Ricardo Appointed to Support Transformation of the Greater Toronto Rail Network
Ricardo Certification has been appointed as the Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) for the forthcoming transformation of rail transit across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), Ontario, Canada.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220522005010/en/
Transformation of the Greater Toronto rail network (Photo: Business Wire)
As the ISA, Ricardo will provide independent scrutiny of the programme’s safety documentation during its design phase, ensuring it is in full compliance with relevant standards. Performing these assessments at this early stage will reduce the risk of delays or costly rectification works during the construction, installation and testing phases. The role was awarded by Metrolinx, a crown agency of the government of Ontario that is responsible for GO Transit, the regional network of rail and bus services in GTHA.
Richard Gibney, Certification Director, Ricardo Certification said: “We are delighted to be awarded this important safety role by Metrolinx. This is a complex, multi-faceted programme of works, with new rolling stock, a new traction system and extensive infrastructure upgrades which must be designed to the highest safety standards. Using experience of similar projects around the world, we will provide independent assessment to help ensure safety remains at the forefront throughout the key design stages.”
GO Transit's rail network consists of seven lines operating out of Toronto's Union Station, served by an aging fleet powered by diesel locomotives. Infrastructure limitations have imposed a variable timetable across the network, with traffic oriented towards peak rush hour direction. However, rail passenger numbers on GO Transit have steadily risen in recent years: in 2020 the network was carrying over 57 million passengers a year.
A rail upgrade programme, ‘GO Expansion’, will deliver a faster and more frequent service using modern electric-powered rolling stock. The programme also includes new track, signalling, and over 650km of electrification. The outcome will be a significant increase in services from 3500 (2019) trains per week to over 10,000, with services operating at least every 15 minutes. The new fleet is forecast to deliver a 50% reduction in operating costs per km.
As the appointed ISA, Ricardo teams will support the programme throughout the design phase to assess whether Metrolinx and ONxpress Transportation Partners have developed relevant safety documentation – including the system definition, system safety plan and safety case – in full compliance with standards such as the Canadian Method for Risk Evaluation and Assessment, and EN50126, the international standard for the specification and demonstration of Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety (RAMS) for railway applications.
As the first organisation to be accredited to ISO/IEC 17020:2012 under Canada’s new Independent Safety Assessor for Railway Systems Accreditation Program, Ricardo Certification has demonstrated its technical capabilities to the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), the national accreditation organisation.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Ricardo plc is a world-class strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company, listed on the London Stock Exchange. With over 100 years of engineering excellence and employing close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering innovative cross-sector sustainable outcomes to support energy transition and scarce resources, environmental services together with safe and smart mobility. Our global team of consultants, environmental specialists, engineers and scientists support our customers to solve the most complex and dynamic challenges to help achieve a safe and sustainable world. Visit www.ricardo.com.
Ricardo Certification comprises a set of companies within the Ricardo Group that perform independent assurance and testing services in rail and other sectors. Companies within Ricardo Certification are accredited against inspection and certification standards enabling them to offer accredited services in line with national and international rules and approval processes.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220522005010/en/
Contact information
Media:
Andrew Foulkes
Marketing Communications Manager
Ricardo Rail
Email: andrew.foulkes@ricardo.com
Kathryn Bellamy
Group Senior Communications Manager
Ricardo plc
Email: kathryn.bellamy@ricardo.com
Telephone: +44(0)7921 941824
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
RTL Luxembourg Expands Deployment of Verimatrix Technologies to Protect Premier Auto Racing Against Piracy11.9.2025 18:45:00 EEST | Press release
Regulatory News: Verimatrix, (Euronext Paris: VMX), a leading provider of security solutions for a safer connected world, today announced that RTL Luxembourg, the country’s leading media company, has further expanded its use of Verimatrix anti-piracy tools to now include the full Streamkeeper suite of solutions. Initially deploying Streamkeeper Multi-DRM, RTL Luxembourg also recently implemented Counterspy, Deepscan and Watermarking solutions – the industry’s latest set of powerful tools that help further bolster proactive protections for RTL’s motorsport content revenue. It was announced in April 2024 that RTL Luxembourg selected Verimatrix Streamkeeper Multi-DRM to ensure that RTL Luxembourg remained in full control of its valuable digital assets while also consistently keeping costs low and preventing unneeded technical complexities. With the addition of Verimatrix’s Counterspy, RTL Luxembourg further expands its ability to detect unauthorized content distribution in real-time, depl
Xylem and Amazon Partner on Smart Water Upgrades to Save More Than 1.3 Billion Liters Annually in Mexico11.9.2025 17:00:00 EEST | Press release
Residents in Mexico City and Monterrey will soon enjoy more reliable water supply as the two cities launch groundbreaking infrastructure upgrades to save over 1.3 billion liters of water a year – easing pressure from the rapid urbanization and persistent drought conditions that have strained local water systems. The two cities are working in partnership with global water technology company Xylem (NYSE: XYL) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) to deploy Xylem Vue, an advanced software platform that applies data and analytics to detect leaks, cut water losses and improve residents’ water supply. The projects are estimated to save upwards of 800 million liters of water a year in Mexico City and 560 million liters a year in Monterrey. “In a water-stressed region, where every liter counts, recovering more than a billion liters of water each year is a game-changer,” said Jaime Barba, General Manager, Xylem Vue. “Working with Amazon and the local water utilities, we are using data to give these cities
HTEC Partners with World Economic Forum11.9.2025 16:56:00 EEST | Press release
HTEC, a global digital engineering and product development company, has today announced that it has joined the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Centre for AI Excellence. HTEC will contribute to the community through its expertise and thought leadership to help advance AI adoption and AI innovation across its core industries. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911910448/en/ HTEC Partners with World Economic Forum to bring AI expertise to help with industry transformation and real-world outcomes WEF’s Centre for AI Excellence is bringing together leading industry organisations and experts to work together to advance the pace and positive impact AI can have in economies and societies. Its goal is to unlock transformative potential in an equitable and human-centered way, which is well aligned with HTEC’s principles and values. As an AI-first organization, HTEC blends deep engineering expertise with strategic insight.
Alipay Tap! Users Reach 200 Million, Expands to Over 1,000 Scenarios Beyond Payments11.9.2025 16:31:00 EEST | Press release
Alipay announced today at the 2025 INCLUSION · Conference on the Bund in Shanghai that its QR code-based contactless payment and engagement solution, Alipay Tap!, has rapidly grown its user base to 200 million since its launch in China in June 2024. The milestone comes just months after surpassing 100 million users in April 2025. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911881010/en/ With Alipay Tap!, users can open a vending machine with a simple tap Designed to be simpler than QR code scanning, Alipay Tap! lets users complete a transaction or access a service by simply tapping their unlocked phone on a merchant’s terminal or Alipay Tap! Tag, eliminating the need to open an app, scan a code, or navigate multiple screens. As Alipay evolves from a digital wallet into a comprehensive platform connecting 1 billion consumers with 80 million merchants nationwide, Alipay Tap! has become a hassle-free gateway to its ecosys
Vertex Scientists Awarded the 2025 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for Pioneering Discoveries in Cystic Fibrosis11.9.2025 16:05:00 EEST | Press release
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced that Senior Vice President Paul Negulescu has been named as one of the winners of this year’s Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for his role “in the development of a novel, life-saving treatment for cystic fibrosis (CF) — namely, a triple-drug combination therapy, TRIKAFTA®, that has helped countless people with this genetic disease.” Dr. Negulescu is one of three awardees, alongside Jesús (Tito) González, a former Vertex scientist, and Michael Welsh, Professor of Internal Medicine-Pulmonary, Critical Care and Occupational Medicine, University of Iowa. The prize honors the groundbreaking work of Dr. Negulescu, Dr. González and the entire Vertex team who discovered and developed the first and only approved medicines that address the underlying cause of CF. To date, Vertex has brought five transformational medicines to patients with CF which have fundamentally changed the way this disease is treated. “I’m hon
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom