Trillium Line (O-Train) Updates

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by Multi-modal

I could be wrong, but I don't think Bombardier is involved with maintenance of the Trillium Line. That is Capital Railway (the City) at the moment.

Capital Railway contracts vehicle maintenance out to Bombardier and has since the creation of the O-Train.

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

A combination of both maybe. As the only station that did not have fare-gates, I'm sure there was a fair amount of fare evasion. Having a quick and easy rail-rail transfer also makes it significantly more attractive than the rail-bus situation we had for nearly 20 years.

I agree with lrt's friend that this is a bad time to shut it down. Even with Stage 2 complete, it will still be a half-built system (or maybe even a third) with long stretches of single track running on diesel. Next time we have to shut it down for upgrades, ridership will likely be 35K to 50K.

From the city's perspective, I think this justifies their prioritizing of capacity over frequency.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by OCCheetos

From the city's perspective, I think this justifies their prioritizing of capacity over frequency.

That is what I am predicting. Just add another FLIRT train on. How long would that make the trains? But even that will require a year or two shutdown to extend passing tracks further, and station platforms.

What does that do to the Bayview transfer? Waiting for two, three, four, five C-Line trains? Doesn't matter, capacity is all that matters, not service. Or we could have permanent bus service back on Albert Street because the C-Line can't cope.

No worries, this is a few years off.

[Catenary]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

A combination of both maybe. As the only station that did not have fare-gates, I'm sure there was a fair amount of fare evasion. Having a quick and easy rail-rail transfer also makes it significantly more attractive than the rail-bus situation we had for nearly 20 years.

I agree with lrt's friend that this is a bad time to shut it down. Even with Stage 2 complete, it will still be a half-built system (or maybe even a third) with long stretches of single track running on diesel. Next time we have to shut it down for upgrades, ridership will likely be 35K to 50K.

The passenger counters on Trillium Line are on the trains themselves, not the fare gates, so that isn't it. The better connection to the Confederation Line and shortening of route 10/4 probably also plays a role, the bus is no longer a 1 seat ride to Rideau Street from Carleton.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by OCCheetos

From the city's perspective, I think this justifies their prioritizing of capacity over frequency.

Increasing frequency also increases capacity. It also has a more positive effect on ridership; it encourages more people to use the Line off peak as well.

I would have liked a study comparing the comparing the cost of double tracking to achieve a frequency of 6 minutes to the cost of doubling the platform lengths.

If the introduction of the Confederation Line has had that effect on Trillium ridership (introduction of a frequent train service vs an infrequent bus service), imagine what a better frequency could do for Trillium.

[J.OT13]

Recommendations and Feasibility Analysis of the original O-Train, August 18, 1998:

https://app06.ottawa.ca/calendar/ott...ep98/Light.pdf

Thanks to Rail613 and Michael Mielke for posting on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/rail613/status/1291767184147062784

[rocketphish]

City's original O-Train Bombardier vehicles heading for the scrap heap

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Feb 26, 2021 • 1 hour ago • 2 minute read



Three Bombardier trains are heading for the scrap heap after no one wanted to buy the original O-Train vehicles.

“The city was unable to establish a contract for the disposal of the trainsets,” city chief procurement officer Will McDonald confirmed after the city posted a tender asking for offers to disassemble and get rid of the trains.

When the trains are torn apart, it will be the end of an era for Ottawa’s Bombardier Talent vehicles.

The trains operated on the Trillium Line long before the north-south rail system was even known as the Trillium Line.

The eight-kilometre system that opened in October 2001 was simply called the O-Train, a moniker that now describes the entire municipal rail system, including the Confederation Line LRT. At the time, the city decided to go with diesel trains on the north-south railway since it as too expensive to electrify the line.

According to a city-commissioned May 2005 study on transit technologies, the Bombardier Talent was originally designed to operate on European commuter lines and was modified for Ottawa’s operations.

At one time, used Talents were hard to come by. The city tried to find a second-hand Talent in 2011 to bolster service reliability but came up empty.

The future of the Bombardier trains was doomed after council endorsed an O-Train expansion project. The city bought six Alstom Coradia LINT trains for the expansion, and although the city considered keeping the Bombardier trains for another rail expansion project, the city realized it couldn’t run the Bombardier and Alstom trains on the same line.

That second expansion became the Stage 2 O-Train project currently under construction.

Last month, Alstom completed its acquisition of Bombardier’s rail division.

Alstom also manufactures LRT vehicles for the Confederation Line through the Rideau Transit Group.

The Alstom Citadis Spirit trains on the Confederation Line are powered by electricity, while the Trillium Line has diesel-powered trains.

When SNC-Lavalin completes the Trillium Line expansion later in 2022, the Alstom trains will be joined by seven new Stadler FLIRT trains to provide service between the terminuses at Bayview Station, Riverside South and the Ottawa International Airport.

As for the Bombardier Talents, the city hopes to still make a bit of cash from their disposal.

McDonald pointed out the city intends to award the contract to the highest “revenue generating bid,” hoping that taxpayers won’t have to pay to trash the trains.

“In the absence of a revenue-generating bid, the bid representing the lowest cost to the city will be accepted,” McDonald said.

jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...the-scrap-heap

[rocketphish]

Anybody want to build their own railway?

[TransitZilla]

They should at least auction off the seats or something! I'd buy one

[roger1818]

I was secretly hoping BC would buy them for use in Victoria. I know the track there needs a lot of work, but they would have been perfect, especially there would be minimal to no freight traffic.

[Harley613]

*Paging Moose Consortium, looking for signs of life*

[caveat.doctor]

Originally Posted by bradnixon

They should at least auction off the seats or something! I'd buy one

Seriously I hope they do! Seats, signs, controls, even the window emergency hammers would all be good souvenirs. Plus "revenue generating".

[Kitchissippi]

I'd love to buy a train body off its chassis and turn it into a tiny home or cottage

There's a hostel in Brussels where they lifted a train on top of the building and you can sleep in rooms inside. It would be a funky thing to do in the Byward Market. An "O-tel", anyone? A rest-O-rant perhaps?

• Video Link

[J.OT13]

Looking at everything that was done with Montreal's old MR-63s, I'm quite upset our original fleet, a small fleet of three, will just be scrapped.

This art work was in Ottawa in summer 2019. Brought our nephews. They loved it.

• Video Link

Student lounge at Polytechnique in Montreal.


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montr...ents-1.5347645

Public square in Griffintown.


https://montreal.eater.com/2019/7/5/...ce-griffintown

That's just a few cool uses of the old Metro stock.

[Harley613]

Carling/Dow's Lake update:
Photo_6553649_DJI_49_jpg_4106817_0_202131812206_photo_original by harley613, on Flickr

[qprcanada]

The pedestrian path on the east side of the tracks has now reopened from Louisa St to Young St.

[SL123]

Originally Posted by qprcanada

The pedestrian path on the east side of the tracks has now reopened from Louisa St to Young St.

Ohh nice! Finally

[Harley613]

A couple of updates on Corso Italia and Dow's Lake stations

[ponyboycurtis]

I would love to know what the deal with this tarp is. This photo is a few days old and I'm almost positive when I went by yesterday the tarps extended all the way down.

Any ideas on what they could need this for?

Also.. if anyone is wondering why the southern extension is delayed by a year it's because nobody works here. Granted there is the lower interior section I can't see but I have seen at a maximum 2 or 3 people at a given time. No trucks or activity in the yard etc.

It would have been nice if they staged the work in such a way that we could have had Greenboro to Bayview service by now and the rest of the work south of that to follow.

By the time this project goes live that will probably be 95% of your catchment anyways aside from park and ride and South Keys station itself.

Poor planning if you ask me. Sucks to be a foreign Carlton student who booked housing based on a school brochure.

[J.OT13]

At this pace, maybe we can get South-Keys to Leitrim open for the 20 Riverside South daily riders by 2024 and the rest just after Stage 3 opens.