Light rail may be coming to Cambridge.

On December 10, the Region of Waterloo announced that it has issued a notice of commencement for the Stage 2 ION transit project assessment (TPA). The notice is a first step in extending the regional light rail system out to nearby Cambridge.

The Region of Waterloo is proposing to extend the ION LRT system an additional 18 km from Fairway station in Kitchener to downtown Cambridge with eight new stations. The extension would create a continuous LRT service across the region’s three urban centres—Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge.

Regional council endorsed its preferred route in June 2019 and the preliminary design in April 2020.

The TPA process will review issues of provincial importance such as how the Stage 2 ION project will affect the natural, social, cultural, transportation and economic environments. At the conclusion of the process, a final environmental project report will be produced and forwarded to the province for consideration.

“Bringing LRT to Cambridge will be transformational. It will create a seamless LRT system that will connect the region’s three urban centres,” said Karen Redman, Regional Chair. “Together with my regional colleagues, I’m happy to launch the next big step in the process to bringing Stage 2 ION to Cambridge.”

Stage 2 ION will be the largest capital project in the region’s history. Stage 1 ION has already seen $3.2 billion of investment in the central transit corridor. The region committed to bringing the same benefits to Cambridge.

Stage 1 ION, which connects Conestoga Station in Waterloo to Fairway Station in Kitchener, opened in June 2019.