TSB wants to see long-term LRT solutions
Investigator says current inspection schedule is just a mitigation tool, short-term fix
The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) says the City of Ottawa needs to find a long-term solution to the bearing issues on its LRT trains.
"Right now, the issue is there isn't a long-term solution. The cause hasn't been identified," said Vincenzo De Angelis, director of rail and pipeline investigations for the TSB.
"So these mitigations are short-term fixes to try and ensure that any potential issues are caught before the [light rail vehicle] is put into service."
De Angelis is referring to the routine maintenance and inspections the city implemented after trains had bearing issues in the past.
The full length of the Confederation Line was shut down Monday after one of those inspections uncovered the line's latest issue with a bearing.
There is still no indication of when trains will be cleared to resume service, with R1 replacement buses running in the meantime.
Current testing aimed at finding solution
OC Transpo is currently running tests on its entire fleet of trains, going through an inspection of all the track and every axle on every light rail vehicle.
In a memo issued Thursday afternoon, OC Transpo said the axle hub has been checked on 15 of its 45 light rail vehicles and no issues had been detected.
"At the end of the day, as madame Amilcar states, the deterioration of the bearing is a symptom. She's trying to find the root causes," said Coun. Riley Brockington.
"They don't have that answer yet. That's the root of frustration."
The city said it is working on a timeline and Brockington said OC Transpo is hopeful to have an update Friday afternoon.
The city said it has also completed several runs on different trains and tracks with its instrumented bogie testing, where it is running trains with specialized tools to measure loads and other issues that could be affecting the axles.
"The testing that is going on right now is really aimed at trying to identify, what is the root cause? Why are those failures happening? Is it the track conditions? Is it the loading?" De Angelis said.
Brockington said another theory is that the current curvature of the track could be causing the premature deterioration of the bearings and if that is found to be the case it will have to be addressed.
"You just can't have that happen. And so I think at some point council and the commission will have to wrestle with that," he said.
No other options
Brockington said he could see there being support from riders for a lengthy LRT shutdown if it led to a more permanent solution to the problems.
"We can't keep putting the people of Ottawa through this month after month," he said.
"This is the critical spine of our transit in the city. It has to work. There are no other options."
He said it would be important for the experts to explain to residents what is causing the issues and what is needed to fix them and why.
CBC News reached out to Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, transit commission chair Glen Gower, transit commission vice-chair Cathy Curry and LRT subcommittee chair Steve Desroches. None were available for an interview.
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