Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[Brannwagon]

Wow, seems like this has been the first good news on this thread since last September. Hopefully more to come!

[rocketphish]

Taxpayers finally get what they paid for as 15 trains hit the LRT line Friday

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Aug 07, 2020 • Last Updated 4 hours ago • 2 minute read

Taxpayers paid to have 15 trains running on the LRT system at peak times. After nearly one year of the Confederation Line being in the hands of the City of Ottawa, that milestone was finally achieved Friday morning.

The city ordered the Rideau Transit Group (RTG) and Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) to have 15 trains available for service as of Aug. 4, but acknowledged that an ongoing wheel inspection regime could only allow 13 trains to be available for operation at one time. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically reduced OC Transpo’s ridership numbers, the 13 trains were considered enough to handle the passenger volumes while encouraging physical distancing.

It wasn’t clear if the 15 trains are now standard for weekday morning service.

“RTG and RTM continue wheel inspections in accordance with safety protocols and to deploy as many trains as possible. We are pleased with the 15 trains that were deployed (Friday),” according to Duane Duquette, the city’s acting director of transit operations.

The Confederation Line was always supposed to run with 15 double-car trains at the busiest times of the day but it had never reached that number.

Before the pandemic, the city was only using a maximum of 13 trains for peak-hour service because it initially felt there was enough capacity to handle the volume of passengers. By early 2020, the city became more hopeful that RTG could put a 14th train into service as it became clear that more capacity was required at peak times, especially as the system was being impacted by various problems that reduced service times.

But the push for adding trains has involved a delicate balance of providing more capacity on the LRT system and making sure RTG has the ability to maintain the trains with a consistent level of service.

RTG is also providing the same Alstom Citiadis Spirit trains for the Stage 2 LRT expansion. As the Stage 2 trains are commissioned, they can be added to the current fleet.

The first phase of LRT came with 34 train vehicles (two vehicles make a complete train). The second phase will provide an additional 38 vehicles.

RTG handed the $2.1-billion first phase of the LRT system over to the City of Ottawa on Aug. 30, 2019. The 12.5-kilometre rail line opened to the public on Sept. 14.

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...cm/fc4857d0-c87e-46d7-95ba-79e2088ca198/

[sseguin]

O-TRAIN : Memo: Maintenance Service Payment to RTG. The purpose of this memorandum is to advise on the status of pending Monthly Service Payments to RTG as a result of its performance of Maintenance Services.

https://otrain.railfans.ca/news/memo-maintenance-service-payment-to-rideau-transit-group

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by sseguin

O-TRAIN : Memo: Maintenance Service Payment to RTG. The purpose of this memorandum is to advise on the status of pending Monthly Service Payments to RTG as a result of its performance of Maintenance Services.

https://otrain.railfans.ca/news/memo-maintenance-service-payment-to-rideau-transit-group

I'm glad we're finally paying them something.

[OCCheetos]

With the $16 million holdback for 15 trains, and the talk in the fall of 15 trains by the new year(?), and the Stage 2 vehicle delivery schedule that was published...

It looks like Alstom was months late on delivering Stage 2 vehicles, and not because of COVID. I wonder if there will be deductions for that.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by OCCheetos

With the $16 million holdback for 15 trains, and the talk in the fall of 15 trains by the new year(?), and the Stage 2 vehicle delivery schedule that was published...

It looks like Alstom was months late on delivering Stage 2 vehicles, and not because of COVID. I wonder if there will be deductions for that.

I never understood why we ordered the trains this early considering the construction timelines (even when east was projected to open in 2023 and west in 2024). Belfast Yards will (would) be jam-packed for a good year or two, making operations difficult, one would think.

Maybe they determined it was cheaper to expand Belfast and order all the trains than it would be if we timed it better with the testing/opening of the extensions.

In any case, I guess it turned out well because the trains are so unreliable.

[rocketphish]

City paying RTG $17.4 million for LRT maintenance; consortium still failing to provide 15 trains reliably

Taylor Blewett, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Aug 19, 2020 • Last Updated 54 minutes ago • 3 minute read

The City of Ottawa will be paying the Rideau Transit Group more than $17.4 million for LRT maintenance over much of the last year, a figure that could still rise and currently equals about 40 per cent of what the consortium invoiced for, with deductions applied for poor performance.

Until now, the city had only paid RTG a little over $5.1 million for maintenance in September and one day in August last year. Subsequent maintenance payments were held back because of unreliable service along the Confederation Line, with the city facing questions about what portion, if any, would ultimately be paid out.

Answers came Wednesday in the form of a memo to members of council and the transit commission from transportation general manager John Manconi.

The memo explained that following a review of RTG invoices for maintenance between October 2019 and January 2020, and discussions with RTG, its maintenance arm Rideau Transit Maintenance, and external legal counsel, a $5.47-million payment will be made to RTG after applying $12.21 million in deductions to the $17.68 million that was supposed to be paid out for that period.

The $5.47-million sum may increase, the memo notes, because the city and RTG have yet to come to an agreement on a number of issues related to the measures used to assess RTG’s performance, and determine deductions. There are some grey areas that still need to be hashed out.

The city is also preparing to pay $11.97 million for maintenance in May, June and July, after a modest $683,000 in performance deductions for that period.

“As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, during the period from April to June, there was significantly reduced ridership levels resulting in a reduced vehicle fleet count,” the memo notes. “RTG was able to improve its performance during this period.”

As for the February to April period, “during which time a series of technical issues severely impacted fleet availability,” the city will assess RTG’s $12.93 million invoice once payment for the fall period has been completed.

“At the same time as the city releases partial payments, the city is reviewing all avenues available to it under the project agreement to ensure that it receives the reliable service it contracted to obtain,” the memo says. With RTG remaining in default, and failing to live up to its contractual obligations, “the city continues to take steps to enforce its contractual remedies and hold RTG accountable for the costs incurred as a result of its defaults.”

RTG is still proving unable to provide a promised 15 trains for regular use in peak service periods, according to the memo, even with a $16-million holdback up for grabs.

While RTG had told the city it would have 15 trains available for use during the morning peak periods by Aug. 4, and has at times been able to accomplish this, “it cannot do so consistently due to the wheel cracking issue, which requires ongoing safety inspections,” the memo notes. “For the month of August 2020, the city will make deductions in relation to RTG’s performance based on a schedule with 13 double car trains in peak service.”

Now, RTG is saying it’ll have 15 trains ready for peak use by Sept. 8, at which point it would receive $16 million from the city for passing that milestone.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...cm/efaedd32-bab8-4686-a747-e1eed64558a2/

[Catenary]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I never understood why we ordered the trains this early considering the construction timelines (even when east was projected to open in 2023 and west in 2024). Belfast Yards will (would) be jam-packed for a good year or two, making operations difficult, one would think.

Maybe they determined it was cheaper to expand Belfast and order all the trains than it would be if we timed it better with the testing/opening of the extensions.

In any case, I guess it turned out well because the trains are so unreliable.

I think it made sense to keep production running so the knowledge and workforce wasn't lost. In theory, our brand-new trains would not require significant heavy maintenance for a while, so we could use some of our maintenance capacity to build trains.


Of course, with the opening of the Brampton facility, this is less important, but I don't think that was known at the time.

[mykl]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I never understood why we ordered the trains this early considering the construction timelines (even when east was projected to open in 2023 and west in 2024). Belfast Yards will (would) be jam-packed for a good year or two, making operations difficult, one would think.

If you reconsider the amount of testing that was done and still wasn't sufficient for the first round of trains, you'll know why we ordered the trains so early.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by mykl

If you reconsider the amount of testing that was done and still wasn't sufficient for the first round of trains, you'll know why we ordered the trains so early.

That wasn't known before we ordered Stage 2 trains though. In hindsight, it's a good thing they were ordered early.

[J.OT13]

Old news at this point. Raccoon at Lyon Station on August 14th. Queue the jokes about wearing a mask and evading fares.




https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/raccoon-spotte...4#_gus&_gucid=&_gup=twitter&_gsc=sY5i4Ci

[mykl]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

That wasn't known before we ordered Stage 2 trains though. In hindsight, it's a good thing they were ordered early.

Maybe it wasn't known publicly, but every step of our LRT journey has been shady.

[PHrenetic]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I never understood why we ordered the trains this early considering the construction timelines (even when east was projected to open in 2023 and west in 2024). Belfast Yards will (would) be jam-packed for a good year or two, making operations difficult, one would think.

Maybe they determined it was cheaper to expand Belfast and order all the trains than it would be if we timed it better with the testing/opening of the extensions.

In any case, I guess it turned out well because the trains are so unreliable.

Good Day.

If I recall the concensus reached earlier, and rolling in developments since, the story seems to roll as :

1- Stage 1 LRVs (34) delivered at contract completion. <snort>!
2- PTIF LRVs (4) ordered while Stage 1 was still testing out (behind the scenes, badly, and it then seemed we would need more spares and maybe run more at peak to avoid crowds - Prescient! ), and Stage 2 contracting stretched out.
3- Stage 2 contracting well in progress, so City MOU'd with RTG for a full 38 LRVs (rolling in the 4 PTIF LRVs, so a bargain, per se).
4- Stage 2 expansion of Belfast also MOU'd to RTG while still in testing for Stage 1 delivery, on the presumption that yard construction would best be done pre Stage 1 delivery so as to minimize yard disruption while expanding the storage shed to final configuration, adding a LMF, and adding a second launch track. (The little SE corner temp stub storage was thrown in late in the process when contracting was delayed, to try to alleviate the lengthened completion timelines storage crunch.) This proved to be the case, with 'only' 2 'minor' switch problems hitting the press.

The phasing of Stage 2 LRV delivery was expected to span the entire construction time frame with all being assembled from NY-delivered sub-assemblies at the Belfast main heavy MF (of course, in anticipation of yet only a light requirement for heavy maintenance ! <snort>).
Early LRVs would be required for adding onto the fleet for loading and testing the then-completed-and-in-test eastern expansion. By the time storage would be getting tight, the Moodie LMSF was expected to be accessible and available, in effect storing the final LRVs on the still-under-test western expansion.

Then the Toronto contracts came along, and Alstom decided on a Brampton plant, which has altered all these problems and expectations of crunches, fortunately for us, for the better (in this discussion), given all the vehicle problems has lengthened new vehicle construction, assembly, and delivery timelines since Belfast HMF is now no longer truely available for assembly, and must be left available for now massive urgently required heavy maintenance loads.

Oh The Fun !

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by PHrenetic

Good Day.

If I recall the concensus reached earlier, and rolling in developments since, the story seems to roll as :

1- Stage 1 LRVs (34) delivered at contract completion. <snort>!
2- PTIF LRVs (4) ordered while Stage 1 was still testing out (behind the scenes, badly, and it then seemed we would need more spares and maybe run more at peak to avoid crowds - Prescient! ), and Stage 2 contracting stretched out.
3- Stage 2 contracting well in progress, so City MOU'd with RTG for a full 38 LRVs (rolling in the 4 PTIF LRVs, so a bargain, per se).
4- Stage 2 expansion of Belfast also MOU'd to RTG while still in testing for Stage 1 delivery, on the presumption that yard construction would best be done pre Stage 1 delivery so as to minimize yard disruption while expanding the storage shed to final configuration, adding a LMF, and adding a second launch track. (The little SE corner temp stub storage was thrown in late in the process when contracting was delayed, to try to alleviate the lengthened completion timelines storage crunch.) This proved to be the case, with 'only' 2 'minor' switch problems hitting the press.

The phasing of Stage 2 LRV delivery was expected to span the entire construction time frame with all being assembled from NY-delivered sub-assemblies at the Belfast main heavy MF (of course, in anticipation of yet only a light requirement for heavy maintenance ! <snort>).
Early LRVs would be required for adding onto the fleet for loading and testing the then-completed-and-in-test eastern expansion. By the time storage would be getting tight, the Moodie LMSF was expected to be accessible and available, in effect storing the final LRVs on the still-under-test western expansion.

Then the Toronto contracts came along, and Alstom decided on a Brampton plant, which has altered all these problems and expectations of crunches, fortunately for us, for the better (in this discussion), given all the vehicle problems has lengthened new vehicle construction, assembly, and delivery timelines since Belfast HMF is now no longer truely available for assembly, and must be left available for now massive urgently required heavy maintenance loads.

Oh The Fun !

Under the original MOU, had the Confederation Line RSA date been in May 2018, we would already have all 38 new vehicles by now. In fact the long stop date was in March. 3 years before the earliest expected launch date of an extension.

Obviously the MOU was updated with new timelines.

[DEWLine]

Raccoon was cute.

[OCCheetos]

I took a ride all the way from Blair to Tunney's today and I made a few observations:

It seems the rails took a real hit from the heat. Just about any section that's exposed to sunlight is warped and leads to a relatively rough and noisy ride. It's most apparent East of the tunnel, but it's still the same in the West.

That being said, even with all the slow orders that are seemingly in place, end-to-end travel times are still below 25 minutes (I timed my trip at 24:36).

Interestingly enough, I don't think the curves are the hardest hit out of all the track segments. They're certainly rough and noisy, but as far as speed restrictions go the curves near Hurdman are actually not any slower than they ever were (maybe +/- 5km/h). The straightaways and some of the other more gradual curves are the worst off.

Funny though, as the train left Tremblay and began is first tight turn towards Hurdman, I was at the front of the train and about mid-way into the curve the train actually started accelerating after travelling at a crawl. I can't remember who/when/where it was mentioned on this forum that maybe the switches near Belfast were causing performance issues and slow orders, but I think it's entirely because of heat warping.

But, there is a silver lining. Figuratively, and apparently literally too?

There was one section of track just West of Blair that was absolutely pristine. Specifically this curve and the track leading into it. The train hit 70-80km/h and took the curve at full speed without even so much as a screech. No rumbling or shifting of the train either; completely smooth.
Clearly RTG is capable of making this work, I'm just waiting anxiously for them to do this across the rest of the system. (I'm sure everyone is)

As for the literal silver lining... see for yourself:





And a gradient too:


I'm not really sure what's up with these rails. Maybe some kind of attempt at a reflective coating to mitigate heat-related issues? Maybe someone here will know.

[TransitZilla]

^ I noticed something similar this morning just south of the tunnel portal near uOttawa. The rails in one direction were a shiny silvery colour I hadn't seen before; the other direction was the familiar rusty brown.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by PHrenetic

Good Day.

If I recall the concensus reached earlier, and rolling in developments since, the story seems to roll as :

1- Stage 1 LRVs (34) delivered at contract completion. <snort>!
2- PTIF LRVs (4) ordered while Stage 1 was still testing out (behind the scenes, badly, and it then seemed we would need more spares and maybe run more at peak to avoid crowds - Prescient! ), and Stage 2 contracting stretched out.
3- Stage 2 contracting well in progress, so City MOU'd with RTG for a full 38 LRVs (rolling in the 4 PTIF LRVs, so a bargain, per se).
4- Stage 2 expansion of Belfast also MOU'd to RTG while still in testing for Stage 1 delivery, on the presumption that yard construction would best be done pre Stage 1 delivery so as to minimize yard disruption while expanding the storage shed to final configuration, adding a LMF, and adding a second launch track. (The little SE corner temp stub storage was thrown in late in the process when contracting was delayed, to try to alleviate the lengthened completion timelines storage crunch.) This proved to be the case, with 'only' 2 'minor' switch problems hitting the press.

The phasing of Stage 2 LRV delivery was expected to span the entire construction time frame with all being assembled from NY-delivered sub-assemblies at the Belfast main heavy MF (of course, in anticipation of yet only a light requirement for heavy maintenance ! <snort>).
Early LRVs would be required for adding onto the fleet for loading and testing the then-completed-and-in-test eastern expansion. By the time storage would be getting tight, the Moodie LMSF was expected to be accessible and available, in effect storing the final LRVs on the still-under-test western expansion.

Then the Toronto contracts came along, and Alstom decided on a Brampton plant, which has altered all these problems and expectations of crunches, fortunately for us, for the better (in this discussion), given all the vehicle problems has lengthened new vehicle construction, assembly, and delivery timelines since Belfast HMF is now no longer truely available for assembly, and must be left available for now massive urgently required heavy maintenance loads.

Oh The Fun !

Thanks for the timeline; it clarifies things quite a bit.

[swimmer_spe]

Before phase 2 is online, how many cars per hour will the phase 1 section handle?

Can the common section handle double the traffic? How much can it handle?

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Before phase 2 is online, how many cars per hour will the phase 1 section handle?

Can the common section handle double the traffic? How much can it handle?

The common section won't have double the traffic, instead the branches will have half the traffic.

So if a train arrives every 3 minutes at Bayview for instance, that means out at Baseline or out at Moodie a train leaves every 6 minutes.