OTTAWA -- The head of the city's transit commission is confident 2021 will be a better year for the LRT.

Top brass at OC Transpo say work to rectify several issues that plagued the Confederation Line LRT after its 2019 launch is proceeding and some items are now complete.

In a presentation to the city's transit commission on Wednesday morning, Director of Transit Operations Troy Charter provided an update on the seven key issues the Rideau Transit Group has been working to rectify.

Charter said all of the new switch heaters were installed on the weekend of Dec. 6 and they are ready for the winter.

"We know the winter is coming. Our next snowstorm is soon," Charter said. "We've got all the work done and we're monitoring it through our control centre and with our field staff."

Switch heaters on the east end of the line are now gas powered. That is where most of the issues last winter came up.

Responding to a question from Coun. Riley Brockington about how they were tested without the requisite winter weather conditions, Charter said the city put big pieces of ice between the switch rails and tested to see how quickly they melted.

"It melts really fast and that’s a chunk of ice. Snow should turn to water right away," he said.

Ice block switch heater test

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Transit Commission Chair Allan Hubley said he's confident the system will be performing much better for when ridership returns post-pandemic.

"So far so good. I like everything I've seen so far," he said of the work that has been done to date. "I'm quite confident for when ridership goes back up."

Hubley also said the City's relationship with RTG and Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) has improved.

Transit commission heard service levels on the LRT were at 98 per cent in October and November and are currently trending at 96 per cent for the first two weeks of December. OC Transpo's goal is 97 per cent. Last January, the service level dropped to 88 per cent.

Charter told reporters that having field staff monitor the switches during snowstorms and other adverse weather events would also allow issues to be addressed as they happen. 

Work on the problems with the vehicle brakes and the overhead power system is "largely complete", Charter told the transit commission, and the City and RTG are now monitoring conditions and making seasonal adjustments as necessary.

Charter said, since new software was installed for the train doors, there have been few issues on the line, and what issues have come up have been rectified within a few minutes and did not lead to significant delays.

However, OC Transpo ridership remains well below the levels that were seen when the line first launched, due mostly to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Software updates for the auxiliary power and HVAC system have been installed and are working as intended.

Work on the traction power issues affecting the vehicles' inductors, line contactors and circuit breakers is complete on 29 of 38 vehicles. The remaining work is expected to be finished in the new year.

OC Transpo 'surprised' by release of interim TSB report on cracked wheels

Transportation Services General Manager John Manconi told the commission he was surprised the Transportation Safety Board of Canada released its interim report on the cracked wheels issue on Tuesday.

"We’re quite frankly surprised the letter got released the day before transit commission," Manconi said.

Wheel cracks were first discovered this summer, prompting the TSB investigation. 

The report into the TSB's investigation—that is ongoing—included a letter sent to the City that recommended speeding up the replacement of all of the wheels on every train car. Some of the jacking screws, which are used to remove the wheels during routine maintenance, were misaligned, which put stress on some of the wheels, causing them to crack. Eight wheels with cracks have been found, but the TSB said the issue may be more widespread than initially thought.

Manconi said, however, that the letter, dated Nov. 4, 2020, does not reflect the meetings OC Transpo, RTG and the TSB have had in the time since it was sent.

"What it doesn't reflect is that we've had numerous meetings since that letter got sent to us," Manconi said. "The TSB said, and I quote the lead investigator, they are supportive of every measure we're doing. 'Tell your council the TSB is at the meetings and that they are supportive of every measure we're doing.'"

Manconi said that while Alstom is replacing all of the wheels on every train car, that will only continue until specialized equipment arrives to readjust the screws. Once that equipment arrives, Manconi said wheels that remain in good condition will not need to be fully replaced and can instead be fixed and back out on the rail line as normal.

"The question is always 'are we doing everything that satisfies everybody's safety concerns?' and I've heard no objections to date and if there were any objections from the TSB or anyone at that table, we would conform to any of those safety professionals and experts," Manconi said.

Manconi could not say when the specialized equipment would arrive, but did confirm that the City is not paying for the wheel replacement process.

"It's not the City and beyond that, we don't care," he said, adding that this shows the benefit of the public-private partnership between the City and RTG.