Council directs OC Transpo to conduct safety audit of O-Train 'spalling' issue
OC Transpo was directed to initiate the safety audit once full service is restored and to present the findings to the transit committee.
By Aedan Helmer, Ottawa Citizen
Published Feb 25, 2026 | Last updated 2 hours ago
Ottawa city council has directed OC Transpo to conduct an audit into safety concerns that resulted in 41 trains being removed from service due to “spalling” issues with the cartridge bearing assembly in the train cars’ axles.
Council passed a motion from Coun. David Hill directing OC Transpo’s chief safety officer to initiate the safety audit as soon as full train service has been restored and to present the audit’s findings to the transit committee within four months of commencing the study.
If full service is not restored by the end of September, or if OC Transpo finds it unlikely that full service will be restored by that time, staff were directed to submit a report to council and the auditor general with a completion timeline and “all known issues — spalling and otherwise — regarding the Line 1 technical complications.”
The staff report should explain “the most current information and analysis” on any technical issues, according to Hill’s motion, which was seconded by Coun. Glen Gower, chair of the city’s transit committee.
There is currently no timeline for the full restoration of Line 1 service.
The motion also requests Auditor General Nathalie Gougeon to “consider increasing the priority of the agile audit of the LRT … so that work can begin as soon as the audit by OC Transpo has been submitted to the Auditor General’s Office, should she believe further value could be added by her office in this area.”
OC Transpo was forced to take 41 train cars out of service for inspection and repairs in January after the Rideau Transit Group identified an issue with spalling in the cartridge bearing assemblies on the train’s axles.
OC Transpo interim general manager Troy Charter has explained spalling as flakes breaking away from the metal surface inside the bearing, contaminating the grease and inhibiting the bearings from rotating smoothly, which can result in further degradation and “can ultimately lead to a failure.”
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