O-Train operators now required to 'immediately answer' emergency calls onboard trains
O-Train operators are now required to "immediately answer" all emergency calls onboard the Confederation Line.
A report for the Transit Commission outlines the new policy for operators responding to emergency calls on the Passenger Emergency Intercom two months after an assault on an O-Train vehicle at Rideau Station.
Ottawa police officers responded to an assault on the O-Train at Rideau Station on Dec. 8. OC Transpo special constables arrested one person in connection to the assault.
There were comments on social media and Reddit that suggested the emergency intercom wasn't working or that no one picked up during the incident on the train.
In an inquiry to transit staff, Coun. Rawlson King asked about the protocols for the emergency intercom button, noting witnesses to the assault said the button for the Passenger Emergency Intercom button was pressed, but there was no response.
"Just a dial tone," King said.
In response to King's inquiry, Transit Services General Manager Renee Amilcar said records show that 30 seconds elapsed between the button being pushed to the call being answered by the operator.
Amilcar says all calls on the Passenger Emergency Intercom go directly to the O-Train operator on board the train.
"If conditions allow for safe communication while the train is moving, the Operator will continue to the next station while communicating with the caller and then contact Main Line Control on arrival," Amilcar said, adding operators are trained to treat each call as an emergency "requiring immediate attention."
Operators are responsible for contacting OC Transpo's transit operations control centre, and a response is then dispatched for special constables, emergency services or a supervisor.
Amilcar says "as part of our lessons learned", emergency intercom procedures have been updated to state that operators "must now immediately answer all PEI calls".
"If operating conditions are unsafe, passengers may be asked to stand by briefly until the Operator can safely support."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
Box tree moths have infested Ontario and experts say more are coming. Here's what to do to protect your garden
An invasive moth species is on the rise in Canada and, if you've planted a certain shrub, it could stand to ruin your garden.
Lyon-bound Air Canada Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Montreal turns back midflight due to pressurization alert
Passengers heading from Montreal to Lyon, France on Friday were forced to return home and depart the next day after a pressurization indication was detected in flight.
VIA Rail service delayed for hours due to suspicious package investigation in Kingston, Ont.
VIA Rail service resumed in the Kingston, Ont. area late Saturday afternoon, after a suspicious package investigation halted train service for more than four hours over the Victoria Day long weekend.
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
B.C. pipeline company argues its 'haulers' are not trucks, for tax purposes
A contractor working on the Coastal GasLink pipeline has been denied more than $333,000 worth of tax rebates because pieces of machinery it purchased – and claimed were not trucks – were deemed sufficiently truck-like in B.C. Supreme Court.
Usyk beats Fury by split decision, becomes undisputed heavyweight champion
Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in 24 years.
His SUV was stolen on Montreal's South Shore. Then he got a $156 parking ticket
A couple is frustrated after their SUV was stolen from Montreal's South Shore in March and they received a parking ticket for the same vehicle last week.
Banking mogul suing government after intelligence leaks leave him shut out of Canadian economy
Chinese Canadian banking mogul Shenglin Xian has launched a $300 million lawsuit against the federal government. It’s a means to find the source of intelligence leaks which Xian says has cost him his livelihood.