1 more day to find out when city gets keys to LRT

The consortium behind Ottawa's new LRT system has rung in the new year by applying for anextension to determine when the keys to the Confederation Line will be handed to the city.

The Rideau Transit Group (RTG) was supposed to tell the city todayJan. 2 when it's expected tohand over the new$2.1-billionlight rail line.

Instead, RTG asked the city for a one-day extension.

RTGwas originally supposed to deliver the LRT system to the city last May, but in February the city announced the date would be pushed back six months to Nov. 2.

That deadline was missed as well.

Right now the city and evidently the contractor don't know when passengers will be able to board theConfederation Line, which runsfrom Blair Station to Tunney's Pasture. The latest estimate is sometime in the first quarter of 2019.

Delays in completing Ottawa's light-rail system havecost $25 million so far, according to city estimates.

Keeping buses on the road longer than planned, extending bus detours and keeping the O-Train construction office going have cost taxpayers millions. The city hopes to recoup some of those costs from the companies building the line, and has also saved some money by deferring maintenance costs and debt payments to RTG.

Already it's withheld $1 million from the consortium as a penalty for missing theNovember deadline.

If RTG misses the next deadline which has not yet been set it will be penalized another $1 million.