OC Transpo introduces new R1 Para option as LRT shutdown drags on
Ottawa's light rail system has been shut down since July 17
OC Transpo introduced a new R1 Para service Wednesday as the LRT shutdown drags on.
The full length of the Confederation Line from Tunney's Pasture to Blair stations will be available for same-day booking for Para Transpo customers, Renée Amilcar, the city's general manager of transit services, said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference.
The full conference is available in the player above.
Rami El Feghali, OC Transpo's manager of customer service, said Wednesday the R1 Para service will not affect Para Transpo service elsewhere in the city.
Same-day booking would not normally be possible, Amilcar said, because it would strain the agency's resources.
Ottawa's light rail system has been shut down since July 17, when it was pulled from service during afternoon rush hour after a routine inspection uncovered a problem with a bearing.
Amilcar said Wednesday OC Transpo hopes to get the system up and running for Aug. 14.
The problem behind the current shutdown is "similar to what was found" to have caused a derailment in August 2021 and a wheel hub failure in July 2022, OC Transpo said Monday.
The transit agency originally set July 31 as its target date for reopening the service but scrapped that plan last week, saying a new risk assessment must be completed.
Amilcar said that assessment is expected to be complete by Thursday.
After that, an additional 10 days of repairs must be done to the tracks and the system must undergo testing. The repairs and testing can take place at the same time, Amilcar said.
The consortium that built the Confederation Line, Rideau Transit Group (RTG), is also in the process of replacing the wheel hub assemblies across its entire train fleet. To date, it has changed wheel hub assemblies on 15 vehicles.
In the meantime, OC Transpo launched a new express shuttle service Monday in an effort to speed up rush-hour trips from Blair station to downtown.