than a year behind schedule. It was supposed to open in spring 2014 but there were problems integrating the new and old signaling systems.

• Metro LRT signalling system still not safe to run full speed
• Metro LRT gets green light to run full speed through intersections

Robar said neither of thetwo incidents that occurred on Saturday posed a risk to public safety. He noted that when a train comes too close to another train or a gate, the system puts on the brakes.

"In both cases, none of that was breached," Robar said.