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Originally Posted by Charles5
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It seems a little odd that MOOSE wouldn't just use Walkley yard for storage and maintenance. I mean, it's
right there and practically empty most of the time. There's room to build maintenance buildings (in the north eastern corner), but I guess they would have to pay fees to use the yard.
As far as the corridor goes, it's a damn shame that it's been torn up. A rail link to Chelsea and Wakefield would probably be one of the better parts of this plan. It is strange however that no one was willing to fork up a few million dollars to repair flood damage, but what would happen if the new bike trail were washed out, who would pay for those repairs? Would money be spent upgrading the existing land to prevent further damage? It would seem a little hypocritical if that were to happen.
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O-Train, Trillium Line, POW Bridge:
This portion of the network does fall under federal jurisdiction. However, the Certificate of Fitness for the City of Ottawa indicates that it will be used for light rail.
Capacity issues: Currently the line is maxed out with trains every 12 minutes in both directions (10 trains/hour). MOOSE would like to add an additional 8 trains I believe, 2 per hour in each directin over two lines. There is insufficient capacity for this. The Constitution Act may grant a right of way but nothing states it has to be done at the expense of exisiting use of the line. The City could allow the transit of MOOSE trains but at off peak hours which would be rather pointless for MOOSE. Even if the two entities shared equally it would only allow for half of the proposed MOOSE trains to transit through that portion.
Compatibility: The Trillium line is being run as light rail (as per Certificate of Fitness linked below) but still has a legacy as heavy rail. I don't know if the O-Train and MOOSE are compatible with one another in regards to station design, etc. Definitely the long term plan to electrify the line (which is necessary to expand further to the South after Phase 2) is not compatible with a double decker heavy rail car.
https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/745-r-2000
My conclusion: POSSIBLE BUT UNLIKELY
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An important thing to note would be MOOSE's proposal to help fund further double tracking of the corridor. That would help/solve any capacity issues.
As far as compatibility, it's complicated, but I can see MOOSE being granted an exception to use
some type of heavy rail along the corridor that would also allow it to be compatible with the main lines. (As in, it would need to be equipped with automatic train protection, etc.)
With regards to station design, all stations except Bayview are designed to be compatible with regular heavy rail traffic since the stations were built while the line was still considered a freight corridor. The platform extenders would need to be modified. With the platforms being extended for Stage 2, I don't think platforms would be an issue.
Your point on electrification is likely incorrect. Unless the city installed a special system that would only be compatible with their trains, the line could be electrified and continue to be compatible with any other types of rail vehicle. Electrified lines and heavy rail equipment exist, just look at Montreal for example.
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