As Ottawa's LRT remains offline, OC Transpo boss is quiet about progress to restore service

OC Transpo had little new to report Sunday as R1 replacement bus service resumed along the route of the still shut down LRT.

In a memo Sunday morning, transit services general manager Renée Amilcar said R1s began running at 8 a.m., the same time the LRT would normally come online on Sundays, and trips are being monitored.

No details about progress into restoring service, including how many trains have been or are left to be inspected, were provided. Amilcar promised a more fulsome update on Monday.

"Please rest assured that work on all key areas of the investigation will continue throughout the weekend. We’ll give you a complete update tomorrow," she wrote.

Coun. Riley Brockington said on Twitter Sunday evening that 35 of 45 LRT vehicles have been inspected, and no other issues identified. Brockington added Amilcar plans to release a "complete memo" by 12 p.m. Monday with a return-to-service plan.

R1 bus service is running down Albert and Slater streets this weekend, with westbound stops on Albert at Bank and Kent, and eastbound stops on Slater at Kent and O'Connor.

New signage to direct transit riders to these temporary stops was installed Saturday after people complained the previous signs were too confusing.

"Thank you for your feedback regarding confusing R1 bus signs for service on Albert and Slater streets. We hear you," OC Transpo said on Twitter Saturday. " You'll see new signs today, and more improvements will come on Monday. Our outreach team is at various R1 locations to answer any questions during your trip."

Two shuttles are running between some stations. One shuttle operates between Lees, uOttawa, and Rideau stations because westbound service does not stop at Lees. Customers travelling to Lees station from the east can connect with the shuttle and eastbound R1 service at uOttawa Station. Eastbound R1 service will continue to serve Lees Station.

The other shuttle is running between Cyrville and St-Laurent stations in order to connect customers with R1 service.

The LRT has been offline since Monday afternoon, when OC Transpo made the abrupt decision to cancel all service after a routine 50,000 km inspection of one of the trains detected an issue with an axle bearing. Amilcar and other city officials have said service would not resume on the line until every light rail vehicle was inspected. The city had inspected 24 of 45 vehicles as of Friday, according to memos. No details on progress have been provided this weekend.

Test trains have been running on the line to gather data on things like train and track configurations and loads, which must also be analyzed.

Sunday is the sixth full day with no LRT access in Ottawa in this latest shutdown and, with service expected to remain offline for the foreseeable future, it will become the longest closure of the line for technical, non-maintenance issues so far this year.

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Josh Pringle and Natalie van Rooy.