Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

It's really crazy. Aren't we big enough to hire someone who actually led a similar sized system and is willing to move here? I mean it's obvious why she was hired but making her move her seems like a basic minimum standard. At least maybe she actually takes the LRT From the Via Rail station.

She ran Montreal's bus service, so based on that, she seems to have been qualified. I'm sure she had some knowledge about the inner workings of the Metro as well.

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Wow! Almost 2 hours from an inner suburb.

As I said a few days ago, I refuse to use R1, which means that I refuse to go downtown.

Who will support downtown businesses with a limping downtown transit system?

This is an ongoing bad advertisement for our city centre.

I also refuse to use transit if R1 is implemented. I prefer wasting 30 minutes (an hour both ways) to turn back around and work from home.

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Even when they live in the locale they are in charge of,they wouldn't use the service, so why should they care? Maybe part of the requirement for all municipal politicians is that they must use the transit system for the month of February for all city business they conduct.

Yup. Riding transit should be more important that living in the city. Again, going back to Hubley who wouldn't be caught dead riding transit with the regular folk.

As for living where you work, I'm reminded of Mathieu Lacombe, MPP for Papineau and minister responsible for the Outaouais (and now also Abitibi-Temiscamingue). There was a big controversy when he moved to Terrebonne early in his first term. At the time, I didn't care as long as he proved to serve his constituents well. I don't believe he did, and that probably has nothing to do with where he lives.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Walked between Lees and Hurdman around 6PM, nobody doing anything. One dead train sitting in the darkness. I mean, what's the rush, right?

There are workers present.

Although a journalist captured one employee arguing with another employee (probably working for RTG/RTM/Alstom) last night: https://twitter.com/PringleJosh/status/1612221959760404480

[Fading Isle]

In the CFRA interview this morning Sutcliffe said the train has been working great since March. I feel like I’m living in an alternate reality. A train derailed in July, the line was closed for a week, and train service has been disrupted by slow orders ever since. Is he just completely incompetent or is he doing this on purpose thinking people won’t remember?

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Fading Isle

In the CFRA interview this morning Sutcliffe said the train has been working great since March. I feel like I’m living in an alternate reality. A train derailed in July, the line was closed for a week, and train service has been disrupted by slow orders ever since. Is he just completely incompetent or is he doing this on purpose thinking people won’t remember?

He was trying to put a positive spin on things, which annoys most thinking people.

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by Fading Isle

In the CFRA interview this morning Sutcliffe said the train has been working great since March. I feel like I’m living in an alternate reality. A train derailed in July, the line was closed for a week, and train service has been disrupted by slow orders ever since. Is he just completely incompetent or is he doing this on purpose thinking people won’t remember?

I think you are mistaken. Footage of the September 2021 derailment was released in July 2022, but there have been no other mainline derailments since September 2021.

A lightning strike took out a section of overhead line at Lees station in July 2022, and only that section was closed for about four and a half days.

[Fading Isle]

Originally Posted by OCCheetos

I think you are mistaken. Footage of the September 2021 derailment was released in July 2022, but there have been no other mainline derailments since then.

A lightning strike took out a section of overhead line at Lees station in July 2022, and only that section was closed for about four and a half days.

My understanding is that around the time of the lightning strike there was also a wheel hub failure on a train that caused damage to the track (maybe that doesn’t qualify as a derailment if it’s just one wheel hub that failed?). This resulted in a number of trains being pulled for faulty wheel hub assemblies and slow orders throughout much of the east end ever since.

http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/mobile/full-lrt-service-to-be-offline-for-remainder-of-workweek-1.6002817

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by Fading Isle

My understanding is that around the time of the lightning strike there was also a wheel hub failure on a train that caused damage to the track (maybe that doesn’t qualify as a derailment if it’s just one wheel hub that failed?). This resulted in a number of trains being pulled for faulty wheel hub assemblies and slow orders throughout much of the east end ever since.

http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/mobile/full-lrt-service-to-be-offline-for-remainder-of-workweek-1.6002817

That's all incorrect.

The track damage was caused by the downed power lines.

The wheel hub failures were ultimately related to the ones that had happened in 2021 and was something that had been caught during maintenance at the time. It is the reason that there are currently a number of slow orders along the line, but no other trains derailed or damaged the track.

[Fading Isle]

Originally Posted by OCCheetos

That's all incorrect.

The track damage was caused by the downed power lines.

The wheel hub failures were ultimately related to the ones that had happened in 2021 and was something that had been caught during maintenance at the time. It is the reason that there are currently a number of slow orders along the line, but no other trains derailed or damaged the track.

Thanks for the correction. My point still stands, when a train moves at 20 km/h for large sections of its route because otherwise trains might derail, that can’t be considered a transit system that’s “working great”.

[Truenorth00]

They need to get in an outside engineering consultant and do a full design review with a defined reliability target. Fixing this is probably going to require several hundred million dollars and a few years. The sooner they get started on a proper fix, the better.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

They need to get in an outside engineering consultant and do a full design review with a defined reliability target. Fixing this is probably going to require several hundred million dollars and a few years. The sooner they get started on a proper fix, the better.

The challenge is doing so may highlight a lot of problems and could negatively effect future plans for LRT such that we go back into a transit investment darkness. Yes, it is needed, but it could do more damage than we expect.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

The challenge is doing so may highlight a lot of problems and could negatively effect future plans for LRT such that we go back into a transit investment darkness. Yes, it is needed, but it could do more damage than we expect.

This may require a very long closure. Something that has crossed my mind. It may be necessary, but it will setback transit for decades. I think this will seriously damage downtown Ottawa, and accelerate decentralization of the city.

[lrt's friend]

They just announced on the 5 pm news that closure will continue tomorrow.

[Luisito]

Originally Posted by Fading Isle

Thanks for the correction. My point still stands, when a train moves at 20 km/h for large sections of its route because otherwise trains might derail, that can’t be considered a transit system that’s “working great”.

Definitely not. Specially if it's grade seperated. That is nothing short of a disaster.

I think ottawa needs to just throw in the towel and rebuild the entire system with new trains.

[lrt's friend]

I have heard a number of reports today on radio and television that replacement bus service is operating less frequently than normal train service. And replacement buses only take you to Rideau Station.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Luisito

Definitely not. Specially if it's grade seperated. That is nothing short of a disaster.

I think ottawa needs to just throw in the towel and rebuild the entire system with new trains.

Start over? Years of closure? When we have nowhere near enough buses and drivers.

[Luisito]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Start over? Years of closure? When we have nowhere near enough buses and drivers.

Yes unfortunately that is the only real solution. Or it will be like this all the time. Sue who ever needs to be sued, fire whoever needs to be fired and build a new proper RT service for Ottawa. THis time buy proven and tried trains off the shelf and not remodeled street cars.

[zzptichka]

Maybe for starters, they should start taking it seriously, and have some kind of contingency plan for the future, so they could fix stuff like that overnight (what could possibly be more expected than a broken catenary wire?)

When I lived in Moscow 15 years ago, there was a terrorist attack on the subway train on one of the stations during AM peak. The train car was a heap of burnt metal, 25 people dead. The trains were running and the station was operational by PM peak.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

The challenge is doing so may highlight a lot of problems and could negatively effect future plans for LRT such that we go back into a transit investment darkness. Yes, it is needed, but it could do more damage than we expect.

There is no way they can do more damage than what they are doing now with multi-day failures every few months. I live beside the line. This week my wife is taking the car to work. She says this is the worst transit system she has ever experienced. I doubt she's alone in that sentiment. At this point, they'd be better off with a major rehabilitation program, even if they have to close for months. As it stands, nobody is giving up their car for this kind of service.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

There is no way they can do more damage than what they are doing now with multi-day failures every few months. I live beside the line. This week my wife is taking the car to work. She says this is the worst transit system she has ever experienced. I doubt she's alone in that sentiment. At this point, they'd be better off with a major rehabilitation program, even if they have to close for months. As it stands, nobody is giving up their car for this kind of service.

I don’t see how months of closure are necessary. The problems appear to be mostly with the rolling stock and the overhead lines. It is expensive but don’t see how that causes major delays.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Maybe for starters, they should start taking it seriously, and have some kind of contingency plan for the future, so they could fix stuff like that overnight (what could possibly be more expected than a broken catenary wire?)

When I lived in Moscow 15 years ago, there was a terrorist attack on the subway train on one of the stations during AM peak. The train car was a heap of burnt metal, 25 people dead. The trains were running and the station was operational by PM peak.

They also run a train every 90 seconds like clockwork.