Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[PHrenetic]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

Sounds like a good list of tasks.

As for the platform heaters, unfortunately if the embedded heat trace cables are not working, its near impossible to fix unless you remove and replace the concrete and cable system together. I don't think we'll see RTG replacing entire platforms anytime soon, so get used to salt and shovels (or we'll see a bunch of radiant overhead heaters, which was the dream of many people anyways).

Good Day.

Yep.... we will see how much they accomplish with this -bonus- opportunity !?! I have a few hopes (silly me).

Platforms heat tracing was always a problematic expectation for many of us..... opinion was that it was just asking for trouble. <sigh> we got trouble.
Fixing it - impossible. Replacing it - as you said - virtually impossible.
A solution involving overhead radiants ? I still have doubts. Experience in the Rideau transit mall hell era of radiant-heated shelters was a disaster - the doors never really worked and were 'inconvenient' for making a run for your bus in the bus congas, and the heaters were in fail most of the time. The only place I have found that they seem to work halfway well is in the single-module waiting booths at St.Laurent - enclosed, and a relatively long time between door openings for the buses at that shelter-booth/stop. So - are they going to enclose the platforms or provide heated booths ? seriously doubtful. Radiants on open-air platforms ? useless.
Answer - I don't have one. Really, obviously, neither did RTG. Result - we freeze.
And I was in both Parl and Rideau stations in the winter - and for supposedly relatively enclosed platforms, wow - were they cold. The 'supposition' had been that being underground, and fed from the concourses as well, they would be -somewhat- warmer. They were not - they rather matched St.Laurent (which I found to be actually a touch warmer than what it was in the TransitWay era). My opinion is that the vehicles draw the cold air along with them into the tunnels impressively well.

NoJoy!

[sseguin]

You can view on O-Train Fans the Confederation Line & Stage 2 LRT Update - City Council - May 13, 2020

https://www.otrainfans.ca/news/confederation-line-stage-2-lrt-update-city-council-may-13-2020

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by sseguin

You can view on O-Train Fans the Confederation Line & Stage 2 LRT Update - City Council - May 13, 2020

https://www.otrainfans.ca/news/confederation-line-stage-2-lrt-update-city-council-may-13-2020

I'm much more optimistic now regarding the plan to fix issues along Line 1. OC Transpo and RTG/RTM seem to be working together to fix the issues instead of playing the blame game. I'm also glad the City is looking into possibly paying the contractor for service provided over the last 7 months.

The winter of 2020-2021 should be far better.

[rocketphish]

City receiving no assurances the LRT system will be fixed by fall

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: 20 minutes ago • 3 minute read

It could take the rest of the year to stabilize the Confederation Line, but the city is pressing the Rideau Transit Group to have the LRT system problem-free by the end of August, especially if workplaces across Ottawa begin reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michael Morgan, the city’s rail construction director, told city council Wednesday that RTG’s reluctance to be firm on a reliability date is “not sufficient” when it comes to answering a notice of default issued in March.

The city, after receiving RTG’s response to the notice at the end of March, asked the company to be more specific on the timelines to fix the problems.

John Manconi, the city’s general manager of transportation, said RTG verbally indicated the LRT service will be reliable by the end of the year, but that doesn’t fly with city management.

According to Manconi, the city has asked that the LRT problems are fixed by the end of August.

“The ball is in their court to get back to us on that,” Manconi said.

RTG has flagged seven priority areas for the repairs: vehicle brakes, overhead catenary system, switch heaters, vehicle traction power, vehicle passenger doors, vehicle auxiliary power and vehicles’ heating, venting and air conditioning system.

The non-vehicle watch items, like the infrastructure for the overhead wires, don’t have design flaws and they have largely been hampered by improper maintenance, council heard.

The “biggest wildcard,” Manconi said, is Alstom’s ability to get the fixes on the vehicles done under RTG’s contract.

The city doesn’t have a direct contractual relationship with Alstom.

Manconi said the train problems are fixable, based on what he’s heard from RTG’s expert consultant, JBA Corp. It’s a question of RTG’s and Alstom’s getting it done. In Morgan’s opinion, there hasn’t been a sense of urgency to fix problems.

The city needs LRT running smoothly when it’s ready to welcome customers back to the transit system as workplaces open during the pandemic. If there are physical distancing requirements for the transit system, OC Transpo will need all the trains and buses available to give customers space.

“We have a restoration plan that depends on rail,” Manconi said.

A recurring frustration for the city is RTG’s apparent inability to get its main contractor, Alstom, to quickly remedy new problems. It has created a snowball effect that, before the COVID-19 closures, was severely impacting the reliability and availability of trains.

Mayor Jim Watson said he’s had more discussions with the head of Alstom and the CEOs and presidents of the RTG parent companies about the problems with the $2.1-billion LRT system, which was jointly funded by all three levels of government. The city has a 30-year maintenance contract with RTG.

The city has recently closed the LRT system twice for multiple days to allow RTG to gain some traction on the repairs. The city has also offered to close the LRT system for a full month to relieve the pressure on RTG, but there was no word if that will actually happen.

COVID-19 is playing a role in the pace of repairs, considering there are supply chains and expertise in Europe.

Meanwhile, the $4.6-billion Stage 2 expansions of the Trillium Line and Confederation Line seem to be progressing on schedule.

However, of the 38 Alstom Citadis Spirit vehicles purchased for the Stage 2 LRT expansion, only two have been built, commissioned and accepted by the city and are available for use. The expanded fleet is late so far, council was told, but the the Stage 2 portion of the LRT system doesn’t open until 2024-2025.

Morgan said the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t had a significant impact on Stage 2 work so far since the work is happening outdoors.

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...cm/06743757-9da5-48c4-acfd-cf4d6afa16bd/

[J.OT13]

The City loves pushing for dates, but we all know that's meaningless based on past experience. Even harder to come up with a date now with Covid.

[rocketphish]

RTG commits to summer improvements on LRT civil infrastructure

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: 1 hour ago • 3 minute read

The Rideau Transit Group believes it can mend faulty LRT infrastructure this summer, while providing reasons why it couldn’t accept a month-long shutdown of the Confederation Line to help with the repair process.

In a written statement on Friday, RTG said there were remarks by the city that required “clarification” as the LRT contractor continues with fixes to the $2.1-billion transit system.

City transportation managers updated council on the LRT fixes during a meeting Wednesday, saying RTG had indicated the repairs would be done by the end of the year. The city, however, wants a reliable LRT system by the end of August and transportation managers said they didn’t hear back from RTG on that possibility.

The city issued a notice of default to RTG in March, compelling the company to produce a remediation plan, but the city didn’t see timelines attached to the repairs.

On the other hand, RTG says its plan lines up with the city’s expectations and that it can improve the civil infrastructure — that is, all the issues not related to the trains, like infrastructure along the railway — this summer.

“The plan meets the city’s timelines for improvement,” the company said in the statement.

“However, RTG, as with all other businesses continues to experience the impacts of COVID-19 on its workforce and supply chain. Nonetheless, RTG is confident that improvements to the system infrastructure will be completed this summer. Vehicle issues continue to be addressed by the supplier and RTG is closely monitoring their progress. Detailed engineering reviews are being performed to ensure the extent, completeness and quality of each measure taken by our supplier.”

There were two multi-day shutdowns of the LRT system in May. They have provided RTG an opportunity to do work without having to worry about making trains available for service.

“In each instance, the city and RTG worked closely together to ensure the shutdowns were efficiently managed and work maximized. Both shutdowns successfully advanced important work,” RTG said.

Where the city said RTG could have had a month-long shutdown to make key fixes to the system, RTG said it wouldn’t be helpful to keep trains offline for such a long time.

According to RTG, skilled workers are only available for limited durations and a beefed-up workforce, like the 50 additional technicians brought in during the most recent shutdown this past week, isn’t available for extended periods of time.

RTG is also hampered by the COVID-19 restrictions. The company said its practising physical distancing and some material is unavailable because of temporary plant closures.

Some experts would need to come to Ottawa from another country. The company said a specialized team from the U.S. was recently denied entry into Canada because of pandemic-related border restrictions.

On top of all that, RTG doesn’t think keeping LRT vehicles parked for a month is a good idea unless the trains are going through heavy maintenance, “which they are not.”

“RTG remains completely transparent with city officials on its maintenance plan. During the recent shutdowns, city and transit (officials) received regular, in-time briefings on all aspects of the work,” RTG said.

The city is particularly concerned about the state of the vehicles as it tries to improve LRT service.

The main partners of RTG are ACS Infrastructure, EllisDon and SNC-Lavalin.

RTG, through its contract with Alstom, is providing trains for the city’s Stage 2 expansion.

Mayor Jim Watson said he has been in contact with heads of the RTG parent companies and the head of Alstom to underscore the importance of repairing the LRT system.

Rideau Transit Maintenance is the arm of RTG responsible for the LRT system’s upkeep under a 30-year arrangement with the city.

“As part of our commitment to each other, RTG continues to be an open and collaborative partner with the city leaders and transit officials,” RTG said. “Ensuring the accuracy of the information being provided to the public is part of that commitment.”

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...cm/9149c71b-cdfc-4c74-b261-44db4c6702d0/

[rocketphish]

NRC denies access to cold-weather LRT testing data

Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: 7 hours ago • 2 minute read



The National Research Council (NRC) says it will not reveal any information about cold-weather testing it did on Ottawa’s light rail vehicles.

The NRC sent a letter formally denying all of this newspaper’s access to information requests about the testing, performed at the agency’s ultra-cold lab near the Ottawa Airport.

It says the information is the private property of the company that commissioned the testing.

“We have reviewed our files and identified 140 pages relating to your request. However, all information is subject to exemptions under section 20 (third party information) of the Access to Information Act,” the letter to this newspaper says.

Our request, filed in January as the LRT system struggled with winter conditions, asked about the nature of the testing that was done, and any summaries of the results.

While the third party is not identified, city of Ottawa officials have previously said the testing was done for Alstom, the train’s manufacturer. The NRC frequently does testing of commercial products.

In April the city did issue some information publicly. It said testing, done in 2017, included being “exposed to environmental conditions including wind, rain, ice and snow at temperatures ranging from -38 C to 38 C.”

The testing ran hot and cold conditions to see whether the passengers would be comfortable.

It tested the auxiliary power system to see whether it would provide enough power if the main power supply failed.

“The NRC completed 39 separate tests on the vehicle using numerous testing scenarios, including a variety of temperatures (between +38 and -38 C) and relative humidity (between 0-98%) and a combination of exterior conditions (100km/h wind, 55mm/h snow accumulation, 5mm/h freezing rain accumulation, and 60mm/h rain) to validate that the vehicles could operate in Ottawa’s different temperatures,” the city officials’ summary says.

But Sarah Wright-Gilbert, citizen transit commissioner, notes that the public version of the report on the testing is far less than the 140 pages of documents the NRC has.

“It is concerning that this continues to be an issue as a result of the P3 (public-private partnership) that the City entered into. We have no control over and no access to information that we should have,” she said in an email.

Ken Rubin, a veteran researcher and access to information expert, argues the information should be disclosed.

“NRC should reject the claims of Alstom that such testing is commercial when the projects are clearly involving public infrastructure, projects like the LRT in Ottawa,” he said.

“There’s not just public-private partnership but (also) there’s an element of public safety and well-being at stake. Then the overriding consideration is disclosure.”

“If Jim Watson can go and talk to the CEO of Alstom, why isn’t he asking why they can’t release some of the basic data about… how these trains run or what’s wrong with them?”

[email protected]
twitter.com/TomSpears1

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...cm/52cb1c84-a882-4599-ba69-a2a036f8f1bc/

[J.OT13]

Gotta love that red "O". It can be seen from a mile away. Stands out in any environment. Arguably the best in Canada (for visibility at the very least).


https://obj.ca/article/ottawa-home-prices-soar-may-resale-market-starts-recover

[Dengler Avenue]

Then you realized what you see is not what you get.

[OTownandDown]

What a silly argument and click-bait article. Of course the NRC data is private. What do they think this is? A client paid for testing, received the testing information, and now the NRC does not own the information.

It's up to the City to own the data from Alstom and release it.

Originally Posted by rocketphish

[B]NRC denies access to cold-weather LRT testing data



[email protected]
twitter.com/TomSpears1

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...cm/52cb1c84-a882-4599-ba69-a2a036f8f1bc/

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Gotta love that red "O". It can be seen from a mile away. Stands out in any environment. Arguably the best in Canada (for visibility at the very least).


https://obj.ca/article/ottawa-home-prices-soar-may-resale-market-starts-recover

Why are we not installing these signs on Line 2?

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

What a silly argument and click-bait article. Of course the NRC data is private. What do they think this is? A client paid for testing, received the testing information, and now the NRC does not own the information.

I agree 100%. The argument that just because the city bought some Citadis Spirit vehicles from Alstom doesn’t make it a public design. Does the author think that if the city bought some F150’s from Ford and they had the NRC do some testing that the public could get access to that information?

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Why are we not installing these signs on Line 2?

It's way too soon to assume they won't. The red O's didn't appear in Line 1 renderings until pretty late in the project and branding is the responsibility of the city. Attention to detail was obviously never the #1 priority in TNEXT's renderings... (*cough* Walkley *cough*) so I can definitely see them being added on as the project progresses and stations actually start coming together.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by OCCheetos

It's way too soon to assume they won't. The red O's didn't appear in Line 1 renderings until pretty late in the project and branding is the responsibility of the city. Attention to detail was obviously never the #1 priority in TNEXT's renderings... (*cough* Walkley *cough*) so I can definitely see them being added on as the project progresses and stations actually start coming together.

Those are my thoughts as well. TransitNext maintained the sloping roofs of Stage 1 designs, but did not include the "O" beacons, light boxes or elevator shrouds in their initial designs.

East-West did the complete opposite, maintaining the beacon, light-boxes and shrouds, but dropped the slopped roofs.

At the very least, I have no doubt the "O" beacon will be added to all Trillium stations, and so will the light boxes I'm sure. The elevator shrouds might be left out of the project for budgetary reasons. The slopping roofs might be dropped or toned down from renderings revealed in February 2019.

I hope Confederation extensions will ultimately include at least a toned down version of the sloping roofs near the entrances.

[J.OT13]

Anyone ever noticed the resemblance of Bayview Station in Ottawa vs Bayview Station in Toronto?


https://www.otrainfans.ca/forum/gallery/category/17-bayview/


https://www.stationfixation.com/2014/11/bayview.html

[J.OT13]

On Friday, the Confederation Line most definitely had the highest ridership since mid-March with the protests, and the Confederation Line managed to break down for the first time in 300 hours (not counting planned closures).

http://occasionaltransport.ca/

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

On Friday, the Confederation Line most definitely had the highest ridership since mid-March with the protests, and the Confederation Line managed to break down for the first time in 300 hours (not counting planned closures).

http://occasionaltransport.ca/

It is cursed!

[JCL]

Here is a video the trains "turning around" at Hurdman Station on January 16, 2020 - the day when the overhead wires came down at St. Laurent Station, forcing Line 1 to end at Hurdman Station (with no train service between Hurdman and Blair).

• Video Link

[J.OT13]

The owner of Happy Goat Coffee was on CTV Morning Live. They expect to start construction on the Confederation Line kiosks within the next few days after a long delay due to Covid-19.

https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1975337&binId=1.1487308&playlistPageNum=1

[rocketphish]

LRT contractors blame each other for unreliable system while Transpo boss warns: We don't want another 'winter of hell'

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: 21 minutes ago • 4 minute read

The City of Ottawa and public transit customers are caught in the middle of clashing LRT contractors as OC Transpo tries to make the $2.1-billion rail system reliable when more people return to the Confederation Line, transit commissioners heard during a meeting Wednesday.

The city wants the LRT system running smoothly with more trains by the end of August, but transportation general manager John Manconi couldn’t muster the confidence in a presentation to the commission. He isn’t banking on the Rideau Transit Group making all the repairs by then.

It’s become increasingly evident that city management is close to losing all patience with RTG. On Wednesday, Manconi seemed truly perplexed while trying to explain to the commission why RTG couldn’t move faster on making repairs

“For an organization that wants to be paid and only gets paid when I get the product, I don’t understand it,” Manconi said. “They call the city manager and myself every second day looking for money and we keep telling them, the easiest way that council will support us giving you money is if you give us the service.”

The city hasn’t made maintenance payments to RTG since an initial $5.1-million transfer, mostly for the company’s performance last September when the 12.5-kilometre LRT line opened.

So where does the city stand on its 30-year LRT maintenance contract with RTG?

Council is poised to receive an update in a closed session of council in July, commissioners heard. The city has already issued a notice of default to RTG, forcing the company to create a repair plan, which received a lukewarm reception from the city.

While the city is seeing progress with some repairs, such as new software for the train doors to make them less sensitive, adjustments to the overhead wire power system and maintenance to the tracks, it still doesn’t have a firm date for a reliable LRT system.

Some of the fixes are related to seasonal changes in weather, like making sure heaters properly melt snow and ice on track switches.

“I’m not putting this organization, and I’m not putting yourselves and our customers, through another winter of hell,” Manconi told commissioners.

Meanwhile, the city is putting the heat on RTG to provide more trains for business-day service.

Starting Aug. 4, the city is requiring RTG to have 15 double-car trains available for the morning rush, up from the current 13-train requirement.

Central to the problems, at least in the city’s eye, is the strife between RTG and the company’s top contractor, Alstom, which provided the Citadis Spirit trains. This has been a year-long narrative that has even involved Mayor Jim Watson speaking directly with Alstom’s CEO, even though the city’s direct contractual relationship is with RTG.

According to Manconi, RTG’s construction arm is saying the infrastructure is good, and Alstom is saying its trains are good, “and they’re blaming each other.”

Manconi accepted that the COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges in labour and supply chains for contractors and he acknowledged RTG’s work during temporary shutdowns of the LRT system to improve the transit system.

But city management wants more certainty that the LRT system will run smoothly when even more workplaces in the capital region call back employees at the end of pandemic-related closures.

The city’s transit department has its hands full trying to manage the LRT contract while operating at a significant loss.

Transpo ended the first quarter with an $8-million deficit. Expenses were over budget by about $5.3 million and revenues were about $2.7 million lower than expected for the quarter. The transit agency had to spend more money for supplemental bus services because of the unreliable LRT system and for Para Transpo because of a higher demand.

For the most part, the first three months of the year weren’t impacted by the COVID-19 closures. The pandemic restrictions started around mid-March, leading to ridership decreasing by as much as 85 per cent.

Usually the city is in a better position to predict year-end financial results after staff tally expenses and revenues from the second quarter, which ends June 30.

The financial outlook for 2021 could be improved with more revenue, possibly thanks to advertising on the LRT system. Transpo has avoided selling ads on the Confederation Line — not right away, anyway — so important messages about how to use the new transit system aren’t overtaken by sales pitches.

Now that LRT has been running for nine months, citizen commissioner Anthony Carricato proposed directing Transpo staff to start a procurement process for selling ads on LRT trains and in stations. The commission unanimously approved his motion.

RTG didn’t respond to a request for comment.

[email protected]
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https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...cm/d4dd2338-653e-4699-ab9a-c583bf5dcb50/