At a joint meeting of the Transit Commission and Light Rail Subcommittee on Friday, Rail Construction Director Michael Morgan said that if all goes as planned over the next two months, passengers could be boarding northbound and southbound trains by Labor Day.

“As we sit here, we need eighty weeks, starting in mid-June, to give us information to make recommendations,” he said. “Based on what I just told you, that might not happen until mid-August.”

The north-south line, running from Bayview to Riverside South, with a spur to the airport, was scheduled to open in August 2022. A mid-August opening would officially put the line two years behind schedule. The line’s opening to passengers will depend on how well the final stages of testing go. That phase includes eight to 10 weeks of normal on-line service and a 21-day trial period.

The 80-week period is designed to allow operators to operate the system safely during normal hours, and to allow the maintenance crew to carry out their work during the short overnight breaks between each day of service. Morgan said testing is expected to begin in mid-June.

Anastasia Chupina