Here's OC Transpo's plan to keep service running in the storm

OC Transpo says out of service trains will be running Tuesday night along Line 1 to help keep the overhead wires and tracks clear of ice and snow.

The transit service announced on Tuesday its plan to tackle the winter storm that’s currently hitting Ottawa to avoid unforeseen circumstances.

“To support ongoing O-Train Line 1 operations, de-icing of the overhead catenary system is in place and will be monitored. Carbon strips have been installed on the pantographs of trains in the fleet in order to scrape ice from the overhead wires as they travel along the line,” Renee Amilcar, transit services general manager, said in a message to city councillors.

OC Transpo adds crews will also keep monitoring track infrastructure overnight during this winter storm.

Katrina Camposarcone-Stubbs is the public information officer for the city’s transit services department and says the LRT is ready for this big blast of winter.

“Preparing for winter starts months in advance for our team, light rail is part of those preparations. Our team is working hard to ensure the safety of our customers and staff and ensuring that light rail is ready to go once the storm hits and that everyone can get to where they are going safety and on time,” she says.

Camposarcone-Stubbs says the service has learned from past issues and have made key changes to improve winter service.

“We know there have been tough challenges in the past but we have a lot of key learnings from previous extreme weather events.”

Improvements include more accurate weather monitoring systems, de-icing solutions and carbon fibres to the pantograph that attach to the overhead catenary system which powers the trains.

The de-icing solution is just a pilot project, which started to be put on the wires months ago.

“It is de-icing solution that is applied manually to the overhead catenary system which allows for there to not to be as much build up of ice that is along the power lines,” says Camposarcone-Stubbs.

Riders will also notice storm trains running at night.

“When the trains are running on the track, it naturally just pushes snow away and keeps the rails free of accumulation, so we run storm trains at night to ensure that when service is ready to start at its regular time that everything is ready to go,” says Camposarcone-Stubbs.

Crews will also be out salting, plowing and monitoring stations at added frequency when there are bad storms.

The transit services’ message to riders is confidence in the system this winter.

“We want to reinforce to them that the system is prepared for winter weather, it was built to withstand Ottawa’s extreme winter conditions that we experience,” says Camposarcone-Stubbs.

“Our number one priority, when we made service decisions, is customer safety. Safety is our number one priority for our customers.”

Meanwhile, transportation crews have been monitoring, plowing, and salting all properties as appropriate since the beginning of the storm Tuesday, and will continue overnight into Wednesday to assist ongoing bus operations.

Out of 6,000 bus stops across the city, seven stops are out of service, “because of steep hills or slopes that make traction during a storm difficult.”

The city of Ottawa said in October 2023 Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) started exploring the use of anti-icing chemicals to prevent a repeat of freezing rain-related shutdowns to the LRT.

Trains were halted for six days in early January and two days in April of last year because of ice buildup on the overhead wires that power the electric trains.

The freezing rain event in January was made worse when the trains that were sent to recover the first two stuck trains became stuck themselves. Staff said a moist fog rising from the Rideau River(opens in a new tab) because of warmer than average temperatures at the time contributed to ice buildup on the line between uOttawa and Hurdman stations.

OC Transpo asks people to allow plenty of time when planning to commute, use caution when boarding and exiting at bus stops or train stations, and to keep checking their website and social media accounts for service updates.

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Leah Larocque and Ted Raymond