Project Approval - Fibre Optics and Subway

Radio Communication

The Policy and Finance Committee recommends the adoption of the Recommendation of the Budget Advisory Committee embodied in the following communication (December 10, 1999) from the City Clerk:

Recommendation:

The Budget Advisory Committee on December 9, 1999, recommended to the Policy and Finance Committee, and Council, that the increased project approval of $2,334,000.00 (gross and net) for City of Toronto Project No. 231 be approved, and be funded from the 1999 cash flow of the Toronto Transit Commission.

Background:

The Budget Advisory Committee had before it a communication (December 8, 1999) from the City Clerk, advising that the Policy and Finance Committee on December 7, 1999, referred a communication (November 19, 1999) from the General Secretary, Toronto Transit Commission, entitled "Project Approval - Fibre Optics and Subway Radio Communication", to the Budget Advisory Committee for consideration.

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(Communication dated December 8, 1999, addressed

to the Budget Advisory Committee

from the City Clerk)

The Policy and Finance Committee referred the communication (November 19, 1999) from the Toronto Transit Commission, entitled "Project Approval - Fibre Optics and Subway Radio Communication", to the Budget Advisory Committee for consideration.

Background:

The Policy and Finance Committee at its meeting held on December 7, 1999, had before it a communication (November 19, 1999) from the Toronto Transit Commission, advising that the Toronto Transit Commission, on November 17, 1999:

(I) approved the following recommendations contained in the staff report (November 17, 1999), entitled "Project Approval - Fibre Optics and Subway Radio Communication Project":

"It is recommended that the Commission approve:

(i) forwarding this report to the City of Toronto Council, requesting increased project approval of $2,334,000.00 (gross and net) for City Project No. 231 as the expenditure for this will be required in advance of receiving approval from the City for the 2000-2004 Capital Program; and

(ii) the holding of funds in TTC accounts until additional funds are approved.";

(II) requested that a copy of this report be forwarded to the City Telecommunications Steering Committee for information; and

(III) forwarded the foregoing to the City of Toronto through the Budget Advisory Committee for consideration and approval of the Commission's request for increased project approval of $2,334,000.00 for City Project No. 231, as well as the City Telecommunications Steering Committee for information.

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(Communication dated November 19, 1999, addressed

to the City Clerk from the General Secretary,

Toronto Transit Commission)

At its meeting on Wednesday, November 17, 1999, the Commission considered the report, entitled "Project Approval - Fibre Optics and Subway Radio Communication Project".

The Commission approved the Recommendation contained in the above report, as listed below:

"It is recommended that the Commission approve:

(i) forwarding this report to the City of Toronto Council, requesting increased project approval of $2,334,000.00 (gross and net) for City Project No. 231 as the expenditure for this will be required in advance of receiving approval from the City for the 2000-2004 Capital Program; and

(ii) the holding of funds in TTC accounts until additional funds are approved."

The Commission also reports having requested that a copy of this report be forwarded to the City Telecommunications Steering Committee for information.

The foregoing is forwarded to City of Toronto Council through the Budget Advisory Committee for consideration and approval of the Commission's request for increased project approval of $2,334,000.00 for City Project No. 231, as well as, the City Telecommunications Steering Committee for information.

_________

(Report dated November 17, 1999, from the

Toronto Transit Commission )

At its meeting on Wednesday, November 17, 1999, the Commission considered the attached report entitled, "Project Approval - Fibre Optics and Subway Radio Communication Project."

The Commission approved the Recommendation contained in the above report, as listed below:

"It is recommended that the Commission approve:

(i) forwarding this report to the City of Toronto Council, requesting increased project approval of $2,334,000 (gross and net) for City Project #231 as the expenditure for this will be required in advance of receiving approval from the City for the 2000-2004 Capital Program; and

(ii) the holding of funds in TTC accounts until additional funds are approved."

The Commission also reports having requested that a copy of this report be forwarded to the City Telecommunications Steering Committee for information.

The foregoing is forwarded to City of Toronto Council through the Budget Advisory Committee for consideration and approval of the Commission's request for increased project approval of $2,334,000.00 for City Project No. 231, as well as, the City Telecommunications Steering Committee for information.

_________

(Toronto Transit Commission, Report No. 15

from its meeting of November 17, 1999)

Recommendation:

It is recommended that the Commission approve:

(i) forwarding this report to the City of Toronto Council, requesting increased project approval of $2,334,000 (gross and net) for City Project No. 231 as the expenditure for this will be required in advance of receiving approval from the City for the 2000-2004 Capital Program; and

(ii) the holding of funds in TTC accounts until additional funds are approved.

Funding:

Sufficient funds have been included in the 2000-2004 Capital Program under Project No. 2.3 - Communications, Fibre Optics and Subway Radio Communications, (as set out on pages 195 to 203 of the State of Good Repair Category) as approved by the Commission on November 3, 1999.

Background:

The Fibre Optics and Subway Radio Communication Project consists of two major contracts:

(i) Alcatel Canada Inc., for the design, supply and installation of a radio antenna system that will enable communication between Transit Control and subway trains, and will also allow Emergency Response Agencies and TTC staff to communicate from street level, into the subway system; and

(ii) Midland International Corporation (Trak Com Wireless Inc.), for the design and supply of subway car radios, wayside radio and Transit Control equipment. This contract was originally awarded to Midland, but in late 1998, Midland's parent company experienced financial difficulties and began to liquidate assets. As a result, staff agreed to allow Midland to transfer responsibility for completion of the work to Trak Com, who had retained Midland's technical experts, with Midland continuing to provide the financial security.

At its meeting of April 8, 1998, the Commission received a status report on the Fibre Optics and Subway Radio Communication Project for information. The report contained the following budget and schedule information.

Schedule:

Based on the recovery schedules supplied by the two Contractors, the following revised milestone dates were provided for the project:

Antenna System In-service (B-D) - November 30, 1998

Base (fixed) Radio System Operational (B-D) - December 24, 1998

All B-D Trains Equipped with Radios - April 15, 1999

Antenna and Base Radio System Operational (Y-U-S) - April 12, 1999

All Y-U-S Trains Equipped with Radios - September 30, 1999

Budget:

The approved 1998-2002 budget for the project was $38,699,000. During the 1999-2003 budget process, the estimated cost was revised to $40,314,000, for a total increase of $1,615,000. This increase was based on the above-noted schedule dates. It was noted that there was still uncertainty as to the final cost of the two contracts, based on outstanding contract changes and claims.

Discussion:

Since the last report to the Commission and in spite of staff's best efforts, the project has experienced continued delays. The primary reason for these delays is a result of the technical complexity of both contracts, which has resulted in delays in the development, installation and debugging of both systems. In addition, and as noted above, the work on the Subway Car Radio Contract was transferred to Trak Com in November 1998. Prior to this change, Midland had not been performing satisfactorily which, combined with the change, resulted in considerable delays. It is noted that since this change, the performance on this contract has improved dramatically.

Impact of Delays:

As a result of the noted delays, additional TTC engineering and contract support resources have been required to support the longer installation time and to perform additional testing of these systems.

Special provisions have also been necessary to accommodate the newly acquired T-1 subway cars, which began arriving in 1996. The T-1's were originally purchased on the basis that the new subway radio system would be operational. This not being the case, existing radios had to be removed from the subway cars being retired by the T-1's, to enable the T-1's to enter service. As the T-1's were not designed for the existing radios, modifications were required to accommodate these radios. This required a considerable effort by TTC staff, which resulted in additional costs. To date, 208 T-1's have been retrofitted.

Increased Costs:

In light of the additional work noted above, and also to address some unforeseen technical issues, additional funds in the amount of $2,334,000 are required to complete the project, bringing the total cost of the project to $42,648,000. It is noted that there are pending claim issues, for which a limited allowance has been made in this increase.

Current Status:

The current status of the project is very promising. The antenna system has been operational for testing purposes since May and during the week of September 13, all trains on the Bloor/Danforth subway line were equipped with new radios. While there have been a few problems, the performance of the system has been satisfactory and both engineering and user staff are pleased with the operation.

Testing of the Yonge/University subway line is currently underway and based on successful results, installation of new radios should begin in late November. On this basis, the entire fleet should be operational on the new system by early December.

Testing of the system with the City of Toronto Emergency Response Agencies (ERA) has also recently begun and the ERA's who have tested the system to this point have been pleased with the results. In addition, the ERA's that participated in the October 3, 1999, Emergency Simulation (Fire, Police and Ambulance) reported good results.

Justification:

Additional funds are required in order to complete the Fibre Optics and Subway Radio Communication Project.