Ottawa's long-awaited light rail transit system will be open to riders on Sept. 14.

Mayor Jim Watson accepted a symbolic key from the Rideau Transit Group on Friday, as the city officially took over the light rail network.

The $2.1-billion project is over-budget and has missed several key deadlines—the latest on Aug. 16 when RTG was to have handed over the keys to the city but didn’t.

But on Friday, the city said RTG successfully completed the 12-day trial run of the LRT system.

The Confederation Line will be open for service at all 13 stations along the line, from Tunney's Pasture to Blair.

I am very excited to announce that the first day of the Confederation Line 1 service of our Light Rail Transit system will be on Saturday, September 14. Stay tuned for details; updates will be available on https://t.co/34xOAQZ1cw and by following @OC_Transpo. pic.twitter.com/LEzYB98h2C — Jim Watson (@JimWatsonOttawa) August 23, 2019