City puts RTG under closer watch as company debugs $2.1-billion LRT system
The city continues to hold back maintenance payments to RTG because of LRT service delays caused by malfunctions.
Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: December 3, 2019
Rideau Transit Group has the City of Ottawa breathing down its neck as the company tries to stabilize the Confederation Line.
City transportation general manager John Manconi told councillors Tuesday he has launched a review of RTG’s operations to see if there are any deficiencies in the company’s work maintaining the $2.1-billion LRT system.
“What we’re going to look into is a deeper dive into the maintenance regime, the personnel that they have out there working on the system, the resourcing level, that they’re using modern and appropriate techniques to maintain the system,” Manconi said after providing an update on LRT during a finance and economic development committee meeting.
“Why?” he added. “The customer.”
RTG has done well lately keeping trains in service, Manconi said, but the city wants to see evidence that the company can sustain those operations.
The city continues to hold back maintenance payments to RTG because of LRT service delays caused by malfunctions. The monthly payments would usually run between $4 million and $5 million.
The city will use outside rail experts to monitor the LRT system. The city expects to cover the costs from financial penalties laid out in the LRT contract.
Mayor Jim Watson said he has felt compelled to speak directly with RTG management to reiterate the city’s disappointment about the quality of service so far.
Watson said he has noticed RTG “pick up their game.”
Recently, the LRT system has been delivering about 98 per cent of scheduled trips.
The committee received updates on Stage 1 LRT operations and construction of Stage 2.
Train control and monitoring system is key to LRT stability
Of the four watch items for LRT reliability, Transpo has intense focus on the train control and monitoring system, which controls all the critical functions of the train.
Manconi said the number of computer glitches have been decreasing but RTG still hasn’t identified a root cause of the problems. A software update across the fleet has been designed to minimize the impact of a computer fault and collect data for Alstom engineers.
RTG hasn’t identified a date when the problems will be completely resolved.
Transpo is also seeing an improvement in the number of door malfunctions as it continues to urge passengers to stop holding doors open. There were three times last week when held doors resulted in service interruptions.
Problems with the vehicle onboard controller, which connects the train to the signals, seem to be now only happening in the maintenance and storage yard, not the main line.
RTG has put more staff on the rail line monitoring track switches, paying closer attention to the switches at Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations.
RTG can’t be blamed for all the times a train needs to be taken out of rotation during peak service. A train had to be removed from service Monday because someone urinated in it.
Extra trains possible by end of January
RTG might be able to put more trains in service by the end of January, councillors heard.
If that happens, LRT customers can expect more capacity on the rail lines at the busiest times.
Thirteen double-car trains currently run on the LRT line, with a chance of getting up to 15 by the end of next month.
Transpo, however, doesn’t want to add more trains to a line that’s still working out the kinks, especially the problems with the train control system.
‘Fast-tracking’ driver training to get more buses on the road
Transpo needs to hustle to get new bus drivers road ready.
Transpo has its human resources department and Ontario Ministry of Transportation officials working to get the operators certified and put on the payroll.
Manconi said the training program usually takes six weeks, but the agency is “fast tracking” training while still adhering to provincial curriculum requirements. Transpo wants to have more than 100 operators ready in January, so some training might have to be done on the weekends. Transpo is also trying to bring back trainers from retirement.
Manconi said Transpo currently has enough operators to run all the buses, but it needs to build up the list of spares in case operators call in sick and book vacation.
Forty recommissioned buses have been put on the road and Transpo is planning the launch of an additional 19 buses in January.
Twenty new buses are on standby at the Coventry Road baseball stadium in case LRT goes down in peak hours. Operating the idle buses will cost Transpo $95,000 each week.
Again, the city is using maintenance money held back from RTG and invoking financial clauses in the LRT contract to pay for the costs.
South-end councillor worried Stage 2 Trillium Line stations won’t have roofs
Gloucester-South Nepean Coun. Carol Anne Meehan was shocked to learn that new stations on the Trillium Line won’t be enclosed. She reminded staff, “this is Canada.”
Michael Morgan, the director of O-Train construction, said it would be “cost-prohibitive” to put roofs on the new stations since they weren’t part of the council-approved design.
Manconi said adding roofs would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and he reminded councillors that the Trillium Line isn’t a subway line.
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