Ottawa councillors had a chance to ask questions to OC Transpo and Rideau Transit Group staff about the light-rail transit system this afternoon, as preparations continue for the full resumption of service following the multi-week shutdown.
This will be the first time councillors have been able to ask staff questions in a public forum since the LRT system was shut down on July 17 following the discovery of an issue with an axle-bearing on one train during routine inspection. A light-rail transit subcommittee meeting originally scheduled for today was postponed until Aug. 29.
The council question and answer session is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., followed by a media briefing at 4 p.m. CTVNewsOttawa.ca will broadcast the Council session live at 2:30 p.m.
Partial O-Train service is currently running between Tunney's Pasture and uOttawa stations, with five single-car trains running on the line. Full LRT service is scheduled to resume on Monday morning.
OC Transpo general manager Renee Amilcar says service plans continue to be finalized, but "it is anticipated" that single-car trains will operate for the month of August.
There will be 11 single-car trains during the morning peak period and 13 single-car trains running in the afternoon peak. During off-peak periods, nine single-car trains will operate on the 12.5 km line.
"This will accommodate current customer demand during the busiest times, without the need for R1 bus service, and allow OC Transpo to sustainably manage fleet availability over the long term," Amilcar said in a memo.
The final step to finalizing the Safety Note from Rideau Transit Group and Alstom to run LRT service is the repositioning of the restraining rail at eight locations along the LRT line.
"Since August 3, RTG completed adjustments to the restraining rails between Tunney’s Pasture and uOttawa stations," Amilcar said.
Single-car trains will be running every five minutes between Tunney's Pasture and uOttawa stations. LRT service remains shut down in the east end from uOttawa to Blair.
"This allowed partial Line 1 service to safely resume today in this section of the line. Work on the remaining restraining rails continues across the rest of the alignment," Amilcar said.
As of Wednesday, 12 of the 16 restraining rails at 8 locations have been repositioned.
Rideau Transit Group continues to also replace the wheel hub assemblies on the train fleet. As of Tuesday, the wheel hub assemblies have been replaced on 24 trains.
OC Transpo boss apologizes
Amilcar kicked off her presentation to council with an apology to councillors for the current state of the O-Train system.
"I'm not proud of this situation that brings a negative spotlight on our beautiful city," Amilcar said Wednesday afternoon..
"Despite that, you should be confident that we have put safety first as safety is paramount."
Amilcar told councillors "I came here to fix Ottawa's light-rail transit system."
"I will not rest until this issue is resolved permanently, until OC Transpo is able to a sustainable and reliable rail service that meets the needs of our community," Amilcar said.
O-Train will "continue to have challenges"
Amilcar admits Ottawa will "continue to have challenges" with the light-rail transit system, even after the so-called permanent fix for the bearing issue with the redesign of the wheel hub assembly is implemented over the next two to three years.
During Wednesday's session with councillors, Coun. Riley Brockington asked about the "other challenges" with the LRT system, including the overhead catenary system.
"I cannot say that we will never have any problems with the LRT, because around the world we have problems with LRT, with buses, etc." Amilcar said.
"However, what have I said for this particular problem with the bearing that was the cause of the derailment in 2021, I have said so many times we are working on the symptoms but now we can work on the disease. That permanent fix will resolve the problem.
"So definitely, yes, we will have other issues, and what I have said as well is I want to be bold her at OC Transpo to respond quickly to those issues, to make sure that we can continue to augment customers' experience."
Amilcar adds OC Transpo and Rideau Transit Group will continue to "learn from the past".
"It was a lot of learning, we have a lot of opportunity to learn during this problem and we continue to listen to our customers, to hear them, and to make sure that we can improve the service."
The Transit Commission will receive a report in October outlining the root cause analysis for the bearing issue and a report outlining the LRT incidents related to freezing rain, lightning strikes and other issues.
"Traffic will come back"
Passenger traffic was reported to be light on the LRT system and R1 buses on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
Amilcar is confident riders will return to the service as the system improves.
"The traffic will come back; traffic is a little bit slow this week," Amilcar said, adding the train is "safe."
"Please come back and try us; give us, again, a chance."
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiXGh0dHBzOi8vb3R0YXdhLmN0dm5ld3MuY2Evb2MtdHJhbnNwby1zdGFmZi1icmllZi1jb3VuY2lsLW9uLW9uZ29pbmctbHJ0LWRpc3J1cHRpb24tMS42NTExOTA50gEA?oc=5
2023-08-09 15:18:00Z
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