Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

Been thinking about the Hurdman station bus loop problem. Obviously Tunney's and Blair are temporary setups while Hurdman will remain a key bus-rail transfer point for decades to come.

Let's pretend for a moment the city and NCC are able to reach a deal regarding the land issue. From that point, how feasible is it to actually move the bus loop such that walking times are reduced and there's an opportunity to provide more shelter for transferring passengers?

I'd imagine the ideal configuration would be an "island" platform area centred around the main station building, meaning buses would need to travel in a clockwise direction around the loop for the doors to open on the correct side to serve the station.

There would also need to be two pass-throughs constructed underneath the O-Train tracks for buses to complete the loop around the station. This is aided by the fact that the station itself already features an elevated guideway. On the western side of the station, there looks to be enough clearance for 40 footers and artics to pass underneath the guideway. But to fit double-deckers you'd probably need to increase the clearance by digging down between the support columns for the new roadway. On the eastern side of the station (where buses would be exiting the loop) it's a little trickier as the guideway is on top of a berm. I'd imagine tunnelling into this portion without significantly disrupting O-Train service would be the costliest part of this endeavour, but is it even possible is the main question?

This is obviously a fantasy exercise as even with the NCC issue aside, we'd need a Council and OCT management in place which are actually customer-oriented and willing to improve service - we can only dream.

Seems unlikely even a customer service oriented service is going to rip up everything to make marginal improvements.

The problem with all of these is the very long layovers and therefore huge area needed for idling busses. While I know you need somewhere to change drivers and provide a break a lot of the layovers don't seem to be that as much as padded schedules in order to make busses at least start on time. I know we all want the 4:23 bus to be there if we time our train for it but I think most of us would rather have 4 busses an hour that are sometimes late that 3 busses that spend 20 minutes every hour sitting at Hurdman.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Blair isn't really that temporary. It will still be needed as a bus transfer for the urban east end and the Cumberland Transitway.

I have to love how the actual urban east end gets the shite transfer points at Blair, and the good ones, inside the zone and next to the trains, are reserved for the Orleans suburbans.

[caveat.doctor]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Here's from 2 years ago:

Thanks! You can see how the steps aren't at all obvious as you approach, hence the danger for bikes especially at speed and when the pictogramme isn't obvious or clear for all users - it's more understood as "keep right" [of the flexipost] rather than "turn right" (which would have had an arrow with a 90-degree angle in it - and even then I doubt most would get it).

Originally Posted by zzptichka

People have been complaining for years. For the city, it's either cones, or a million-dollar rebuild. There is no in-between. Although next, we'll probably see an ugly crowd control fence blocking the entire path.

Maybe it's just me but I'd rather prefer them spend their resources on new infrastructure rather than trying to fix this.

Agree to disagree on spending resources on infrastructure vs. fixing this - admittedly my bias for this is based on seeing my son go over the steps, crash and get thrown off his bike, which was one of the scarier things that's happened as a parent so far. I suppose now that it's happened it's that much less likely to happen again to us personally. But I think if it a zero-sum situation, the incremental benefit to putting the money to some piece of infrastructure out there vs. correcting this design error still leans overall towards fixing this. I think bollards would be fine.

Guess it depends what we're talking about as the cost of the bollards here vs. the lost opportunity on whatever other piece of infrastructure is on the to-do list.

[rocketphish]

Alstom resuming work to redesign troublesome LRT bearing
Solution hailed as permanent fix to problem that led to derailment last summer

Elyse Skura · CBC News
Posted: Sep 12, 2024 12:39 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago

OC Transpo says trainmaker Alstom is getting back to work on a new wheel bearing assembly system that's been hailed as a permanent solution to the ongoing problems that led to a derailment last summer.

The redesign has been under discussion since the shutdown of the Confederation Line in August 2023. Officials from both OC Transpo and Rideau Transit Group (RTG) say they've now arrived at a "sustainable solution."

But friction between RTG and its subcontractor Alstom threatened to derail the fix.

OC Transpo surprised councillors in late May with news that the work was on hold, but Alstom was not invited to the meeting where the issue was discussed.

RTG had said Alstom's decision to halt work was based on the trainmaker's internal investigations on the cause of ongoing system problems, but a source without permission to speak on the matter later told CBC it had only paused to get RTG's feedback on the pre-design phase.

On Thursday, OC Transpo told members of the transit commission that RTG has now directed Alstom to resume that work.

"This is fantastic," said OC Transpo chief Renée Amilcar, who also told commissioners that RTG has committed to provide a consolidated report on the issue this December.

Richard Holder, the city's director of rail construction, also confirmed that efforts to address the problem are continuing. That includes pinning nuts within the current cartridges, testing vibration monitoring equipment, adjusting restraining rails and lubricating the rails to reduce friction.

Staff provided no details on a new timeline for when the new bearing assembly system will be designed, tested and rolled out across the system.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...ring-1.7321264

[Richard Eade]

Glad to hear it. In my opinion, there is a problem with those bogies on those vehicles. They might be fine with other, lighter, vehicles, but not under the Ottawa version.

I was standing by the western portal of the O-Train tunnel the other day. When the trains came out, there was a quite an audible noise. The same sort of noise that occurs east of Hurdman. The sound of the wheels shuttering and rapidly jumping. I don’t believe that the westbound curve out of the tunnel is as tight as the Hurdman curves, but the noise is still there.

The sun was such that, after the train had passed, the ‘scalloping’ of the rail top was quite noticeable. Not being able to get too close, I don’t know how bad the wear is, but it was certainly noticeable from behind the fence on the north side.

Yes, putting a pin through the bearing nut will prevent it from loosening due to vibration, but that is a Band-Aid® measure. And it doesn’t stop the rapid wheel and track wear.

The bogie needs to be redesigned.

[sseguin]

O-Train Line 1 : The Confederation Line's 5th Anniversary

On September 14, 2019, the Confederation Line opened in Ottawa, ushering in a new era for the city’s transit system. After years of construction, this modern, electrified line transformed the way people move through the city, offering a glimpse into the future with its planned extensions already under construction.

• Video Link

[DTcrawler]

Recall Line 1's opening day, when Allan Hubley, chair of the Transit Commission at the time, had to rush through his comments to the media because he had illegally parked his car attending the opening ceremony.

Looking back this was a canary in the coal mine as to the direction transit was heading in this city (granted our course was already set long before that day).

[OTownandDown]

Originally Posted by caveat.doctor

Thanks! You can see how the steps aren't at all obvious as you approach, hence the danger for bikes especially at speed and when the pictogramme isn't obvious or clear for all users - it's more understood as "keep right" [of the flexipost] rather than "turn right" (which would have had an arrow with a 90-degree angle in it - and even then I doubt most would get it).



Agree to disagree on spending resources on infrastructure vs. fixing this - admittedly my bias for this is based on seeing my son go over the steps, crash and get thrown off his bike, which was one of the scarier things that's happened as a parent so far. I suppose now that it's happened it's that much less likely to happen again to us personally. But I think if it a zero-sum situation, the incremental benefit to putting the money to some piece of infrastructure out there vs. correcting this design error still leans overall towards fixing this. I think bollards would be fine.

Guess it depends what we're talking about as the cost of the bollards here vs. the lost opportunity on whatever other piece of infrastructure is on the to-do list.

It costs literally a few hundred dollars for bollards here, to save countless people crashing. Its crazy there aren't bollards already.



Doubly crazy is the frigging station entrance (at the far pylon in the photo). The fancy architectural column, coupled with a HUGE curbed island sticking out into the path of travel, and opposite, a giant hole where nothing is planted but mulch.

What the hell is this design. 90% of the users here are cyclists passing thru. Why isn't the cycle track a straight line through the decorative sunken garden, at the furthest point from the station. i know there's a circular indigenous meeting place, but its current use is as a shitter, and actually should probably be removed as well, perhaps adjusted to a circular seating area in the centre of the sunken garden. Better as a visual block where that wet spot shows on the centre of the photo above, to indicate to cyclists to not go hurtling off the stairs.

NCC: bUt wHaT abOUt fEsTivaLs aNd pEdeSTRians!? Please. The station is so bunged up during festivals, cyclists would not be the issue.

ALSO speaking of festivals, under the booth overpass, the old bridge still exists and is an EXCELLENT campground space (apparently). WHY isn't there an at-grade paved bike path along the base of the giant bridge approach to the north, which would parallel the base of the road bed, and pop out at grade at Wellington intersection? I know claridge is intending to build at the east side, but the west side is also currently available to pave a bike path. It would be a perfect connection in an area that has a hardcore lobster-trap feel. On google maps, its almost a straight line from Pimisi East, under the bridge, parallel to booth on the exposed bedrock to the west, and then the Fleck Fountain Plaza is where it would end.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

It costs literally a few hundred dollars for bollards here, to save countless people crashing. Its crazy there aren't bollards already.



Doubly crazy is the frigging station entrance (at the far pylon in the photo). The fancy architectural column, coupled with a HUGE curbed island sticking out into the path of travel, and opposite, a giant hole where nothing is planted but mulch.

What the hell is this design. 90% of the users here are cyclists passing thru. Why isn't the cycle track a straight line through the decorative sunken garden, at the furthest point from the station. i know there's a circular indigenous meeting place, but its current use is as a shitter, and actually should probably be removed as well, perhaps adjusted to a circular seating area in the centre of the sunken garden. Better as a visual block where that wet spot shows on the centre of the photo above, to indicate to cyclists to not go hurtling off the stairs.

NCC: bUt wHaT abOUt fEsTivaLs aNd pEdeSTRians!? Please. The station is so bunged up during festivals, cyclists would not be the issue.

ALSO speaking of festivals, under the booth overpass, the old bridge still exists and is an EXCELLENT campground space (apparently). WHY isn't there an at-grade paved bike path along the base of the giant bridge approach to the north, which would parallel the base of the road bed, and pop out at grade at Wellington intersection? I know claridge is intending to build at the east side, but the west side is also currently available to pave a bike path. It would be a perfect connection in an area that has a hardcore lobster-trap feel. On google maps, its almost a straight line from Pimisi East, under the bridge, parallel to booth on the exposed bedrock to the west, and then the Fleck Fountain Plaza is where it would end.

Agree with all of this. It's hard to see how this got approved. What is the point of years of consultations, consultants and absolute risk averse nature if you let something that is really tracherous get through. The whole station is clearly overbuilt as are most of the stations though at least this is a heavily used on. All these huge walls and yet we still need fare inspectors because busses are all POP.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I have to love how the actual urban east end gets the shite transfer points at Blair, and the good ones, inside the zone and next to the trains, are reserved for the Orleans suburbans.

Fully agree. We live north of Blair station. We walk or bike in and have to go up two flights of stairs and down two flights of stairs. If we want to bring our bikes on the train, that legacy single elevator sucks; have to flip the bikes up and have a limited time before the door closes, and that door isn't like modern elevators where a light touch will reopen it, oh no, it's the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; you get out of its way or you die.

They're doing the same mistake with Place d'Orleans Park and Ride elevator, keeping the old one.

[rocketphish]

Bid to restore sub-10-minute LRT service narrowly voted down by Ottawa council
Off-peak LRT train intervals were extended to 10 minutes, from five minutes previously, in July as a cost-saving measure.

Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen
Published Sep 18, 2024 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 3 minute read

A motion to reverse service cuts on the Confederation Line LRT was narrowly defeated by city council Wednesday, with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe casting the deciding vote.

Council voted 13-12 to defeat a motion by Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine that would have immediately increased off-peak service on the Confederation Line to one train every seven minutes instead of the current 10-minute intervals. Trains had been running every five minutes on the line until July, when OC Transpo reduced frequency to every 10 minutes between 9 a.m and 3 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The cut — Transit General Manager Renée Amilcar calls it a “service adjustment” — will save $600,000 in 2024 and $1.6 million over a full year. Running trains every eight minutes at off-peak hours would save $1.2 million annually and every seven minutes would save $800,000.

OC Transpo is facing a $25-million operating deficit this year.

Sutcliffe said he voted against Devine’s motion as a “matter of principle” and to give Amilcar and OC Transpo the freedom to decide the best way to operate.

“We have a team at OC Transpo that we’ve delegated authority to make decisions about the frequency of service. They’re the experts,” Sutcliffe told reporters after Wednesday’s meeting.

“They made the decision to reduce the frequency … based on what they view as in the best interest of the service, a sustainable service, and the best interest of their passengers. They made those decisions. We’re not going to make them for them.”

The vote came after a lengthy debate and considerable legislative manoeuvring. Initially Coun. Jeff Leiper brought a motion to restore five-minute service on the Confederation Line once the north-south Trillium Line began running. That motion was upended by another motion from transit commission chair Glen Gower to have OC Transpo review and possibly adjust train frequency once it had solid data on how the return to office by federal public servants three days a week was affecting ridership. (Devine’s defeated motion would also have allowed OC Transpo to adjust its train schedule after assessing back-to-office ridership.)

Gower’s motion was passed by council in a 14-11 vote, largely divided along council’s urban and suburban/rural split.

Urban councillors said a 10-minute wait for a train was too long and broke the city’s original promise of “rapid and frequent” LRT service. Shift workers and university students, whose travel times don’t coincide with morning and afternoon rush hours, are particularly affected by the less frequent trains.

Suburban councillors, meanwhile, complained of overloaded buses heading downtown and residents left stranded at park-and-rides.

“We don’t have an unlimited amount of money,” Gower told reporters after the meeting. “We’re already well over budget. We want to make sure we focus on areas where the need is greatest, and right now that need is greatest in our bus network, less so in off-peak hours of LRT.”

Gower said councillors needed more information and shouldn’t be making decisions “based on our gut feeling.”

“It’s too early right now to understand the effect of return to office, not just on the LRT, but on bus ridership across the whole network. So I want to see more information before we jump in and make a decision,” he said.

There was one glimmer of hope for train riders. Fixes for the troublesome wheels on Confederation Line trains and improvements to the tracks should eventually eliminate the need for speed reductions that have been in place near uOttawa and Hurdman stations, slowing trains to a jogging pace. When those restrictions are removed, the 10-minute frequency should be reduced to eight minutes, Pat Scrimgeour, OC Transpo’s director of transit customer systems and planning, told councillors.

Scrimgeour could not say, however, when the speed restrictions might end.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...ottawa-council

[lrt's friend]

Looking forward to the future when Phase 2 opens, does this mean that Line 1 and 3 will have 20 minute frequency during off peak hours with a combined frequency of 10 minutes between Blair and Lincoln Fields?

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Looking forward to the future when Phase 2 opens, does this mean that Line 1 and 3 will have 20 minute frequency during off peak hours with a combined frequency of 10 minutes between Blair and Lincoln Fields?

I would have said no that's ridiculous after phase 2 the prioritiy will have to shift to LRT over bus frequency but reading the debate on LRT cuts the suburban councillors were absolutely treating the LRT as a downtown thing and busses as their priority. If Moodie is where all the west end busses will dump folks at least they will see the value in frequency there being as important as their individual bus. As you say waiting 18 minutes for the next train arriving their will be a big chokepoint.

At this point with the new paradigm we are living in they might as well throw out the previous plans post phase 2. With less funds we will have to figure out what the priorities are. But let's get through this budget first and see where we land.

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

I would have said no that's ridiculous after phase 2 the prioritiy will have to shift to LRT over bus frequency but reading the debate on LRT cuts the suburban councillors were absolutely treating the LRT as a downtown thing and busses as their priority. If Moodie is where all the west end busses will dump folks at least they will see the value in frequency there being as important as their individual bus. As you say waiting 18 minutes for the next train arriving their will be a big chokepoint.

At this point with the new paradigm we are living in they might as well throw out the previous plans post phase 2. With less funds we will have to figure out what the priorities are. But let's get through this budget first and see where we land.

Honestly, spend an extra $$ and get the train to Terry Fox then call it quits in the West. No need for Phase 3 as it was proposed....particularly if the arena moves downtown. Local buses can dump everybody between Eagleson and Terry Fox instead of the massive bottleneck that will be Moodie. That is if anyone comes back to riding transit again cause from my vantage it seems that they are all on the road Tues-Thurs right now

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by AuxTown

Honestly, spend an extra $$ and get the train to Terry Fox then call it quits in the West. No need for Phase 3 as it was proposed....particularly if the arena moves downtown. Local buses can dump everybody between Eagleson and Terry Fox instead of the massive bottleneck that will be Moodie. That is if anyone comes back to riding transit again cause from my vantage it seems that they are all on the road Tues-Thurs right now

But if there's no Phase 3, what else will the city spend taxes from the top three downtown tax-paying wards on?

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

But if there's no Phase 3, what else will the city spend taxes from the top three downtown tax-paying wards on?

Oh don't worry they will find lots of things.

[ponyboycurtis]

https://ottawa.citynews.ca/2024/09/2...-this-weekend/

From the article;

LRT closure this weekend

"O-Train Line 1 service between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations will not run on Sunday, Sept. 29 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., as well as the full day on Saturday, October 5, wrote the City of Ottawa.

O-Train service will resume around noon on September 29th and during this pause, R1 replacement bus service will be available every eight minutes from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. between the stations.

On Saturday, Oct. 5, R1 replacement bus service will be offered every eight minutes from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations.

A shuttle bus service will also be offered every 15 minutes between St-Laurent and Cyrville stations and every 30 minutes between Lees Station and Mackenzie King Bridge.

During O-Train Line 1 closures, communications and computer systems integrating the Stage 2 East Extension with the Line 1 system will be tested, said the city."

I like the sound of the last paragraph. That is a pretty significant milestone.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Blair isn't really that temporary. It will still be needed as a bus transfer for the urban east end and the Cumberland Transitway.

The inner-suburban east end, anyway.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

The inner-suburban east end, anyway.

Well, yeah. That. Even though the inner suburban east end isn't urban urban, it still feels urban in the way that it's dotted with towers, has a mix of income, it's diverse.

[rocketphish]

Ottawa LRT shut down Saturday, Sunday morning
The OC Transpo O-Train will be out of service Saturday and part of Sunday morning as work continues on Stage 2 O-Train east extension.

Staff Reporter, Ottawa Citizen
Published Oct 04, 2024 • Last updated 7 hours ago • 1 minute read

The O-Train will be out of service Saturday and part of Sunday morning as Transpo continues work to integrate the Stage 2 O-Train East extension with the existing Line 1 system.

The LRT will be out of service from 6 a.m. Saturday until 10 a.m. on Sunday.

East-West Connectors will be working to test and validate train control software that will integrate the systems.

This work cannot be completed during normal engineering hours, OC Transpo says. Residents may see trains operating on Line 1 during the service suspension as part of the testing work.

Replacement bus service, or R1, will be running between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations all day Saturday and again Sunday between 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

The city’s managing director of transport, Renée Amilcar, says a shuttle bus will run between St. Laurent and Cyrville stations and between Lees Station and the Mackenzie King Bridge.

“We appreciate that this work is disruptive to our customers and apologize for any inconvenience,” she said in the release.

“We continue to work collaboratively with both East-West Connectors and Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) to minimize impacts to customers wherever possible.”

Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) will also be completing other work on Line 1 later this fall, which may cause further temporary service adjustments.

The city said further information will be shared as soon as they’re done planning for these activities.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...sunday-morning