Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[rocketphish]

LRT root-cause review raises more questions than it answers
Engineer says Ottawa residents deserve to see original report by train-maker Alstom

Arthur White-Crummey · CBC News
Posted: Oct 12, 2023 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Councillors are hoping for more clarity on the root cause of the LRT's bearing woes after getting a summary of years' worth of past reports, some of which have never been released to the public.

It was billed as a root-cause review and is set to come before council's transit commission on Thursday.

But an engineer who examined it for CBC says it sheds little light on what's actually behind the loose bearings that caused a 2021 derailment and prompted a lengthy shutdown this summer.

"I find it odd that they never identify or mention the root cause of all these problems directly, especially in a report that has 'Root Cause Review' in the title," said University of Ottawa professor Patrick Dumond, who specializes in the monitoring and diagnosis of bearing faults.

The review summarizes reports from the National Research Council, the Transportation Safety Board and MvX, a rail advisory company, briefly mentioning what they studied and recommended. It also references instrumented bogie testing from 2022, without providing any details of what that testing found.

Dumond also called that "odd."

Bogies are the structures on the bottom of trains that hold wheels and axles. The review mentions another 2023 bogie testing report being prepared by train-maker Alstom, as well as a separate, undated report from the same company.

According to the review, that report "contains recommendations, validated by testing and investigations, for a sustainable solution to the Ottawa LRT System." It's unclear if it's the same as a 2022 preliminary root-cause analysis by Alstom that the LRT public inquiry cited in its own report.

The undated Alstom report is summarized in just a few paragraphs of the city's review. One mentions recommendations around "changes to track infrastructure," "changes to wheel/rail profile" and "axle hub assembly," without any further detail about what changes are envisioned.

Alstom is currently working on redesigning the axle and wheel hub assemblies on its trains. The new design is expected to be in place by the end of next year, according to the review.

The city would not release the original Alstom report to CBC when asked.

"The City is working with Rideau Transit Group (RTG) and its partners to determine next steps regarding requests for documentation," said Richard Holder, the city's director of engineering services.

Dumond said citizens are owed clarity about what's wrong with the LRT.

"I'm split between they know exactly what's going on and nobody wants to take responsibility for it, versus they really don't know at all what's the root cause, which is why they're still trying to guess at all these things," he said.

"I think both are worrying."

Dumond said the review leaves him to guess at what the root cause might be from passing mentions.

"If I was to read between the lines of the report, it sounds like, in effect, the bearings and the trucks on the trains and other components on the wheel assemblies are being overloaded by the current system we have in place," he said.

That interpretation comes in part from a summary of the Alstom recommendations, which are meant "to address the root cause by reducing the lateral forces imposed on the wheelset during operation" and design a wheel assembly that can withstand those forces.

Lateral forces refers to pressures on the wheels from the sides. But there's nothing in the review that explicitly states what's generating those pressures.

Alstom's 2022 analysis blamed "the actual design of the track," according to the public inquiry report, though RTG has disputed that finding.

OC Transpo has previously mentioned contact with restraining rails as a potential force. Crews have since shifted those rails by miniscule amounts. But the review document briefly mentions all sorts of other possibilities that crop up in previous reports, without pinpointing one as the primary culprit.

"The reasons why they're overloaded might be because of the continuous pounding of the lateral restraining systems, because of the wheel profiles not matching the rails, because of the tighter corners than what is normal, because of the higher speeds, because of the larger, heavier trains than what the system was designed for," Dumond said.

"It doesn't say anything explicit in the report."

Coun. Wilson Lo, who sits on transit commission, said there might never be one single answer.

"My view of this is we'll never narrow it to one," he said. "I think it really is a combination of everything."

Still, he's looking for transit services staff to provide a more fulsome explanation at Thursday's meeting.

"I'm hopeful," said Lo. "But if not, I think it is more than fair for our transit commission to ask for a copy of that Alstom report."

He said the track infrastructure changes recommended by Alstom could be limited to restraining rail work, or they may relate to something more significant, like issues with the geometry of the curves. He doubts the rails will need to be completely ripped up, however.

Lo also wants to learn more about Alstom's trains, especially given longstanding concerns the city asked the company to push the limits by designing a light-rail train that could do heavy-rail work.

"I really hope that report sheds light on whether or not we even bought the correct trains or if maybe we're just using it incorrectly," he said.

Transit commission chair Glen Gower said the review does provide some answers.

"The key is there's a fundamental flaw in the design of those axle bearings and there's a lot of factors that have played into putting stress on those axles," he said.

"I don't think it's cut and dry to say it's just the axles, but clearly that's a major part of what we're dealing with."

But Gower said the review also brings up questions the commission will have to dive into on Thursday. He too wants to hear more from staff. He said commissioners often have the opportunity to review original documents, though there may be commercially protected information that prevents public release of the report.

He suspects that OC Transpo staff are simply being prudent in holding back from a definitive diagnosis for what ails the LRT.

"Until every single test is done, until the mitigation measures are implemented, until even the final reports and additional studies and investigations are done, I think everyone's being cautious about saying we know 100 per cent about every factor in this case," he said.

"There's still work that needs to continue and probably will continue for the lifespan of light rail."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/light-rail-ottawa-train-alstom-transit-commission-1.6992436

[J.OT13]

So this suggests that the City never lowered their rent over the pandemic. Weren't politicians encouraging private landowners to give a break to their retail tenants?

I wonder if Happy Goat can pick and choose which stations to take on next, or if it's an all or nothing proposition.

Also, if Happy Goat designed and built the kiosk at Rideau, do they lose their entire investment while the City gains an asset?

[rocketphish]

'You deserve better': Alstom lays out its plans to fix wheels on Ottawa LRT system
The culprit part is said to be is a nut inside the vehicles' sealed axle assembly that works loose under the unexpectedly high lateral vibration the trains have been subjected to.

Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen
Published Oct 12, 2023 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 3 minute read

Saying that Ottawa “deserves better,” a vice-president of trainmaker Alstom provided the most detailed explanation yet for the axle failures that have plagued the Confederation Line, causing both a derailment in August 2021 and this summer’s three-week shutdown of the LRT.

“At Alstom, we completely understand the people’s frustration. You deserve better,” Alstom’s vice-president of rolling stock, David Van der Wee, told the city’s transit commission on Thursday.

“This failure mode that we see in Ottawa we have not observed in our other fleets around the world,” said Van der Wee, adding that Alstom had more than 3,000 light-rail vehicles in service or on order, many of them similar to the Citadis Spirit vehicle used in Ottawa.

The culprit, he said, is a nut inside the vehicles’ sealed axle assembly that works loose under the unexpectedly high lateral vibration the trains have been subjected to. Left unchecked, the nut falls off and the wheel can come loose.

That was what happened in August 2021, when a train returning to the maintenance yard derailed just outside Tunney’s Pasture Station. There were no passengers on board and no injuries. In July 2022, an alert driver stopped his train when he felt unusual vibrations, and inspections later revealed the same axle failure as in the derailment.

This past July, a routine inspection found another train axle was leaking grease and found to have failed in a similar way.

Van der Wee used an animated video to illustrate what was happening inside the axle assemblies to cause the failure.

“That axle box is sealed,” he said. “You don’t touch anything inside the box. You don’t look at it. You don’t inspect it. You don’t do anything with it at all until 800,000 kilometres, when at a standard maintenance interval you may change the bearing.”

As a result of the failures, Rideau Transit Group is inspecting each axle assembly after every 3,750 kilometres of use, or about once every 10 days. The allowable “play” is just five-thousandths of an inch, or about the thickness of five human hairs.

Short-term solutions to the problem include adding some kind of pin to hold the nut in place or a second locking nut to keep it from moving. That would reduce the number of costly and time-consuming inspections needed and Alstom is trying to figure out how to apply that fix to the Ottawa fleet.

But Van der Wee cautioned that will take time. A prototype for the temporary fix of the axle assembly likely won’t be ready until mid 2025, and even then it will still have to be tested before being approved for use.

“The reality is we’re talking about a safety-critical system. The design, development, validation and deployment cycle is extensive,” he said.

Alstom is also looking at a long-term fix by completely redesigning the hub assembly to make it more robust.

In the meantime, a greasing system that reduces friction between the wheels and rails and moving guide rails at curves so they don’t contact the train wheels has been effective at reducing the damaging vibrations.

“Implementing these changes are what’s opened the door to the level of service we have today, even though it’s not the level that is deserved or what was expected,” Van der Wee said.

Two of the sharpest curves on the Confederation Line are at either end of Hurdman Station, where the train tracks swing to avoid a city pumping station that supplies water service to Orléans. Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney posed “the very unpopular question” — why not start again by ripping up the tracks and moving Hurdman Station to lessen the curves?

That was considered back in 2012, when the route for the LRT was being designed, and found to be too expensive, replied Richard Holder, the city’s director of engineering.

“The soil conditions in that area are very poor. We’re looking at $100 million just to move that pumping station,” he said.

The main water line would also have to be moved, and it would cost tens of millions more to move the tracks. “Then there’s the disruption. It would take years and years and years,” Holder said.

• Video Link

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...plans-to-fix-wheels-on-ottawa-lrt-system

[rocketphish]

RTG, Alstom haven't agreed on LRT solution
'We are, I believe, within weeks of getting to a root cause, but we are not at root cause yet'

Arthur White-Crummey · CBC News
Posted: Oct 12, 2023 5:09 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Rideau Transit Group (RTG) says it still doesn't fully understand the root cause of LRT bearing issues and is reviewing recommendations from train-builder Alstom that would require a shutdown of the system.

Alstom says it has a plan to reduce forces that are putting pressure on wheels and loosening bearings, an issue linked to a 2021 derailment and the summer shutdown this year. But RTG isn't yet completely on board with its plan.

"We are, I believe, within weeks of getting to a root cause, but we are not at root cause yet," said RTG head Nicolas Truchon.

He said RTG and Alstom agree that components are coming loose in the wheel assembly, but don't yet agree on why that's happening.

David Van der Wee, a vice-president of rolling stock and components for Alstom in North America, said the company submitted a 1,000 page report and believes that it does identify the cause.

"We are confident that we understand the root cause and what is the best path forward to resume service at a level that the citizens of Ottawa expect and deserve," he told reporters after his presentation.

"The root cause is that we have excessive lateral forces, and those forces come from a multitude of factors and we are starting to address those factors one by one."

The report made nine recommendations to do that. Some call for changes to track infrastructure, such as replacing soft rails with hard ones at curves and improving the rocky ballast under the tracks.

Truchon said doing that requires further study and independent assessment. He said the issue is not cost, but warned the changes could be disruptive to the system and that needs to be weighed against the benefits.

"Those are longer lead time recommendations; certainly not something we could hope to implement before winter," he said. "Those are the kind of improvements that, if we go ahead, will need shutdowns and will need time. So these need to be properly planned."

In the meantime, RTG is continuing with temporary safety measures like speed reductions and frequent inspections. It also plans to install top-of-rail lubrication systems to reduce friction, something that was promised during the most recent shutdown but hasn't yet been completed.

"This is going to result in a real significant benefit in a really short period of time," said Van der Wee, who explained that it reduces the lateral loads by 40 per cent.

Van der Wee highlighted another short-term solution in the works, after showing a video of what Alstom believes is going on inside the wheel assemblies when those forces loosen the parts.

He said the company's research has identified a nut that could be a primary culprit in disrupting the wheel assembly.

"One of the key things that everyone agrees about is the nut coming unscrewed as being a key portion of that, and how that needs to be a focal point no matter what is the sequence of events that comes to bring the nut being unscrewed," he said.

Van der Wee said Alstom is working on installing a pin to hold the nut in place and, eventually, adding a counternut screwed in the other direction. There are already prototypes of the pin, he said, and it could be ready for Ottawa's trains in months.

Truchon called that a "mitigation" measure that will avoid the kind of service interruption the system suffered this summer and allow a reduction in the frequency of inspections.

It could also reduce how often axles need to be replaced. Right now, that's happening every 60,000 kilometres, so often that OC Transpo is worried about a supply crunch.

"It's not sustainable forever," said city engineering director Richard Holder. "There is a challenge with the supply chain to replace the axles."

That's why OC Transpo is running single-car trains when it can — in a bid to save on wear and tear.

Van der Wee said Alstom would be comfortable with axle replacement every 400,000 kilometres after the nut issue is fixed. He said it will provide "breathing room."

"This is an absolute step change in reducing the burden on the maintenance team and reducing the exposure to not having appropriate material to keep the level of service going," he said.

As a longer term solution, Van der Wee explained what Alstom is doing to redesign the axle to make it better able to withstand unusual forces.

There are three possible changes: create a tighter fit between the shaft and the bearing, make a thicker more robust bearing, and apply a heat treatment to make the material more durable.

But those new axles aren't expected to begin rolling out until 2026.

Members of transit commission listened to those presentations in rapt attention. Commission chair Glen Gower asked if there was any possibility of another axle failure happening under the current short-term safety regime in place.

"With the safety measures that we've put in place the likelihood is virtually zero," said Van der Wee.

Coun. Tim Tierney asked how much it would cost to implement a truly radical solution: tearing up the tracks around Hurdman station and moving them in areas with the tightest curves.

Holder said moving a pumping station near the curve alone would cost about $100 million, while the cost of moving stations and a bridge would be "hugely expensive" and extremely time consuming.

"We're looking at years and years and years," he said.

Tierney wasn't satisfied.

"Hopefully we have a solution," he said. "At the end of the day, if the new bogey system doesn't work because we haven't made the curves to what the specs are, I feel that the citizens of Ottawa are going to be failed again for another decade."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/rtg-alstom-haven-t-agreed-on-lrt-solution-1.6994344

[eltodesukane]

"[...], because of the tighter corners than what is normal,
[...] because of the larger, heavier trains than what the system was designed for, [...]"

"[...] longstanding concerns the city asked the company to push the limits
by designing a light-rail train that could do heavy-rail work."

[Truenorth00]

OC Transpo should get compensation for the insane amount of Beta testing they did for Alstom.

But also, we voted for the clowns who allowed this project. We got the circus of project failure.

[DarthVader_1961]

Won’t be surprised if Hurdman is completely rebuilt at some point in the future

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by DarthVader_1961

Won’t be surprised if Hurdman is completely rebuilt at some point in the future

In a city that can't afford proper bus service, you imagine Council will some day pay for $100M+ rebuild?

[Hybrid247]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

So this suggests that the City never lowered their rent over the pandemic. Weren't politicians encouraging private landowners to give a break to their retail tenants?

I wonder if Happy Goat can pick and choose which stations to take on next, or if it's an all or nothing proposition.

Also, if Happy Goat designed and built the kiosk at Rideau, do they lose their entire investment while the City gains an asset?

The City (CREO) switched to a sales-based rental rate during the pandemic to reduce the pressure and financial burden on Happy Goat. They essentially were only required to pay a fixed percentage of their sales to rent.

I don't have an answer to your other two questions, but I can say that the option of converting the Rideau location to an OC customer service centre is being considered, and I'm not sure how much of the Happy Goat structure would remain in that scenario.

[rocketphish]

How will riders get on board when LRT builders can't agree on what went wrong?
Commercial interests should remain 'at their table,' says Reneé Amilcar

Elyse Skura · CBC News
Posted: Oct 14, 2023 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: October 14

Train-maker Alstom and the Rideau Transit Group trotted out a new list of possible solutions this week to issues haunting the light rail transit system — what should have been a beam of hope for transit riders frustrated with shortened cars and slower and less frequent service.

Bringing the LRT's contractors together was dubbed by OC Transpo chief Reneé Amilcar as "a giant leap for the City of Ottawa," and a chance to show how well they're co-operating to fix the problems.

Instead, it exposed just how far apart they remain.

"Certainly there are commercial interests at play between … RTG and Alstom. These interests are — and should remain — at their table. Not ours," Amilcar said in her introduction.

"I have advised them that the City of Ottawa is interested only in the permanent technical solution to this issue, and not commercial debates that may arise with them."

Dysfunction within the public-private partnership was a focal point of last year's public inquiry, which included much talk about the failures in communication and transparency.

That cast a pall over Thursday's meeting and overshadowed a declaration from Alstom that it's discovered the root cause of bearing issues.

It's a situation that has some councillors questioning how OC Transpo can hope to regain public confidence without first getting its contractors on the same page.

More than two years after a wheel fell off a light-rail car on its way back to the maintenance garage, bearing issues continue to plague the transit system.

But at least one of its builders says it now knows the incident's root cause.

"The train is feeling unexpected, high lateral load," Alstom's David Van der Wee told reporters.

He explained that the rail is exerting a greater force against the wheel than they were designed to handle.

The pronouncement sounds more like a physics lesson than a eureka moment — made even less impressive by the fact that RTG isn't ready to agree.

"We may get to an agreement with Alstom on their theory, but we're not quite ready to go there yet," explained the consortium's CEO Nicolas Truchon. "We still have evidence that we need to review."

It's a debate that is far from new.

The final report for last year's public inquiry that said Alstom's preliminary findings suggested some fault with the system's track infrastructure was rejected by its builder, RTG.

Signing on to this latest report would mean signing up for potentially costly and disruptive upgrades.

They include switching to harder rail around the system's tricky curves and building a retaining wall near Hurdman station to keep the ballast — the rocky base that keeps track from distorting — in place.

Despite frequent mentions of co-operation and "what we can agree on," the more subtle comments reveal the remaining distance between RTG and its subcontractor.

Van der Wee noted Alstom's report — which councillors and the public have not been permitted to see — is 1,000 pages and informed by its collective corporate expertise.

Careful listeners would note Truchon clarifying that the document's page count includes an assortment of previously released reports, and stating more than once that RTG is also relying on outside experts providing "the independent perspective."

Then there's the recurring debate that's become a frequent topic of discussion among Ottawa's transit users: Does the fault for issues lie with the train or the tracks?

"Everybody sees the track. You can get any expert to come in. You can walk the track over three days. You'll get a good report and everybody's going to have an opinion about the track," Truchon emphasized.

"The track is no better, no worse than the standard track in North America. That's the advice we're getting. Can it be improved? Of course it can be improved. Any track can be improved."

Alstom's defences also seemed to be up.

"The design of the system was fully known and understood by Alstom when [designing the specifications of] the vehicle," said Van der Wee.

"I want to be clear … the vehicle is suitable for the system."

From those statements, and the reports, Amilcar made a clearer assertion: We need to work on the track and on the vehicle.

Given the cost of the LRT Stage 1 contract — $2.1 billion for its construction and $4 to $5 million for monthly maintenance costs — and the project's legal history, it's hardly surprising that contractors don't want to provide a mea culpa.

But it's also true that the system is extremely complicated.

While Truchon noted the transparency owed to the city, he cautioned against rushing to apply a potential fix that could create new and long-term problems.

Still, transit commissioners pushed for answers that were not readily available.

For River ward Coun. Riley Brockington, that meant demanding an assurance that "the containment strategy, the mitigation strategy, the root cause analysis and the ultimate sustainable solution" would not be financed by taxpayers.

Amilcar answers the question not once, but twice: first, by saying RTG would pay it all and then clarifying that the city bears some of the bills for outside consultant TRA.

When pressed, Truchon was more coy, simply saying "I don't think it's appropriate for me to comment at this time."

Though short of a final answer, councillors did get to hear many detailed, technical responses, resulting in a mix of satisfaction and desire for more.

"I'm comfortable after this meeting that they understand the dynamics that are at play," said Kitchisippi ward Coun. Jeff Leiper.

But while that might be enough to get train service back to an acceptable limit, Leiper isn't fully satisfied.

He said cities across the country will want a better explanation of what's gone wrong with the system, especially given Ottawa is committed to further expanding it.

"The fact that it happened at all is still unexplained. And the disruption to Ottawa residents has been so extreme, with a derailment and multiple long-term outages of the system, that they're owed that answer," he said.

"I don't think that either I or many of my colleagues are going to let that rest."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ho...can-t-agree-on-what-went-wrong-1.6996031

[rocketphish]

LRT train stopped on tracks after driver receives 'fault notification'
Train stopped west of Bayview station for about 45 minutes

CBC News
Posted: Oct 16, 2023 3:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago



Service along parts of the Confederation Line came to a brief stop Monday morning after the driver of a light-rail vehicle received an "on-board fault notification" and stopped the train on the tracks, OC Transpo says.

The stoppage started at about 8 a.m. Monday and lasted for about 45 minutes, affecting westbound service at Lyon, Pimisi and Bayview stations.

"A train came to a safe stop west of Bayview Station after the operator received an on-board fault notification," OC Transpo said in an email.

The operator attempted to reset the train but further troubleshooting by a Rideau Transit Maintenance technician was required to get the train up and running again, the email said.

At 8:20 a.m., OC Transpo acknowledged the stoppage in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Trains were being held at some stations due to the stopped train, a later post said, and service at Lyon, Pimisi and Bayview stations was restricted to eastbound trains only.

In a post on X at 8:42 a.m., OC Transpo said R1 replacement bus service had begun running between Tunney's Pasture and Lyon stations.

Shortly before 9 a.m., the problem was resolved.

OC Transpo said the affected train was parked at Tunney's Pasture station and would be returned to the maintenance facility for a "detailed inspection."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/lrt-train-stoppage-1.6997263

[SL123]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

.....OC Transpo said the affected train was parked at Tunney's Pasture station and would be returned to the maintenance facility for a "detailed inspection."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/lrt-train-stoppage-1.6997263

Speaking of parked train. Does anyone know if they've planned to include 1 or more pocket track on the West side for stage 2? I know on the East they've built one just after Blair next to Costco, but I have no idea if they've also included one on the West side.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by SL123

Speaking of parked train. Does anyone know if they've planned to include 1 or more pocket track on the West side for stage 2? I know on the East they've built on just after Blair next to Costco, but I have no idea if they've also included one on the West side.

Lincoln Fields' third track will essentially be a pocket track since that platform will only be used late nights. Algonquin will also have pocket tracks for train storage in the tunnel.

That said, would be nice to have an additional pocket track in the Scott Street trench near Tunney's. Not like there's a lack of space.

[SL123]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Lincoln Fields' third track will essentially be a pocket track since that platform will only be used late nights. Algonquin will also have pocket tracks for train storage in the tunnel.

That said, would be nice to have an additional pocket track in the Scott Street trench near Tunney's. Not like there's a lack of space.

Oh good to know! Although its quite a long gap between Blair and LF without a place to park a train without blocking the flow on one side.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by SL123

Oh good to know! Although its quite a long gap between Blair and LF without a place to park a train without blocking the flow on one side.

Pocket track at Hurdman was supposed to be part of Stage 2 as well. Not sure if that's still in the plans.

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Pocket track at Hurdman was supposed to be part of Stage 2 as well. Not sure if that's still in the plans.

The space for it was protected as part of Stage 1, but it was never planned to be a part of Stage 2.

[DTcrawler]

I was driving SB on the Vanier Pkwy tonight and noticed a Line 1 train going WB much faster than what I'm used to seeing for this stretch of track. Usually I see trains crawling across that overpass.

Wondering if the TSR for that stretch has been lifted? It was a one-car train if that matters at all. I ride Line 1 almost daily but almost never go further east than Rideau station so I haven't been keeping up with what speeds are like on that brutal stretch between Lees and St. Laurent stations.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

I was driving SB on the Vanier Pkwy tonight and noticed a Line 1 train going WB much faster than what I'm used to seeing for this stretch of track. Usually I see trains crawling across that overpass.

Wondering if the TSR for that stretch has been lifted? It was a one-car train if that matters at all. I ride Line 1 almost daily but almost never go further east than Rideau station so I haven't been keeping up with what speeds are like on that brutal stretch between Lees and St. Laurent stations.

Don't have any info on that, nor can I provide an anecdotal account (been two weeks since I took the train), but it would not matter if it's a single or double. They all have to go the same speed to maintain a schedule.

[daud]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

I was driving SB on the Vanier Pkwy tonight and noticed a Line 1 train going WB much faster than what I'm used to seeing for this stretch of track. Usually I see trains crawling across that overpass.

Wondering if the TSR for that stretch has been lifted? It was a one-car train if that matters at all. I ride Line 1 almost daily but almost never go further east than Rideau station so I haven't been keeping up with what speeds are like on that brutal stretch between Lees and St. Laurent stations.

I actually jumped on this thread to comment on the trains between hurdman and Tremblay. I was on Industrial at Riverside on Saturday and I could not believe how slow the train was moving through this section. I literally could do a fast walk at the same speed. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by daud

I actually jumped on this thread to comment on the trains between hurdman and Tremblay. I was on Industrial at Riverside on Saturday and I could not believe how slow the train was moving through this section. I literally could do a fast walk at the same speed. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing.

There is nothing worse to drive away ridership than pathetically slow service. When you look at REM, the trains often cross the Champlain Bridge at speeds faster than the neighbouring traffic. Good PR isn't it? We are doing this in reverse. Slow speed, and unreliable service (across the entire transit network) makes a lot of people want to hop into a car even with infuriating traffic.