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After the 12th day of testing, will the City of Ottawa have a fully functional LRT system?

That will be the big question Friday when it comes to the $2.1-billion first phase of LRT.

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The Rideau Transit Group (RTG), the builder of the 12.5-kilometre, 13-station rail line, is contractually obligated to complete 12 consecutive days of trial running before handing the LRT system to the city, which hopes to launch the transit service sometime in September.

The trial running began on July 29 after the city on July 27 confirmed that the infrastructure and trains were substantially complete.

Even before substantial completion happened, the city warned council that it wouldn’t provide updates during the 12-day trial, and it will only tell council how things went after the trial is over.

Running the LRT system for 12 straight days on the actual schedule OC Transpo will use is considered the last hurdle for RTG to clear before it has satisfied the construction part of the contract. The company — a partnership of ACS Infrastructure, EllisDon and SNC-Lavalin — also has a 30-year agreement to maintain the LRT line under the name Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM).