OC Transpo begins work on LRT tracks, confirms Aug. 14 return date
Ottawa transit boss says she's 'confident' in Aug. 14 target
OC Transpo says work has begun on the restraining rails located along the Confederation Line, a key requirement before service can resume.
The transit agency received a draft copy of a risk assessment that contained enough information for work to get started, said Renée Amilcar, the city's general manager of transit services, at a Thursday afternoon news conference.
The full news conference is available in the player above.
With that work now underway, Amilcar said she's "confident" service will return on Monday, Aug. 14.
"This service disruption has been long, and it's not over yet," Amilcar said. "We're making positive progress."
Restraining rails located at several curves along the track, which are designed to prevent derailments, must be adjusted by a matter of millimetres to stop them from contacting the trains' wheels during normal operation.
Those repairs are expected to take 10 days, due to a "labour intensive" adjustment process, according to Amilcar.
The restraining rails are heavy and bolted down, said Enrique Martinez Asensio, general manager of the consortium that built the Confederation Line, Rideau Transit Group (RTG).
While the adjustments are ongoing, RTG is also in the process of replacing the wheel hub assemblies across its entire train fleet. As of Thursday, 18 vehicles were ready for operation.
Shut down since July 17
The 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.
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.
It has said Thursday it has received a draft version of that assessment.
An additional 10 days of repairs to the tracks have now begun. Those repairs and testing can take place at the same time.
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.
OC Transpo also introduced a new R1 Para service Wednesday, which it says will provide additional transit options for customers who require accessible service.
