City calling on RTG to explore adding heat detectors to LRT vehicles
The City of Ottawa says it agrees with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada that the risk mitigation regime on Ottawa's LRT is insufficient and they're telling the Rideau Transit Group to explore the idea of adding heat detectors on the trains.
In a memo sent Tuesday afternoon, City Manager Steve Kanellakos responded to a rail safety advisory letter sent by the TSB on Monday. The TSB said that the LRT train that derailed outside Tunney's Pasture Station on Aug. 8 had experienced problems several hours before and that a wheel on one of the cars had severed from its axle because of what it called a "previously undetected catastrophic roller bearing failure and subsequent axle journal burn-off."
The TSB noted that Ottawa's LRT trains do not have heat detection systems which might have caught the overheated axle before a problem occurred and that the strategy of mitigating these problems through routine inspection wasn't good enough.
Kanellakos agreed.
"While a limited number of urban light rail systems include this feature, it is not consistently applied on Canadian urban light rail systems. Alstom’s maintenance regime should manage and mitigate this risk, according to their established practices,” Kanellakos wrote. “The City and the TSB have now determined that these practices are insufficient. In reviewing RTG’s safety documentation and the recent derailment, the TSB specifically notes in the RSA letter that the current mitigations for a roller bearing failure have proven to be insufficient and this is the area that RTG needs to address with Alstom.”
He said that the city is now asking RTG to find a solution to detect these issues before they occur.
"[T]he City will be using our rights under the Project Agreement, to require RTG to explore solutions that would provide an early detection of bearing failures," Kanellakos wrote. "As noted in the TSB letter, the arrangement of bearings precludes effective visual inspection and temperatures cannot be monitored by traditional wayside hot bearing detectors (heat detection units mounted at track level)."
Kanellakos said a final determination of the root cause for this failure is required from RTG and their subcontractor to determine the repairs and mitigation strategies that are required.
The Confederation Line was shut down for five days following the Aug. 8 derailment and nine additional train cars had to undergo additional maintenance to repair loose axle bearings
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.