Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by daud

this pretty much encapsulates the mindset of many in the city right now. I know there are a lot of optimistic posters on this board and I just hope they are more right.

The trains look fantastic, the line and stations look great. But it has to work. That is sort of a key element in this

When things go wrong, it's human nature to become very pessimistic. Let's not kid ourselves, there will be problems after launch, but in the end things will work out as they always do.

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by kmcamp

When things go wrong, it's human nature to become very pessimistic. Let's not kid ourselves, there will be problems after launch, but in the end things will work out as they always do.

They could have positively spun this with a press release announcing that the derailment test was successful

[sseguin]

Water in tunnel... i'm not concerned.
Derailment passing over a switch in the Belfast Yard... no concern there either.

IT's the testing phase, lets test and push the system to fix and adjust what is needed to raise reliability. All normal stuff.

Not normal how media always picks up so quickly on it. Lack of LRT good news so they push on anything they can get. Unfortunate.

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by sseguin

Water in tunnel... i'm not concerned.
Derailment passing over a switch in the Belfast Yard... no concern there either.

IT's the testing phase, lets test and push the system to fix and adjust what is needed to raise reliability. All normal stuff.

Not normal how media always picks up so quickly on it. Lack of LRT good news so they push on anything they can get. Unfortunate.

Well, RTG doesn't help things with their standard response of "don't worry your pretty little heads, everything is peachy" which everyone has learned to distrust. I really do believe this was a goof, but more info from RTG would certainly help matters.

[J.OT13]

Any guesses on the potential weekday ridership of each station. Or at the very least, ranking predictions.

Here's what I see based on Edmonton (half the ridership, slightly more expansive system) and Vancouver (double the ridership, much larger system) numbers.

1. Tunney's 70,000: Closest terminus to the core, transfer station for two of the big burbs and the entire west end of the inner greenbelt. Possibly a few Aylmer STO routes.
2. Parliament 64,000: Heart of the CBD.
3. Lyon: 58,000: Serves the CBD and main STO transfer.
4. Blair 56,000: Orleans transfer station, fairly important employment area
5. uOttawa 48,000: One of the largest universities in Canada, only station that truly serves it (Lees is too far from main campus and Rideau is too deep to effectively serve north side).
6. Rideau 34,000: City's premier entertainment/shopping destination and tourist hub.
7. Hurdman 26,000: S/E Transitway transfer.
8. St-Laurent 16,000: Major mall and main transfer for dense, lower-income old east end.
9. Bayview 12,500: Transfer station Trillium-Confederation. Will be heavily used by Carleton Students headed downtown for entertainment.
10. Pimisi 10,5000: STO transfer and boosted by major events like Bluesfest.
11. Lees 6,500: uOttawa's small south campus and apartment towers occupied by significant student population (uOttawa and La Cité).
12. Tremblay 2,000: serving the ballpark, a few hotels, RCMP and VIA rail.
13. Cyrville 1,200: some employment and a few condo buildings.

Numbers will shift significantly over the next 6 years. Bayview will lose most of its ridership once Trillium closes in a year and double its original figures as it re-opens in 3 years. With projects like 900 Albert, ridership could overtake Hurdman. Blair will likely drop to St-Laurent levels once the Trim extension opens, which is still respectable with new apartments going up and continued support from nearby employment and local transfers from Montreal Road (route 12), Carson Grove (La Cité's main campus) and south of the 174 Gloucester side. Tunney's will also drop significantly to maybe the high teens once Stage 2 west opens. I believe the top spot will go to either Parliament, Lyon (more TOD potential than Parliament), Moodie (serving Kanata, Stittsville and DND) or Algonquin (serving Barrhaven, city's largest college and employment nod) after Stage 2 is fully operational.

My bet for lowest ridership post-Stage 2 goes is on Iris. Queensview might edge Iris thanks to nearby employment (though not much thanks to ample free parking). Orleans Boulevard's ridership will be bolstered enough by local transfers to overtake them both by the slimmest of margins.

[kmcamp]

I was driving to the waste depot at Tunney's today and noticed something new. They've added new wayfinding signage at parkdale and scott to direct people to the station. Looks kind of like a streetname sign, but has the red logo and is black with white lettering

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kmcamp

I was driving to the waste depot at Tunney's today and noticed something new. They've added new wayfinding signage at parkdale and scott to direct people to the station. Looks kind of like a streetname sign, but has the red logo and is black with white lettering

They'll need that down Wellington West and eventually Westboro. I'd love to promote those areas as transit accessible destinations for tourists. I feel that Parliament Hill (with Centre Block to be out of service and out of sight for at least a decade), National Museums, the Market and Rideau Centre are pretty limited destinations for a city of our size. It's about time we expand our offerings.

[Badyouken]

Apparently we have some fun new activities to look forward to once this opens: https://twitter.com/dangra87/status/1124753056434917376?s=21

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Badyouken

Apparently we have some fun new activities to look forward to once this opens: https://twitter.com/dangra87/status/1124753056434917376?s=21

Ours go a lot faster. It'd be way more entertaining on the Confederation Line.

[sseguin]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Ours go a lot faster. It'd be way more entertaining on the Confederation Line.

Rumor has it that it will be an inflatable Orion Ikarus, and when hit by the train, will release it's trademark and also classic Diesel fumes and smell.

Just joking.

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

They'll need that down Wellington West and eventually Westboro. I'd love to promote those areas as transit accessible destinations for tourists. I feel that Parliament Hill (with Centre Block to be out of service and out of sight for at least a decade), National Museums, the Market and Rideau Centre are pretty limited destinations for a city of our size. It's about time we expand our offerings.

Took another drive and they had put a sign on the corner of Holland and Wellington pointing to Tunney's in front of the GCTC. Looks like they are following your advice

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kmcamp

Took another drive and they had put a sign on the corner of Holland and Wellington pointing to Tunney's in front of the GCTC. Looks like they are following your advice

Good to hear!

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Any guesses on the potential weekday ridership of each station. Or at the very least, ranking predictions.

Here's what I see based on Edmonton (half the ridership, slightly more expansive system) and Vancouver (double the ridership, much larger system) numbers.

1. Tunney's 70,000: Closest terminus to the core, transfer station for two of the big burbs and the entire west end of the inner greenbelt. Possibly a few Aylmer STO routes.
2. Parliament 64,000: Heart of the CBD.
3. Lyon: 58,000: Serves the CBD and main STO transfer.
4. Blair 56,000: Orleans transfer station, fairly important employment area
5. uOttawa 48,000: One of the largest universities in Canada, only station that truly serves it (Lees is too far from main campus and Rideau is too deep to effectively serve north side).
6. Rideau 34,000: City's premier entertainment/shopping destination and tourist hub.
7. Hurdman 26,000: S/E Transitway transfer.
8. St-Laurent 16,000: Major mall and main transfer for dense, lower-income old east end.
9. Bayview 12,500: Transfer station Trillium-Confederation. Will be heavily used by Carleton Students headed downtown for entertainment.
10. Pimisi 10,5000: STO transfer and boosted by major events like Bluesfest.
11. Lees 6,500: uOttawa's small south campus and apartment towers occupied by significant student population (uOttawa and La Cité).
12. Tremblay 2,000: serving the ballpark, a few hotels, RCMP and VIA rail.
13. Cyrville 1,200: some employment and a few condo buildings.

Numbers will shift significantly over the next 6 years. Bayview will lose most of its ridership once Trillium closes in a year and double its original figures as it re-opens in 3 years. With projects like 900 Albert, ridership could overtake Hurdman. Blair will likely drop to St-Laurent levels once the Trim extension opens, which is still respectable with new apartments going up and continued support from nearby employment and local transfers from Montreal Road (route 12), Carson Grove (La Cité's main campus) and south of the 174 Gloucester side. Tunney's will also drop significantly to maybe the high teens once Stage 2 west opens. I believe the top spot will go to either Parliament, Lyon (more TOD potential than Parliament), Moodie (serving Kanata, Stittsville and DND) or Algonquin (serving Barrhaven, city's largest college and employment nod) after Stage 2 is fully operational.

My bet for lowest ridership post-Stage 2 goes is on Iris. Queensview might edge Iris thanks to nearby employment (though not much thanks to ample free parking). Orleans Boulevard's ridership will be bolstered enough by local transfers to overtake them both by the slimmest of margins.

I thought I heard the mayor say the other day that Rideau would be the busiest station, but I could be wrong.

[Prometheus188]

I've read several times that Rideau will be the busiest station by far. I think you're underestimating the ridership of the downtown stations. Parliament and Rideau should both be higher than Blair and Tunney's.

[McC]

Saw some curious stuff on the rails yesterday while I was out on my bike enjoying the weather. At one point, two single trains left Tunney’s eastbound together, side by side, like they were racing. At another point, the sign on the eastbound platform at Bayview was showing the next train for Pimisi (instead of Blair), and sure enough, after it got to LeBreton it came right back the other way (running west on what would normally be the eastbound track). I’m sure there are all kinds of reasons for these curious runs, but it certainly wasn’t simulating normal operations.

[Badyouken]

Originally Posted by kmcamp

Took another drive and they had put a sign on the corner of Holland and Wellington pointing to Tunney's in front of the GCTC. Looks like they are following your advice

I've seen a ton of these signs popping up around Bayview station, sometimes much farther than you'd think, e.g. on the Somerset bridge over the tracks (Train, 0.6 km).

[Badyouken]

Originally Posted by McC

I’m sure there are all kinds of reasons for these curious runs, but it certainly wasn’t simulating normal operations.

Yeah, and the "Train Arriving" recordings didn't seem to be timed well last night either.

[Badyouken]

Originally Posted by Prometheus188

I've read several times that Rideau will be the busiest station by far. I think you're underestimating the ridership of the downtown stations. Parliament and Rideau should both be higher than Blair and Tunney's.

Agreed.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Prometheus188

I've read several times that Rideau will be the busiest station by far. I think you're underestimating the ridership of the downtown stations. Parliament and Rideau should both be higher than Blair and Tunney's.

Despite what the Mayor says, I don't see Rideau being the busiest. The biggest transit generator is the 100,000 jobs in the CBD where 8 bus stops will be consolidated into two subway stations. Don't get me wrong, Rideau will be busy, and I might have underestimated the numbers, just not the busiest.

I know that they have said Rideau will be the biggest station, which I can believe. Looking at pictures and measuring on GeoOttawa it's clear the platforms are wider.

As for Downtown vs. Tunney's and Blair, Stage 1 is a very short line. I think the majority of riders will likely have to transfer to the terminus stations. In most cities, terminus stations and major transfers are the busiest in the system.

In Ottawa's case, I'm fairly positive that will be the case with Tunney's and Blair, but that might change after Stage 2 opens and definitely change with Stage 3.

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by Badyouken

Agreed.

They seem to be back to simulated runs today