Okay, so so far the only evidence I have seen that the TTC is not at fault for slow ops is that they are claiming that *any* operational change of 6 FW needs to be OK'd with Metrolinx and Mosaic.
Despite this, Metrolinx has disagreed and said they can just go and do TSP if they want to, sans approval from Mosaic.
Can anyone actually explain what is going on here? Has the TTC even *attempted* to ask Mosaic if they can enable TSP or faster ops, or is this just an excuse from TTC to do nothing?
I think we’re mostly dealing with semantics.
From my perspective, because Metrolinx owns the vehicles and infrastructure and holds the contract with Mosaic, Metrolinx is the sole party who can direct Mosaic on any potential change. Any change from the baseline contract Mosaic will treat as a contract variation, and the change will be scoped and priced and charged back to Metrolinx. On that basis, TTC isn't permitted to deal with Mosaic directly without Metrolinx in the loop, which is why TTC is saying they need to confirm with both Metrolinx and Mosaic that they have permission to proceed.
That said, if Metrolinx’s contract already includes specific performance requirements, and Mosaic has already demonstrated that the delivered infrastructure can meet them, then there’s no change to authorize. Unless the change falls outside the project specifications, nothing new needs to be requested from Mosaic or approved by Metrolinx, because the capability is presumably already part of what was contracted, delivered, and accepted.
In my opinion, TTC’s statement that they need to discuss with Metrolinx and Mosaic was simply cautious and appropriately courteous (although perhaps a symptom of a general observation that TTC staff haven't fully wrapped their heads around how to work in an AFP setting and what changes are viable versus not). It would be awkward for TTC to appear to make absolute statements regarding what can and can't be done with infrastructure they don't own, even if they know the infrastructure already supports whatever performance the contract specifies. If Mosaic hadn’t delivered to the required specifications, the project wouldn’t have been accepted. And if anything sits outside the letter of the contract, it becomes a variation, paid by Metrolinx, regardless of who initiates the request.