The Waterloo Central Railway (WCR) is a non-profit heritage railway owned and operated by the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society (SOLRS). In May 2007, SOLRS received joint approval from the Region of Waterloo and the City of Waterloo to run trains from Waterloo to St. Jacobs and potentially as far north as Elmira. On a typical operating day, the train runs three times a day on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. In 2015, the railway lost regular running rights south of Northfield Drive to make way for the Ion light rail project. All Market Train service now runs between St. Jacobs Farmers' Market, the Village of St. Jacobs, and Elmira, Ontario.
Waterloo Central Railway equipment parked at the former Waterloo station.
Spirit of St. Jacobs on the first day of service Waterloo-St. Jacobs Railway, July 12, 1997
The Elmira station in March 2019
Equipment at St. Jacobs station
Ion, stylized as ION, is an integrated public transportation network in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Keolis and is part of the Grand River Transit (GRT) system, partially replacing GRT's Route 200 iXpress bus service. The section of the bus route serving Cambridge has been renamed "Ion Bus", and renumbered as 302. The first phase commenced operations on June 21, 2019, between the north end of Waterloo and the south end of Kitchener. A future extension of light rail to the downtown Galt area of Cambridge is planned but construction may not begin on that line until 2028. In 2023, Ion LRT had an annual ridership of 4.3 million, and a daily ridership of 11,780.
Bombardier Flexity Freedom unit #506 approaches Fairway Station
Ion vehicle at Queen station during testing in August 2018
Interior of Ion vehicle 506
The system's Operations, Maintenance and Storage Facility (OMSF)