November 2025 Update

Region of Waterloo Council has approved extending light rail from Fairway Station to downtown Cambridge, marking a significant milestone toward connecting residents across the community with rapid transit.

Staff will now pursue full project funding from the provincial and federal governments. The project will now move into the detailed design and pre-construction phase of work. In this phase, work will continue with heritage assessments, utility relocations, environmental field work and detailed design.

Project Summary

The Region of Waterloo is moving forward with its transformative public transit project, Stage 2 Rapid Transit to Cambridge. The next milestone is the completion of the Initial Business Case (IBC), bringing us closer to our goal of connecting the three cities with rapid transit to make Waterloo Region a desirable place to live and work.

The Initial Business Case was completed in November 2025.

What is an Initial Business Case?

An Initial Business Case (IBC) allows decision makers to compare benefits and costs of different options for rapid transit.

What goes into an Initial Business Case?

  • Strategic case: How will the project transform Waterloo Region and why is it so important?
  • Economic case: What are the monetary and travel benefits to the community?
  • Financial case: How much will the project will cost and how much revenue it will bring in?
  • Deliverability and operations: What is required to build and operate the project, including capability, challenges and risks?

The IBC will guide decisions about rapid transit route length and vehicle type and support applications for full funding.

How to get involved

New opportunities for public input will be posted on this page as the project progresses. Select the follow button in the upper left of this page to be notified of project changes and ways to get involved. Feedback can also be submitted at any time through the customer feedback form.

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Matthew O'Neil

Manager, Rapid Transit Coordination, Region of Waterloo

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Engagement summary

During the development of the Initial Business Case, the project team ran engagement to understand the community’s level of support for the project. The engagement strategy connected with residents across Waterloo Region, sharing information about the project goals and the IBC process while gathering feedback on preferred project alternatives.

Engagement highlights:

  • More than 2,500 survey responses on Engage Waterloo Region and more than 1,600 responses to the Ipsos survey.
  • Staff attended 30 events to engage the public and hand out info.
  • 2,800 handouts distributed at information sessions, community events and transit stations; 11,000 flyers distributed along the proposed route.
  • Five stakeholder sessions attended by local post secondaries, developers, BIAs and various community leaders.