Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by Norman Bates

If a camel is a horse designed by committee, then our O Train Line 1 is a metro designed by parsimonious myopes.

From what I understand the rolling stock is adapted for purposes that it was never designed. And the switches and other infrastructure came from the <lowest most compliant bidder> school of government acquisitions.

The thing about the rolling stock is that the conditions are actually easier than the street running the Citadis does around the world. The curves for street running are much tighter, the starts and stops more frequent, switches are more common, etc etc. A high floor model would be way better for capacity reasons, but there's no reason these trains shouldn't be able to handle these relatively large curves and infrequent switches.

There does seem to be a major flaw in how they've translated a European design to North America. It looks the same the Euro ones but shares no parts. We would probably would have had better luck with imported Citadii then these home built ones

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by Norman Bates

If a camel is a horse designed by committee, then our O Train Line 1 is a metro designed by parsimonious myopes.

From what I understand the rolling stock is adapted for purposes that it was never designed. And the switches and other infrastructure came from the <lowest most compliant bidder> school of government acquisitions.

So did the Ion.

[Psychedelic Sailor]

Originally Posted by Mille Sabords

[DELETED POST due to unnecessary obscenities]

A communications box was wiped out by the train

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Norman Bates

If a camel is a horse designed by committee, then our O Train Line 1 is a metro designed by parsimonious myopes.

From what I understand the rolling stock is adapted for purposes that it was never designed. And the switches and other infrastructure came from the <lowest most compliant bidder> school of government acquisitions.

Yep. Should have bought heavier rolling stock when they decided it was going to be a metro.

I don't even know how they get out of this situation now. Public trust in the LRT and OC Transpo is going to crater after this.

[Kitchissippi]

Alstom is looking bad with all this. If they’re hoping to sell more Citadis Spirits to other cities in North America they better make sure these issues are resolved.

[passwordisnt123]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Yep. Should have bought heavier rolling stock when they decided it was going to be a metro.

I don't even know how they get out of this situation now. Public trust in the LRT and OC Transpo is going to crater after this.

We definitely should have gone with light metro. Unfortunately I don't see any way how we can really extricate ourselves from this mess without 100s of millions of dollars or even billions of dollars in cost.

I think probably the best we can hope for is a replacement of the rolling stock with some other low-floor LRT.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

Alstom is looking bad with all this. If they’re hoping to sell more Citadis Spirits to other cities in North America they better make sure these issues are resolved.

I agree! To be fair though, they did think they had fixed the issue by replacing the wheel bearings after the previous derailment. We will have to wait and see if this train has a similar wheel bearing issue, or if it was caused by something else.

I did find it humours that the article said that "one of the first to arrive on the scene" was a 14 year old boy on his bicycle. I am sure that is an experience he will remember for the rest of his life. Fortunately no one was injured.

[rocketphish]

Sander bracket possible cause of latest LRT derailment, Manconi says
LRT service suspended indefinitely while TSB investigates 2nd deraiment in 2 months

Kate Porter · CBC News
Posted: Sep 20, 2021 11:44 AM ET | Last Updated: 33 minutes ago

Ottawa's head of transportation says the derailment of a light rail train west of Tremblay station on Sunday afternoon appears to have been caused by a bracket on a sanding unit that became "dislodged."

It's the second derailment in two months for Ottawa's light rail system, which just hit its second anniversary in service.

"A sander that is used on these vehicles ... that dispenses sand at the wheels during cold weather climates or icy climates for the rail traction, the bracket that holds that unit could have become dislodged and could have caused the derailment," John Manconi told the city's transit commission Monday at its first meeting since June.

Manconi underscored that the finding is by no means conclusive, but stems from conversations among safety experts. Transportation Safety Board (TSB) investigators haven't confirmed the cause of the derailment.

Manconi said the derailment does not appear to be have been caused by a problem with the train's axles, though OC Transpo's Troy Charter confirmed the car involved in the most recent incident was among the 10 that underwent axle repairs following an earlier derailment on Aug. 8.

TSB investigators were also dispatched to look into that earlier incident, in which a wheel became detached from the axle, Charter said.

Now, just six weeks later, service on Ottawa's light rail transit system has again been halted indefinitely. Service won't resume until an independent safety expert reviews Rideau Transit Maintenance's plan for resuming service, Manconi told the commission.

"We're not tone deaf, we know there's concern about safety and confidence out there," Manconi said..

Manconi, who will soon retire after a 32-year career with the city, said he's assembling a group to perform an "end-to-end [review] of the entire system."

Nicolas Truchon, CEO of Rideau Transit Group, is at transit commission today to take questions from commissioners and councillors. The TSB said its investigators would resume their work on Monday.

More to come.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/lr...t-sander-bracket-early-finding-1.6182229

[DarthVader_1961]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Sander bracket possible cause of latest LRT derailment, Manconi says
LRT service suspended indefinitely while TSB investigates 2nd deraiment in 2 months

Kate Porter · CBC News
Posted: Sep 20, 2021 11:44 AM ET | Last Updated: 33 minutes ago

Ottawa's head of transportation says the derailment of a light rail train west of Tremblay station on Sunday afternoon appears to have been caused by a bracket on a sanding unit that became "dislodged."

It's the second derailment in two months for Ottawa's light rail system, which just hit its second anniversary in service.

"A sander that is used on these vehicles ... that dispenses sand at the wheels during cold weather climates or icy climates for the rail traction, the bracket that holds that unit could have become dislodged and could have caused the derailment," John Manconi told the city's transit commission Monday at its first meeting since June.

Manconi underscored that the finding is by no means conclusive, but stems from conversations among safety experts. Transportation Safety Board (TSB) investigators haven't confirmed the cause of the derailment.

Manconi said the derailment does not appear to be have been caused by a problem with the train's axles, though OC Transpo's Troy Charter confirmed the car involved in the most recent incident was among the 10 that underwent axle repairs following an earlier derailment on Aug. 8.

TSB investigators were also dispatched to look into that earlier incident, in which a wheel became detached from the axle, Charter said.

Now, just six weeks later, service on Ottawa's light rail transit system has again been halted indefinitely. Service won't resume until an independent safety expert reviews Rideau Transit Maintenance's plan for resuming service, Manconi told the commission.

"We're not tone deaf, we know there's concern about safety and confidence out there," Manconi said..

Manconi, who will soon retire after a 32-year career with the city, said he's assembling a group to perform an "end-to-end [review] of the entire system."

Nicolas Truchon, CEO of Rideau Transit Group, is at transit commission today to take questions from commissioners and councillors. The TSB said its investigators would resume their work on Monday.

More to come.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/lr...t-sander-bracket-early-finding-1.6182229

Assuming this is true…. One would expect that this would be checked on a regular basis…. Seems lack of maintenance and inspections are the fault.

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Yep. Should have bought heavier rolling stock when they decided it was going to be a metro.

I don't even know how they get out of this situation now. Public trust in the LRT and OC Transpo is going to crater after this.

While high floor would have made better sense for capacity, I have full faith that OC Transpo and the city would have ensured such a system was equally disastrous

[lrt's friend]

Ottawa dodged a bullet with ridership far below pre-Covid times. Prior to Covid, there were not enough buses or drivers to operate R1 bus service to fully replace the Confederation Line.

Rode the Canada Line again today. It runs smooth as ice. It seems that transit in Victoria and Vancouver is far superior than what Ottawa's capacity planning provides. There is all day bus service to Sooke BC, a town similar in size to Rockland and similar in distance from Victoria. Ottawa needs regional transit similar to GO Transit or BC Translink.

[rocketphish]

O-Train sidelined indefinitely while TSB investigates derailment; loose bracket possible cause
"We know there's concerns about safety and confidence out there."

Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Sep 20, 2021 • 29 minutes ago • 4 minute read



Sunday’s derailment of an O-Train near Tremblay Road caused extensive damage to the LRT’s infrastructure that may take as long as three weeks to repair, the CEO of Rideau Transit Maintenance said Monday.

An investigator from the federal Transportation Safety Board was at the accident site on Monday and the train cannot be moved until the TSB gives its OK. Because OC Transpo operates across the Ontario-Quebec boundary, it falls under federal regulation.

“We have realized attending the scene today with the TSB that there’s a lot more infrastructure damage than we thought,” RTM chief executive, Mario Guerro, told reporters after Monday’s marathon transit commission meeting.

“That may be on the critical path: our ability to get in there and repair all the damage to the ties, to the clips, to the switch machine. There’s a lot of work to be done. I said a week yesterday. I think getting the entire system up to running, assuming we can convince everyone that it’s safe, I would say three weeks, probably.”

But just when the train starts running again — whether with complete or partial service — remains an open question. A very early assessment of the accident points toward a loose bracket holding the mechanism that disperses sand onto the rails in winter, transit general manager John Manconi told the commission.

The derailment does not appear to have been caused by the same type of axle failure blamed for the Aug. 8 derailment at Tunney’s Pasture that shut down the LRT for five days. The train that went off the tracks Sunday had only returned to service about a week ago after it was inspected and found to have the same fault as the Aug. 8 train. Repairs were then made to the train’s axles.

“Yesterday was a difficult day for our customers again,” Manconi said at his final commission meeting before his retirement at the end of the month. “We know that. We understand that. It was difficult for our customers, for you as councillors and members of commission. And it was difficult for the hundreds of staff who were out there yesterday.”

“What appears to may have caused what occurred yesterday is a sander that is used around the world that dispenses sand at the wheels during cold weather or icy climates for rail traction,” he told the commission. “A bracket that holds that unit could have become dislodged and caused the derailment.”

“These are very preliminary findings that have not been approved or signed off by anybody,” Manconi said. “I thought it would be prudent [to mention the probable cause] because I’m aware that there are concerns about the overall safety and reliability of the system.”

Sunday’s derailment occurred at 12:15 p.m. and 30 minutes later OC Transpo made the decision to shut down the entire Confederation Line. R1 buses are now operating on the line and Manconi said OC Transpo was adding more and larger buses to the service after seeing online complaints about long waits and overcrowded buses during the day Monday.

“We’re not tone deaf. We know there’s concerns about safety and confidence out there,” he said.

Commission members voted to have the city’s independent monitor of the LRT, Sam Berrada, retain an expert or experts to make sure RTM’s return-to-service plan is safe before the train is allowed to run again. No trains will run — even with partial service — until that assessment says it’s safe to do so, Manconi said.

Partial service could include single line service with trains switching tracks to bypass the damaged section near the Tremblay Road station. Or trains could shuttle back and forth on either side of the damaged section.

“There is a whole oversight piece in place, whether it’s partial or full service,” Manconi said.

Officials will have a better sense of when service might resume in the next day or two.

During the five-hour meeting, commissioner after commissioner expressed their frustration with the O-Train’s service and the repeated breakdowns and accidents. Coun. Catherine McKenney said she had “zero confidence” in the system. Coun. Jeff Leiper said he was losing sleep worrying about the LRT. Coun. Riley Brockington worried about what would happen if a future derailment occurred at high speed with more serious results. Coun. Diane Deans called OC Transpo a “system in crisis” while Coun. Laura Dudas said she was “exhausted” by the LRT problems.

“What is the root cause of all of these issues?” Dudas asked Manconi. “Did we accept a new model of train and we’re the guinea pigs? Is that we don’t have enough trains so that when something happens we have to shut down the entire system? Or is it that we bought a lemon?”

Manconi pointed his finger at the train’s manufacturer: Alstom.

“You’re all asking the same thing. How do we get to the bottom of this vehicle issue? The CEO of Alstom has to get any and all resource into Ottawa — the best of the best — and figure it out. I’m not trashing Alstom. They build some of the best vehicles across North America,” he said.

“They need to stop talking about legalities in their boardroom, and who pays for what. They need to send an army of people in. Enough is enough. Fix the vehicle and get it consistently reliable.”

Meanwhile, OC Transpo ridership continues to be a fraction of pre-pandemic levels. In August, ridership was at just 34 per cent of expected levels. The loss of revenue means OC Transpo is projecting a $17 million deficit for the year.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...-derailment-loose-bracket-possible-cause

[rocketphish]

Derailed LRT train was off the tracks when it pulled into station and crossed a bridge, federal agency says

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Sep 21, 2021 • 51 minutes ago • 3 minute read



The Ottawa LRT train that derailed on Sunday left the tracks as it pulled into Tremblay Station and crossed a rail bridge before finally stopping after sensing an emergency, according to the preliminary assessment by a federal agency.

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) on Tuesday provided more details about the westbound train that derailed in the area of Tremblay Station, confirming that the train derailed as it entered the station.

“The train then departed the station in the derailed condition and continued over the rail bridge that traversed Riverside Drive before striking a signal mast and switch heater” adjacent to the track, the TSB said in a statement.

“Subsequently, the train went into emergency and came to a stop just west of the rail bridge.”

The TSB hasn’t announced a full investigation, but a team of investigators is assessing the derailment.

None of the 12 passengers and one operator onboard was hurt when the derailment happened around 12:15 p.m.

The TSB hasn’t pinpointed the cause, but the preliminary unconfirmed findings, according to city transportation GM John Manconi this week, suggested that a device under the train that sands the tracks in the winter might have disconnected from the train.

It was the second Ottawa LRT derailment since the beginning of August.

There were also no injuries when an out-of-service train jumped the rails near Tunney’s Pasture Station on Aug. 8. One of the 10 axles on a single car of the double-car train left the rails, prompting maintenance workers to check axle bearing assemblies on the fleet and identifying 10 cars for repairs. The LRT line closed for five days.

The city doesn’t believe the reasons for the two derailments are related and Manconi said no one could have predicted before the launch of the LRT system that a sander bracket or a sealed axle assembly would cause a derailment.

Mayor Jim Watson has asked for a meeting with senior executives at the Rideau Transit Group (RTG). His press secretary, Patrick Champagne, said the meeting is being scheduled to take place in the coming week.

It’s the latest act in Ottawa’s Confederation Line drama, with the $2.1-billion LRT line facing a three-week closure, councillors pointing fingers at each other and the most senior transit bureaucrat on the cusp of leaving the municipal government. Manconi is scheduled to retire at the end of the month.

At a lengthy transit commission meeting on Monday, as councillors and citizen commissioners expressed frustration over another LRT problem, Coun. Shawn Menard asked Coun. Allan Hubley to resign as commission chair. Hubley replied “you’re going a little too far here” and said that transit leaders have kept commission members in the loop, before playing down a transit rally previously held at city hall. Hubley refused to step down.

Meanwhile, transit customers normally used to LRT service for their daily transportation needs are being directed to the R1 replacement bus service with no clear timeline when the LRT system will be working again.

The only ones benefiting from Ottawa’s LRT woes might be lawyers and rail consultants.

Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM), the RTG arm responsible for maintenance of the LRT system for 30 years, is swallowing more consultant costs, on top of likely not receiving city maintenance payments for August and September.

There’s an end-to-end assessment happening on the LRT system by a consultant, but the findings aren’t expected to be made public because they’re part of the legal wrangling between the city and RTG. The city’s independent rail safety regulator is also hiring a second set of eyes to review the contractor’s return-to-service plan.

On top of that, Manconi said there’s yet another set of consultants he’s hiring for a “comprehensive review” of the LRT system and that bill, too, will be sent to RTM.

Over the short life of the LRT system — it opened to the public on Sept. 14, 2019 — the city has been engaged in multiple “root cause” investigations for various problems.

The TSB has an active investigation into wheel cracks on train wheels as it continues to assess the two recent derailments.







[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...and-crossed-a-bridge-federal-agency-says

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Derailed LRT train was off the tracks when it pulled into station and crossed a bridge, federal agency says

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Sep 21, 2021 • 51 minutes ago • 3 minute read

The Ottawa LRT train that derailed on Sunday left the tracks as it pulled into Tremblay Station and crossed a rail bridge before finally stopping after sensing an emergency, according to the preliminary assessment by a federal agency.

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) on Tuesday provided more details about the westbound train that derailed in the area of Tremblay Station, confirming that the train derailed as it entered the station.

“The train then departed the station in the derailed condition and continued over the rail bridge that traversed Riverside Drive before striking a signal mast and switch heater” adjacent to the track, the TSB said in a statement.

“Subsequently, the train went into emergency and came to a stop just west of the rail bridge.”

The TSB hasn’t announced a full investigation, but a team of investigators is assessing the derailment.

None of the 12 passengers and one operator onboard was hurt when the derailment happened around 12:15 p.m.

The TSB hasn’t pinpointed the cause, but the preliminary unconfirmed findings, according to city transportation GM John Manconi this week, suggested that a device under the train that sands the tracks in the winter might have disconnected from the train.

It was the second Ottawa LRT derailment since the beginning of August.

There were also no injuries when an out-of-service train jumped the rails near Tunney’s Pasture Station on Aug. 8. One of the 10 axles on a single car of the double-car train left the rails, prompting maintenance workers to check axle bearing assemblies on the fleet and identifying 10 cars for repairs. The LRT line closed for five days.

The city doesn’t believe the reasons for the two derailments are related and Manconi said no one could have predicted before the launch of the LRT system that a sander bracket or a sealed axle assembly would cause a derailment.

Mayor Jim Watson has asked for a meeting with senior executives at the Rideau Transit Group (RTG). His press secretary, Patrick Champagne, said the meeting is being scheduled to take place in the coming week.

It’s the latest act in Ottawa’s Confederation Line drama, with the $2.1-billion LRT line facing a three-week closure, councillors pointing fingers at each other and the most senior transit bureaucrat on the cusp of leaving the municipal government. Manconi is scheduled to retire at the end of the month.

At a lengthy transit commission meeting on Monday, as councillors and citizen commissioners expressed frustration over another LRT problem, Coun. Shawn Menard asked Coun. Allan Hubley to resign as commission chair. Hubley replied “you’re going a little too far here” and said that transit leaders have kept commission members in the loop, before playing down a transit rally previously held at city hall. Hubley refused to step down.

Meanwhile, transit customers normally used to LRT service for their daily transportation needs are being directed to the R1 replacement bus service with no clear timeline when the LRT system will be working again.

The only ones benefiting from Ottawa’s LRT woes might be lawyers and rail consultants.

Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM), the RTG arm responsible for maintenance of the LRT system for 30 years, is swallowing more consultant costs, on top of likely not receiving city maintenance payments for August and September.

There’s an end-to-end assessment happening on the LRT system by a consultant, but the findings aren’t expected to be made public because they’re part of the legal wrangling between the city and RTG. The city’s independent rail safety regulator is also hiring a second set of eyes to review the contractor’s return-to-service plan.

On top of that, Manconi said there’s yet another set of consultants he’s hiring for a “comprehensive review” of the LRT system and that bill, too, will be sent to RTM.

Over the short life of the LRT system — it opened to the public on Sept. 14, 2019 — the city has been engaged in multiple “root cause” investigations for various problems.

The TSB has an active investigation into wheel cracks on train wheels as it continues to assess the two recent derailments.

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...and-crossed-a-bridge-federal-agency-says

This is truly scary. The train could have fallen off the bridge into traffic. Why did the emergency detectors not immediately stop the train when it derailed?

This reminds me of the story of a full streetcar that derailed on Chaudiere Bridge and almost fell off the bridge into Devil's Hole. The bridge railing barely stopped it. But this was long before modern technology.

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

This is truly scary. The train could have fallen off the bridge into traffic. Why did the emergency detectors not immediately stop the train when it derailed?

This reminds me of the story of a full streetcar that derailed on Chaudiere Bridge and almost fell off the bridge into Devil's Hole. The bridge railing barely stopped it. But this was long before modern technology.

I think it's unclear what kind of "derailment detection" the line has since it is only semi-automated (I believe GoA4 is where you would see those kinds of systems, and the Confederation Line is only GoA2). So it might be up to the operator to detect these issues.

The TSB notes that the train went into "emergency", but I would wonder if that was just because the train destroyed some signaling equipment as it reached crossed the bridge.

[Catenary]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

This is truly scary. The train could have fallen off the bridge into traffic. Why did the emergency detectors not immediately stop the train when it derailed?

This reminds me of the story of a full streetcar that derailed on Chaudiere Bridge and almost fell off the bridge into Devil's Hole. The bridge railing barely stopped it. But this was long before modern technology.

I don't want to downplay the severity of this incident on the overall system, but it's important to note that it is still a minor derailment by railway standards. The bridges and elevated sections are equipped with guard rails, the extra rails between the tracks, to keep a derailed vehicle centred on the tracks. They either worked or weren't needed, as the train remained within the guideway.

[OTownandDown]

This accident was on such a slow portion of track, between all these crazy S-curves that the train must have just clunked along to a stop (that could have been whittled down to just two curves on either end of the station if adjacent property lines were not an issue, but i digress)

What if this had been on the high-speed straightaways? Would have been much more dangerous.

[rocketphish]

Council doesn't address latest LRT derailment as some members pursue judicial inquiry

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Sep 22, 2021 • 1 hour ago • 3 minute read

City council didn’t address the out-of-order Confederation Line during a regular meeting Wednesday, despite a majority of members agreeing that they should at least debate the idea of reconvening this week and holding more transit commission meetings until the $2.1-billion LRT system is back online.

The latest derailment of an Alstom Citadis Spirit train has brought the return of a replacement bus service running parallel to the 12.5-kilometre LRT line. OC Transpo could be pulling more high-capacity buses from other routes to bolster service during the busiest periods.

The replacement buses could be running for three weeks until Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) repairs damaged infrastructure and the city receives the safety OK from investigators at the Transportation Safety Board (TSB).

LRT wasn’t on council’s meeting agenda, which was finalized last Friday before the Sunday derailment near Tremblay Station, but Coun. Jeff Leiper, backed by Coun. Shawn Menard, hoped colleagues would be open to the discussion in light of the crippled LRT system.

Leiper needed 18 votes to walk on the motion but only secured 16, with Watson encouraging members to vote against it. Councillors Scott Moffatt, Tim Tierney, George Darouze, Jean Cloutier, Eli El-Chantiry and Hubley joined Watson in denying Leiper’s walk-on motion. (Coun. Jenna Sudds, who’s waiting to be confirmed as the Liberal MP for Kanata-Carleton, was absent from the council meeting).

“The number one priority I have is to fix the system, stabilize the system and grow the system and I believe the best use of our staff time is not preparing for a meeting every two weeks, but actually getting to the root cause of the problems so that we can bring a reliable system to the people of Ottawa,” Watson said after the meeting.

Watson said meetings might be “good political theatre” but they’re not a good use of staff resources.

Leiper acknowledged that he didn’t check first with Hubley, the chair of the transit commission, about increasing the number of commission meetings.

Council won’t avoid talking about LRT in October, however.

In fact, the next council meeting, which is scheduled for Oct. 13, has potential to be a extraordinary when it comes to public transit, based on the signals councillors made on Wednesday:

Councillors Catherine McKenney and Carol Anne Meehan will ask council to request a judicial inquiry into the LRT system and its governance.
Councillors Diane Deans and Riley Brockingon want city management to produce a report on the potential for ending the 30-year maintenance contract with RTM and creating an in-house LRT maintenance regime.
Hubley and Watson wants Transpo to not charge riders in December in recognition of the transit troubles. If approved, it would be the first time ever that the city shuts off the fare boxes and opens the fare gates for a whole month.

Council members on Oct. 5 will receive a confidential update from staff on the ongoing legal dispute with the Rideau Transit Group, the builder of the LRT system and affiliate of RTM.

The short history of the Confederation Line has entered another dark period with two train derailments since the beginning of August. Train service was out for five days after the Aug. 8 derailment near Tunney’s Pasture, but the derailment on Sunday west of Tremblay Station caused more damage to the infrastructure on the rail corridor. No one was hurt in both cases.

The TSB continues to have investigators looking into Sunday’s derailment but they authorized the train to be slowly moved back to the maintenance and storage facility on Wednesday.

While the TSB said this week that the westbound train derailed before it entered Tremblay Station and didn’t stop until after it crossed a bridge over Riverside Drive, the city was still uncertain of how long the train travelled off the tracks.

John Manconi, the city’s general manager of transportation services, said the city doesn’t know exactly where the derailment started, noting that the TSB’s analysis is an “initial assessment” and the first observation of the investigator. The federal agency is receiving video footage from the station and an account of what happened from the train operator, Manconi said.

“I saw some of the video footage. I can’t tell you where it derailed, nor can my rail experts that have been operating trains for a very long time,” Manconi said.

Manconi said this week that one initial theory, unconfirmed by the TSB, is that a bracket on a sanding device attached under the train dislodged and caused the derailment.

The TSB hasn’t announced its own theory about how the train derailed.

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...-as-some-members-pursue-judicial-inquiry

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Ottawa dodged a bullet with ridership far below pre-Covid times. Prior to Covid, there were not enough buses or drivers to operate R1 bus service to fully replace the Confederation Line.

Rode the Canada Line again today. It runs smooth as ice. It seems that transit in Victoria and Vancouver is far superior than what Ottawa's capacity planning provides. There is all day bus service to Sooke BC, a town similar in size to Rockland and similar in distance from Victoria. Ottawa needs regional transit similar to GO Transit or BC Translink.

We don't have nearly enough of a "region" to justify it. I'd concentrate on better integrating OCTranspo and STO routes and payments, and improving transit service in Ottawa's deserts and neglected communities before worrying too much about Arnprior or Kemptville.

[lrt's friend]

Just in case anybody is interested, here is a link to the news story about the August 28, 1946 streetcar derailment at Chaudiere Bridge including pictures. That derailment was caused by a broken axle. I have checked other photos of the Chaudiere Bridge that show that the additional rails now typically placed at bridge crossings (including on the Confed Line) to contain derailed trains did not exist at the time of the 1946 derailment.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85856349/streetcar-derailment-at-chaudiere-bridge/