More damage, another paralyzed train: Transit chair calls newest LRT issues ‘annoying’

The current issues with the LRT represent a huge problem in gaining back public rely on the distressed system, Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower, the brand-new chair of Ottawa’s Transit Commission, stated Saturday.

“It is aggravating. After going through what we have more than the previous 3 years with the LRT, it truly appeared like we had actually turned a corner which the worst lagged us.”

He made the remarks after there was more problem Saturday about efforts to bring back completes to the LRT simply days after an ice storm triggered damage to overhead lines, incapacitating trains near Lees Station, near the middle of the Confederation Line.

A 2nd train sent out at low speed to tow away among numerous paralyzed trains near Lees Station triggered extra damage to the overhead lines and got stuck. It ended up being the 4th train stuck in the location.

That effort followed teams working overnight Friday effectively eliminated collected ice from the overhead catenary service (OCS).

In a series of tweets, OC Transpo alerted that work might take some time.

Gower called it a considerable interruption.

“It is a problem in regards to everybody’s self-confidence and everybody’s rely on the system. We are going to need to work more difficult to ensure it is trustworthy.”

He kept in mind that light-rail trains ran worldwide in locations that periodically experience freezing rain.

“Freezing rain is not something that ought to take a system down.”

Saturday’s effort was the 2nd time a brand-new train had actually gone into that area and triggered extra damage to the OCS, transit basic supervisor Renée Amilcar stated Saturday early morning.

Amilcar, who took control of as head of city transit services in 2021, stated Rideau Transit Maintenance started carrying out “a comprehensive evaluation of that whole area of the OCS prior to more efforts are made to move any trains in and out of that location.”

She stated OC Transpo was generating external oversight to “carefully keep an eye on” RTM’s work and “offer independent recommendations to OC Transpo and verify that we have a strong strategy to return services to this location.”

When the examination is total, repair work to any broken areas of the overhead lines will need to be finished “prior to any healing tries recommence.”

She did not offer a timeline for a go back to complete.

In the meantime, the light-rail service is running in 2 loops: from Tunney’s Pasture to uOttawa in the west and from St. Laurent to Tremblay in the east. R1 bus services is running in between St. Laurent and Rideau stations.

“I value the continuous persistence of our consumers as we work to go back to regular services,” Amilcar composed.

The LRT’s bad winter season efficiency was among the problems resolved throughout the provincial public questions into the building and construction, operation and upkeep of the Confederation Line.

In his report, launched Nov. 30, Justice William Hourigan stated the train ought to have been checked in real-world winter season weather and not simply in laboratory simulations, as was provided for Ottawa’s system.

The mayhem triggered by today’s ice storm captured OC Transpo off-guard.

The ice accumulation wasn’t as bad on the east and west areas since trains were still running on those parts and routinely knocked ice off the power lines, stated Mario Guerra, CEO of Rideau Transit Maintenance Group.

That wasn’t the case along areas of the track where the trains were stopped.

To avoid a reoccurrence, “We require to enhance our capability to recover automobiles,” Guerra stated.

With files from Megan Gillis