Alstom in the hot seat on day four of Ottawa's LRT inquiry
Day four of public hearings in the inquiry into Ottawa’s light rail transit system saw the train manufacturer Alstom take the hot seat at the University of Ottawa.
Appearing remotely, Yves Declercq of Alstom told the hearing the Citadis Dualis model in Ottawa had never been used before and is the longest light rail train in North America.
In French, Declercq says Alstom was approached by Rideau Transit Group in July 2012 to make a proposal for a train. He says the company had two weeks to repurpose a train to meet the city of Ottawa’s requirements.
The commission heard that the city wanted a longer vehicle to meet the capacity goal of 24,000 passengers an hour.
"We noticed that the ridership request was quite exceptional, it was the actual ridership for a subway and not for an LRT," Declercq said. "The desire of the city of Ottawa was to have 24,000 per hour in every direction that is the size of a subway train."
Delercq told the commission that the capacity requirement is not only a matter of how many people who can be aboard the trains, but it is also question of speed, distance between vehicles on the line, and a change in acceleration profile. Declercq said the old model of Citadis train had eight doors, while the new one in Ottawa has 14 doors to reduce the time at the stations.
The new Citadis model also used a different engine than the typical one. The new engine is like the New York City Subway system.
"The main difference was the adaptation of the control and the automatic settings," said Declercq.
"I think that would explain some of the troubles we came upon," Declercq said.
Commission lawyer Christine Mainville asking, 'Can you give us some examples? Are you referring to delays or technical problems?"
Declercq responding by saying technically. Mainville pressed for more examples, Declercq saying "like derailments."
Mainville asked Declercq if Alstom had raised concerns about the specifications with the city, Declercq said they did during a July 2012 meeting.
The city’s lawyer pushed back on some of Declercq’s claims, by referring to an Alstom document from 2012, where Alstom wrote, "We are confident in our ability to deliver an optimized system and services based on proven solutions that will meet or exceed the ORLT requirements."
According to the document, Alstom said it was confident the trains would work even in Ottawa’s harsh winters.
"The specific environmental conditions encountered in Ottawa Specific have been carefully accounted for in our proposal. Based on our extensive experience in Northern Europe (regional trains, in Sweden, high speed trains in Finland and currently tramways in Russia). Alstom will adapt certain equipment in the Citadis Dualis in order to provide a safe, reliable vehicle meeting the required operational performances under Ottawa climatic conditions.”
Public hearings continue on Friday and run until July 7.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.