Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service

[Truenorth00]

My one complaint on R1 service is the lack of consistency. If possible, they need to put some effort here. Accompanied someone that had a stroller last weekend. Two others on the bus with strollers. We had no choice but to block the aisle. This was a standard 40' bus. A replacement for a rail service needs to a set of artics or double deckers.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by OCCheetos

The TSB has posted a safety advisory letter regarding the August 8th derailment at Tunney's:

https://www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/securi...617-02-21.html

I don't believe it had been announced anywhere (even by the TSB) but that incident was under a Class 5 investigation, which is now complete.
https://www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/enquet.../R21H0099.html

Great reports and well worth a read. This paragraph from the "Rail Safety Investigation" says it all:

Cartridge assemblies for OLRT LRVs are located inboard of the wheels and cannot be effectively inspected visually, and roller bearing operating temperatures cannot be monitored by traditional freight car wayside hot bearing detectors. Furthermore, OLRT has no wayside or on-board system in place to monitor the operating temperature of axle roller bearings that are located inboard of the wheels. Consequently, an overheated roller bearing within the cartridge assembly can potentially fail catastrophically without being observed or detected. As demonstrated in the present occurrence, this can also lead to derailment if there is no intervention.

Scary! Even more scary is that the, according to the safety advisory letter, the "Confederation Line is not considered to be a railway for the purposes of the Railway Safety Act," thus Transport Canada has no authority and the city is responsible to develop and apply its own rules and regulations.

[DEWLine]

Good to see the results of the TSB investigation published!

[Kitchissippi]

I wish there was a way they could have made the Hurdman Bridge useable by buses when the LRT is not running. The lengths the R1 has to take to get from uOttawa to Hurdman is just ridiculous.



Likewise, an emergency route on the LRT ROW between Cyrville and City Park Drive would have been really useful in making R1 times closer to that of the LRT.

[DEWLine]

I can see how that suggestion re: buses for Hurdman Bridge would still be a good idea. I suspect there are people among us who warned city hall about that.

[Williamoforange]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Great reports and well worth a read. This paragraph from the "Rail Safety Investigation" says it all:
Scary! Even more scary is that the, according to the safety advisory letter, the "Confederation Line is not considered to be a railway for the purposes of the Railway Safety Act," thus Transport Canada has no authority and the city is responsible to develop and apply its own rules and regulations.

Question are any of the transit rail systems in Canada considered rail systems?

Second do any of the other low floor light rail transit vehicles in Canada have those sensors?

Because it's not as if Ottawa staff designed the detailed spec there would have been engineers involved at both the city and Alstom that signed off on the current design and that's not done lightly.

[J.OT13]

Trips on other routes cancelled to support R1 replacement bus service (as of Friday September 24)

Line 2 replacement bus service leaving South Keys at 07:28, 08:37, 09:48, 10:57, 12:07, 13:19, 14:21, 15:14, 15:48, 16:27, 17:00, 17:27**, 17:49, 18:26, 19:38, 20:50, 22:02, 23:14; leaving Bayview at 08:00, 09:09, 10:17, 11:27, 12:38, 13:48, 14:02*, 14:26**, 14:53, 15:10, 15:49, 16:21, 16:58*, 17:27**, 17:47, 18:56, 20:07, 21:19, 22:31, 23:43 (* to Carleton, ** from Carleton)

Route 7 leaving St-Laurent at 07:08, 08:07, 10:39, 13:40, 14:56, 15:25, 16:10, 17:40, 18:10; leaving Carleton at 08:21, 09:24, 12:09, 14:53, 16:20, 16:52, 17:36, 19:24

Route 10 leaving Hurdman at 17:01; leaving Lyon at 17:43

Route 12 leaving St-Laurent at 08:15, 14:30, 15:00, 15:59; leaving Blair at 15:08, 15:38, 16:38

Route 14 leaving Tunney’s Pasture at 06:31, 15:44, 16:59; leaving St-Laurent at 07:54, 14:39, 15:40

Route 15 leaving Blair at 06:12, 08:19, 16:19, 19:24, 21:26; leaving Parliament at 07:23, 09:26, 15:11, 17:37*, 20:21, 22:16 (* from Gatineau)

Route 24 leaving St-Laurent at 06:25, 06:55, 07:23, 07:55, 08:25, 15:19, 16:23, 16:53, 17:23, 17:53; leaving La Vérendrye at 06:47, 07:18, 07:46, 08:18, 08:48, 15:44, 16:49, 17:19, 17:48, 18:18

Route 25 leaving Millennium at 16:25; leaving Blair at 15:32

Route 30 leaving Millennium at 15:55; leaving Blair at 16:26, 17:36

Route 39 leaving Trim at 14:43; leaving Blair at 15:12, 17:34* (* from Den Haag)

Route 40 leaving Lorry Greenberg at 06:39, 10:25*; leaving St-Laurent at 07:13 (* from Elmvale)

Route 42 leaving Hurdman at 08:07

Route 44 leaving Hurdman at 06:14, 07:29, 18:23; leaving Billings Bridge at 06:55, 08:12

Route 46 leaving Hurdman at 15:26, 17:10; leaving Billings Bridge at 16:09

Route 55 leaving Westgate at 07:20, 08:49, 09:35, 16:10; leaving Elmvale at 06:35, 07:50, 08:20, 15:16

Route 64 leaving Tunney’s Pasture at 06:57; leaving Innovation at 07:34

Route 74 leaving Tunney’s Pasture at 13:03; leaving Nepean Woods at 13:53

Route 80 leaving Deakin at 06:00

Route 88 leaving Terry Fox at 17:35; leaving Hurdman at 15:56

Route 90 leaving Greenboro at 06:23, 08:09, 09:38, 16:24; leaving Hurdman at 07:05, 08:49, 10:19, 15:04, 15:31

Route 93 leaving Leitrim at 07:23

Route 98 leaving Hawthorne at 08:09

Route 257 leaving Palomino at 08:05

http://kitchissippiward.ca/content/r...-cancellations

[J.OT13]

Nearly all (no doubt) busy urban routes. R2s. Empty suburban routes though continue to get full service.

[lrt's friend]

And we cut neighbourhood transit for the second time since June.

If the June cuts were temporary, why were there not surplus buses and drivers to deliver the R1 service?

[DarthVader_1961]

Originally Posted by Williamoforange

Question are any of the transit rail systems in Canada considered rail systems?

Second do any of the other low floor light rail transit vehicles in Canada have those sensors?

Because it's not as if Ottawa staff designed the detailed spec there would have been engineers involved at both the city and Alstom that signed off on the current design and that's not done lightly.

Also…. Does the new rolling stock have these sensors?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by DarthVader_1961

Also…. Does the new rolling stock have these sensors?

That's a good question. Not just low-floor trams, but same question for Canada's other metro and lrt systems. The report only mentions VIA.

That said, Ottawa more than any other system needs these sensors because our trains are pushed beyond normal designed operations. Low-floor trams are usualy built for low speed, stop and go street running lines. We took that, made a few minor tweaks and are operating them as a medium capacity metro, one that travels faster than any other to boot. Because of this these sensors should have been installed. The retrofit will be far more expensive than if built in.

[Williamoforange]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

That's a good question. Not just low-floor trams, but same question for Canada's other metro and lrt systems. The report only mentions VIA.

That said, Ottawa more than any other system needs these sensors because our trains are pushed beyond normal designed operations. Low-floor trams are usualy built for low speed, stop and go street running lines. We took that, made a few minor tweaks and are operating them as a medium capacity metro, one that travels faster than any other to boot. Because of this these sensors should have been installed. The retrofit will be far more expensive than if built in.

Bombardier flexity freedom that are planned to be used on the Eglinton line and valley line and currently being used on the KW line are also designed for higher speeds.

Nvm, that Metrolinx bought the citadis for use on either Eglinton or Hurontario line.

So it would be good to know if any of those vehicles also have the heat sensor.

[TransitZilla]

I'm curious of any other light rail or transit vehicle has these sensors. Does SkyTrain? Or LRTs in Edmonton or Calgary? It sounds like a good idea to install them, but I'm not sure comparing LRT vehicles to VIA is an apples-to-apples comparison.

Also, it sounds like the true root cause was the loosening of the locking nut in the cartridge assembly. It would be interesting to know what is going on here.

[DarthVader_1961]

Originally Posted by TransitZilla

I'm curious of any other light rail or transit vehicle has these sensors. Does SkyTrain? Or LRTs in Edmonton or Calgary? It sounds like a good idea to install them, but I'm not sure comparing LRT vehicles to VIA is an apples-to-apples comparison.

Also, it sounds like the true root cause was the loosening of the locking nut in the cartridge assembly. It would be interesting to know what is going on here.

Can this question be put to councilors or RTG?

[lrt's friend]

I really liked the interview given by David Jeanes last night on CBC Ottawa news. I wish I could find a link to it. He made a lot of sensible comments and expressed a lot of concerns about rail implementation. He commented on the lack of redundancy especially until the rail system had proven reliable.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I really liked the interview given by David Jeanes last night on CBC Ottawa news. I wish I could find a link to it. He made a lot of sensible comments and expressed a lot of concerns about rail implementation. He commented on the lack of redundancy especially until the rail system had proven reliable.

I agree. He provided a clear picture of what the issue is, largely the wrong type of vehicle for the job, without being overly negative. Well balanced info on the situation.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I agree. He provided a clear picture of what the issue is, largely the wrong type of vehicle for the job, without being overly negative. Well balanced info on the situation.

Sill no reason for the issues they have been having.

[rocketphish]

No answer from Ottawa city officials on when LRT will run again
'No update at this time' says city spokesperson

Nicole Williams · CBC News
Posted: Sep 28, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 12 hours ago

As Ottawa transit riders endure a second week without access to the light rail system, city officials are no closer to providing a concrete answer for when service will resume.

When asked Monday when riders could reasonably expect to get back on the LRT, a spokesperson for the city told CBC there was "no update at this time."

The LRT has been out of service since a train derailed on Sept. 19 before entering Tremblay station. On that day, Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) CEO Mario Guerra told reporters the Confederation Line would likely remain out of service for at least a week. The very next day, that answer changed to an estimated three weeks.

Since then, there has been no confirmation of when a return to service for Ottawa's LRT is expected. RTM will need to satisfy an independent safety expert with its plan to resume operations before service can re-start.

In the meantime, as part of an ongoing effort to enhance the R1 service, OC Transpo created direct trips between downtown and Blair station during the morning and afternoon rush hours. All R1 buses will also bypass Cyrville station.

In total, 148 trips over 23 routes have been withdrawn to support the R1 service. Mathieu Fleury, city counsellor for Rideau-Vanier Ward, which includes Lowertown, Sandy Hill and Vanier said nearly half of those routes are within his ward and is looking to the city for answers.

"It basically exposes, from my perspective, the 'we're stealing from Paul to give to Peter here' in terms of service to transit," Fleury said.

Fleury said "ultimately we're leaving very vulnerable folks at bus stops" with many riders being newcomers, elderly people, essential workers and students who have "very few other options."

Following September's LRT derailment, Mayor Jim Watson recently announced a proposal for free transit for the month of December that will be voted on at the next council meeting — a move that advocates say isn't enough to make up for the ongoing problem with the system.

"We have to find ways of making the system run reliably and safely," said Transport Action Canada spokesperson David Jeanes.

"Shutting down the backbone of our transit system for three weeks or more is really unimaginable in any other city in the world," Jeanes said. "I can't imagine that the public will feel that a month of free transit is compensation for that."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...line-1.6191391

[rocketphish]

Search for independent LRT safety examiner resumes as STV dropped over 'appearances'

Staff Reporter, CBC
Publishing date: Sep 28, 2021 • 6 hours ago • 1 minute read

Engineering firm STV will not conduct the independent third-party safety review of Ottawa’s LRT return to service, city manager Steve Kanellakos said in a memo Tuesday.

The selection of the firm last week had brought criticism that STV had been involved in pre-launch work on the rail system.

“STV has familiarity with the Confederation Line 1 and has provided consulting services to the City in the past,” Kanellakos writes.

“They were not involved in the design of the Confederation Line and have not provided services to Rideau Transit Group,” he wrote.

However, Kanellakos said: “While the objectivity and expertise of STV is not in question in any way, I also recognize that public trust related to all aspects of the Confederation Line 1 is low right now, and I do not want any perception challenges to get in the way of residents’ confidence in the findings and verification of the independent reviewer.”

In light of the concerns, Kanellakos writes that he decided not to retain STV as the independent safety expert.

The manager said STV was advised on Monday and agreed with the decision.

Kanellakos said the search was resumed for an independent examiner.

He said their are “very few firms with the necessary expertise that have not” already been involved in LRT work, “however, best efforts will be made to find
a firm that meets the spirit of the Transit Commissions’ direction to staff.”

There was no timetable on when the new examiners would be named.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...er-appearances

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Nearly all (no doubt) busy urban routes. R2s. Empty suburban routes though continue to get full service.

Not just urban routes.

Urban routes that are disproportionately those that serve the east side of urban.