KITCHENER — "Pinch me!"

As the first Ion train was poised to leave Fairway station, Waterloo Region Coun. Tom Galloway perfectly captured the anticipation of the large crowd gathered to celebrate the light rail system's official launch on Friday morning.

Decades in the making, the day had finally come for passengers to board Ion trains.

"This is a great day and the end of a long journey, and the beginning of a new one," Galloway said.

Collaboration, perseverance and vision were sentiments echoed by all the speakers, including the region's chief administrative officer, Mike Murray.

"It's been a long and sometimes challenging process to get to today's milestone," Murray said.

He was pleased to see so many community supporters who came out to celebrate the "historic day" in Waterloo Region.

"In some way or another, you have all been a part of this project and that makes this truly a community celebration," Murray said.

Regional Chair Karen Redman said Ion will move people, but it will also do much more. Light rail will be transformational for the region, intentionally guiding growth and providing a seamless transit system. Already both Kitchener and Waterloo have seen a massive investment in development along the line.

"It will benefit citizens who never step foot on an Ion train," she said.

Redman gave a special acknowledgement to former regional chair Ken Seiling, to loud applause from the crowd.

"For Ken, this has been a labour of love for the past 19 years," Redman said. "Your leadership was absolutely essential."

It was an emotional day for Seiling. During his time as chair, he was one of the most steadfast supporters of a rapid transit system because it would do more than move people.

The system is a development tool to limit sprawl and promote intensification in urban cores. That, combined with a firm countryside line that limits development, was part of a regional growth strategy that helped guide the project.

"We wanted to do something that would preserve what was so good about this region," Seiling said. "We wanted to create a lifestyle that was prosperous and forward looking ... and in so many ways we've done it with this."

The mood on the first train was festive. Politicians and regional staff laughed, took photos and video, and reflected on the journey as the train travelled from the Fairway station to the Mill Street station and back.

Coun. Sean Strickland recorded video interviews of his fellow politicians along the way.

"I almost can't find the words to express my excitement and sense of satisfaction with today's grand opening," he said.

Acknowledging the hundreds of residents who showed up to watch the opening ceremony, Strickland said community support was key to making LRT happen, even though there was some opposition.

"It's taken a long time to get here and council's done a good job and staff has done a good job but ... the community support was really unwavering and it's a fantastic day for our community and it's a real testament to our commitment and confidence in the future of Waterloo Region," Strickland said.

Ahead of the noon launch of public service, people were already waiting at the Block Line and Mill stations. Seiling grinned from ear to ear as he finally rode the first Ion to pull out of Fairway station.

"It's a pretty special day," he said afterward.

He's hopeful detractors will come to see how the light rail system can improve their lives.

"I think this will prove to be like the expressway and like a lot of other things the region has done — it's been forward thinking," Seiling said. "People don't like change, they don't want to do things different, but once it's in place they realize that there's a benefit to it."

Also on board the first train was Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky. He spent the morning before the launch cycling to different Ion stations, and said the system will be handy for cyclists to hop on and off.

"This is the day we introduce local people to next-generation transit," Jaworksy said. "It's practical for everyone. One fare, one ride."

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said he was impressed by his first trip on the Ion.

"The ride is awesome. It's super smooth. It's just a great public transit experience," he said.

Officials urged people ahead of opening day to be courteous and patient because big crowds and long lines were expected. At Fairway, everything seemed orderly on Friday morning and everyone seemed happy to finally have a chance to take a ride.

To celebrate the start of Ion service, the entire Grand River Transit system — buses and trains — is free now to Canada Day.

"It's such a fantastic day for our community," Vrbanovic said.

Kitchener resident Mike Boos has been advocating for better transit and active transportation options in the region for almost a decade.

He attended the Ion launch with his wife and two small children.

"It's a little unreal," Boos said. "It's been a long road and I've been promising these guys trains for the last several years, and I don't know if they believe us yet that they're actually getting to ride it."

Boos said the light rail system is more than just how local residents get around.

"It has a huge impact on everything in our lives in terms of cost of living, in terms of quality of life, in terms of the environment," he said. "I see light rail as a catalyst, as a way of inspiring us to take more pride in our public transit systems and enable us to build ... in a way that enables people to walk, bike and take transit and drive when they have to but not be as dependant on the car."

Boos was one of dozens of community partners and special guests invited to ride the inaugural trains. As the noon service launch approached, dozens of excited residents lined up at Fairway station.

Greg Clark waited in line for about 20 minutes to board a train. He was in Vancouver on Thursday and used that city's light rail line to travel to the airport.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

"I just wanted to compare it in terms of its scenic (view) and smoothness," he said. "I just wanted to do a quick comparison of the two."

Clark is originally from the region but now spends most of his time in Toronto. He said it was exciting to see how the community has changed.

"I enjoyed the time I spent here and I thought I'd like to come back here 49 years later and see how much progress we've made, and I'm pleasantly surprised that we've come this far," he said. "It's great."

Amy Perry lined up with her children, Logan, 6, and Savannah, 3.

"We skipped school today so we could ride the train," Perry said.

The family lives in an apartment building on Fairway Road, and has had a front-row seat to the construction and then extensive train testing along the line.

"We've been watching it for a long time," Perry said.

She has a car but supports transit and plans to use light rail whenever possible. The trio planned to ride to uptown Waterloo and stop for lunch. "Then hop back on and come home."

Sitting in the front row at the ceremony were "golden ride" contest winners Jessica Jasper and her father, Brian Jasper.

Three lucky winners, and one guest each, got to ride on the first Ion. Nearly 8,000 people entered the regional contest.

Jessica's mother, Laurie, who "enters everything," actually won, but unfortunately she was in the hospital having surgery. The Kitchener pair said they'd go in her place, since she was "over the moon" excited to win.

"Being here, this is kind of exciting," Jessica said before the event got underway.

Brian grew up in the area and he is amazed to see how much things have changed along the Ion line.

"You just have to look at the skyline downtown to know it's worth it," he said.

Plans are underway for an extension of the light rail system from Fairview Park mall to the Ainslie Street transit terminal in Cambridge. Express buses currently serving the route.

Galloway concluded his speech for the day's festivities with three words: "Onward to Cambridge."

Sporting a one-of-a-kind tie emblazoned with an Ion train, as well as Ion socks, Galloway was pleased the first train packed with passengers got moving just before summer officially arrived a few minutes before midday — making good on the region's latest goal to launch the service in spring 2019.

"Isn't it a beautiful spring morning?" he joked with the crowd.

pdesmond@therecord.com

Twitter: @DesmondRecord

jweidner@therecord.com

Twitter: @WeidnerRecord