OTTAWA — It was a computer malfunction-not a jammed door- which caused a third day of LRT chaos on the Confederation Line LRT.

The  City of Ottawa's transit boss John Manconi says a train was taken out of services and stuck on the tracks at Bayview Station when the 'Train Control Management System' indicated a problem.

In a memo to City Council released Thursday afternoon, Manconi indicated the computer reset took longer than expected.

"The TCMS experienced a fault at Bayview Station and had to be reset. Similar to a personal computer, this reset process involved rebooting the system and engaging technical support staff. Normally, this is a relatively quick reset and we are investigating why there was a delay in the process", stated Manconi in the memo..

Mayor Jim Watson said the problem today was not door-related.

Manconi also says work continues to improve passenger flows at Tunney's and Bair stations.

Here's some of the action items from his memo:

  • At both stations:
    • Staging additional buses for the morning and afternoon peak periods to ensure service reliability from stations is maintained;
    • Staging tow trucks to ensure a quick removal of any buses, which keeps traffic moving within the station; and,
    • Additional operations supervisors, special constables, and customer support staff in red vests have been assigned to the stations to keep buses flowing well, to keep customers safe, and to answer questions from customers.
    • We are working on a plan to install strap hangers in trains.



R1 bus service was implemented for eastbound commuters between Tunney’s Pasture and Rideau Stations and was ended just before 9:00 a.m., with an apology from the transit service.


Delays on Tuesday and Wednesday were caused by door jams.

Manconi says the city along with train maker Alston is reviewing all door issues.

The doors have so far operated automatically, but they do have buttons for times when manual use is necessary. According to OCTranspo.com, when there are too few passengers or when the weather is cold, the button will need to be used to open the doors:

To open the doors manually:

An audio message will let you know the train has arrived. The button on the door will turn green. Simply press it to open.

Avoid holding the train doors open. Holding or blocking the doors will delay the train for everyone. Just wait for the next one. It will arrive every five minutes or less during peak periods.

When boarding, make sure your items (such as backpacks) are fully inside the train to allow the train doors to close. If your item is preventing the doors from shutting, the train will not be able to depart.

When the doors are closing:

Red light indicating door is about to close. The light above the door will turn red. The button on the door will turn red. A sound will chime.

The delays had frustrated riders taking to social media once again to post photos of large crowds at station platforms and wonder how the system will operate once the weather turns cold.


The main selling point of the Confederation Line was the downtown tunnel, meant to get buses out of the core, but the replacement bus service has seen those buses return.

Transit Commission Chair Coun. Allan Hubley says technicians are working along the line to ensure faulty systems can be reset. He says door holding times have been extended at some stations and new protocols are in place to try and get trains back in service as soon as possible when there’s a door fault.

OC Transpo tweeted an apology just before 9:00 a.m., when replacement bus service ended.