Wednesday marks a major milestone in LRT testing.

Track testing in Kitchener is scheduled to get underway for the first time, with phase one kicking off between Erb Street and Caroline Street in Waterloo.

The last round of testing finished, and continue to the final destination at Fairview Park Mall. This will be the first time an ION train crosses the border into Kitchener.

Brandon Simon is the Project Manager for Rapid Transit in Waterloo Region, he says don’t expect fast moving trains to whiz by anytime soon, “So right now we are focused on clearance testing and low speed testing, all these test will be conducted at 15 km/h or less and we will have crew and paid duty officers guiding the trains as we go.” said Simon.

Simon says it will take a few days to get the train from Erb and Caroline to Fairway Park Mall and back.

On the first day of testing they hope to reach the Victoria Street area.

Overall Simon says testing has gone well, the only issue has been the weather, “So far testing has been positive, it’s a work in progress we have hit some snags with the weather in recent weeks but we are trying to make up for time and continue on.” added Simon.

The weather will once again be an issue today with heavy snow expected today and Friday.

After phase one clearance testing is complete, crews will finish up phase two testing or low speed test where they will check track switches, signals and crossings, and braking distances.

Phase three is high speed testing where they test out everything just at a higher speed.

The last phase is a demonstration test, which will simulate service and will happen just prior to commercial service.

Right now phase two testing between Conestoga Mall and Erb and Caroline is underway and phase one between Erb and Caroline and Fairview Park Mall is expected to start this week.