How will the next LRT disruption be prevented?

OC Transpo and the Rideau Transit Group (RTG) are looking at running more trains and using additional equipment to keep ice off the overhead power lines on the LRT in order to prevent another situation like the one the city endured this past week.

Trains on the Confederation Line LRT have been running the full length of the line between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations Wednesday after six days of service disruptions following a freezing rain event last Wednesday.

While OC Transpo and Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) say they are still investigating exactly what caused trains to stop between Hurdman and Lees stations, they have admitted that those stopped trains and a power outage later that night affected their ability to remove ice from the line effectively in a stretch of track between uOttawa and Tremblay stations.

Transit services general manager Renée Amilcar said Wednesday, in a memo to city council, that OC Transpo is working with RTG to adjust winter operations.

“Following this service disruption, our team is working with Rideau Transit Group (RTG) to review other mitigation strategies that can be implemented during future weather events,” Amilcar wrote. “This includes additional equipment options as well as operational measures like running non-service trains more frequently when extreme winter weather conditions are in the forecast.”

Currently, Amilcar says, mitigation measures include equipping some trains with special scrapers, called winter carbon strips or ice cutters, to aid in limiting ice buildup on the overhead catenary system—the wires that power the train—and running trains continually on the line, even after hours, to keep the wires clear.

Amilcar said about a quarter of the train fleet is currently equipped with the ice scrapers. At a media availability on Tuesday, Rideau Transit Maintenance CEO Mario Guerra said the number of trains using the scrapers is limited because they can damage the overhead wires if they’re overused in dry weather.

Guerra said Tuesday that the ice buildup from the freezing rain was so extreme that once the trains stopped near Lees, it became too difficult to clear ice in that area, forcing crews to have to chip the ice away manually, which contributed to the delay in restoring service.

A working group has been created to investigate the root cause of the train stoppage on Jan. 4 that includes experts from the city of Ottawa, RTG, and the train manufacturer Alstom. Guerra said he expects some preliminary information about what happened will be available “within weeks.”

A winter storm watch is in effect for Ottawa this week, calling for between 15 and 30 cm of snow. Amilcar said other mitigating measures that are already in place include switch heaters melt ice and snow before it can build up and snow fencing to preventing snow drifting.