LRT service will not resume Monday as OC Transpo misses expected return date
Return to service will be delayed at least 10 days, OC Transpo says
The expected Monday return to service for Ottawa's light rail transit system is delayed, OC Transpo says.
Rideau Transit Group (RTG), the consortium that built the Confederation Line, told the city more work on the tracks is needed before service can resume, according to a memo from the city's general manager of transit services Renée Amilcar.
RTG is working to ensure wheels on the trains do not contact restraining rails meant to prevent derailments located along the tracks, the memo said.
That contact may be putting pressure on the train bearings, the part behind the latest shutdown. After a new risk assessment is completed, Amilcar wrote, work on the track will take about 10 days.
That risk assessment will begin over the weekend, Amilcar said at a news conference Friday. The full news conference is available in the player above.
OC Transpo will provide an update on risk assessment progress Monday.
Restraining rails will have to be moved by a matter of millimetres in several places along the track to ensure no contact with the train wheels, Amilcar said.
"I can tell you I am sad this afternoon," Amilcar said. "I sincerely apologize for not upholding my promise to gradually resume the service on Monday."
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe called the decision not to resume service Monday an "incredibly frustrating setback" for OC Transpo passengers.
"This is, to say the least, a significant disappointment," he said.
R1 replacement bus service will continue unchanged Monday.
Amilcar did not directly answer whether OC Transpo is considering reimbursement for transit riders.
The shutdown
Ottawa's light rail system has been shut down for more than a week after it was pulled out of service on July 17. A bearing problem is behind the latest shutdown, but the city has not explained why the issue keeps happening.
At a Wednesday news conference, OC Transpo said it expected the LRT to be up and running this Monday but with just eight single-car trains, a fraction of its total 45-car fleet.
That timeline, however, hinged on a report OC Transpo expected to receive Friday from French axle manufacturer Texelis. The report was the final of three conditions set by the transit agency before service could resume.
OC Transpo received that report Friday.
It had previously said the other two conditions — a draft safety note and a requirement that all trains be inspected — were met earlier this week.
However, it was the safety note, and additional conditions from Alstom, that ultimately led to the delay.