A month after the Valley Line Southeast LRT opened, trains are starting to run at the five-minute intervals originally promised for the line, at least sometimes.
When the city announced the opening of the line, it said the trains would start by running at 10-minute intervals during peak hours, instead of five-minute intervals. ETS said this was done to demonstrate reliability and was based on lessons learned from other municipalities. TransEd has now started running trials of five-minute service during weekday peak hours, Carrie Hotton-MacDonald, branch manager for Edmonton Transit Service, told Taproot.
"During this period of testing, frequency may not always be every five minutes; for example, service may be pulled back to every 10 minutes to enable TransEd and the City of Edmonton to monitor any trends and make necessary adjustments as they arise," Hotton-MacDonald said in an emailed statement. "The website and trip planning tools will be updated once five-minute weekday peak hour service is permanently integrated into regular service."
Hotton-MacDonald said there isn't a timeline for when the frequency change will become permanent. She added service has run relatively smoothly since launch, but there will continue to be adjustments for all road users.
"ETS is consistently working with TransEd to listen to rider feedback and to optimize the rider experience as much as possible," Hotton-MacDonald said. "We also recognize there is a learning curve associated with the new line for riders, motorists, and pedestrians. We're confident people will adjust if they obey the rules of the road, as well as all signs and signals."
Photo: Edmonton's Valley Line Southeast LRT is running trials with trains running at five-minute frequencies during peak hours. (Tim Querengesser)