O-Train service will remain disrupted Tuesday morning

Ottawa transit riders will spend another morning dealing with disrupted LRT service, OC Transpo has confirmed.

In a memo to city council, Renée Amilcar, general manager of transit services, said customers can expect that Line 1 service and R1 service will be the same Tuesday morning as it was Monday, with trains running in loops in the west and east ends of the line and R1 bus service between the east end and downtown.

LRT service has been disrupted between uOttawa and Tremblay stations in the middle of the 2.8 km Confederation Line since Wednesday night, when two trains were stopped during freezing rain. Two other trains later became stuck as crews attempted to remove ice from the wires and remove one of the previously stuck trains. Those attempts caused further damage to the overhead power system on the track.

Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) said Sunday night that two of the stuck trains had been removed. The remaining two will likely be removed Tuesday morning, Amilcar’s memo said.

O-Train Line 1 service will continue to operate between Tunney’s Pasture to uOttawa in the west and Tremblay and Blair in the east. Train frequency will be approximately every 5 minutes.

R1 bus service will continue to operate between Blair and Rideau stations, skipping Cyrville Station, OC Transpo says.

RTM is inspecting the track in the affected area and repairing damage to the overhead catenary system that powers the train. Once the repairs and inspections are complete, a systemwide check will be conducted before determine whether full service can be restored. The plan will also be independently reviewed by outside experts hired by the city.

Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe said Monday that he is confident the issues can be resolved.

"I'm confident that with the right people around, we'll be able to implement solutions," he said on CTV News at 6. "It's not going to happen overnight, but eventually we'll have reliable service."

Sutcliffe said he would rely on experts to outline solutions and then implement them. 

"If we need to replace parts, fix things, we'll do it," he said. "We'll see what it's going to take."

Affected area has seen problems before

The area of track where the problems occurred last Wednesday has seen other issues over the past year that have disrupted train service, once for several days.

In February 2022, a wire on an LRT car broke and stopped service between uOttawa and Tremblay stations for about nine hours.

A lightning strike near Lees station damaged the line in July 2022, requiring approximately 900 metres of wire be replaced. Service was offline between uOttawa and Tremblay stations for four and a half days.

In December, there was a mechanical failure on the overhead catenary system near Lees Station, disrupting service between uOttawa and Hurdman stations for the better part of a day.

Monday morning commute difficult

Some councillors riding transit Monday morning reported high tensions as people tried to fit onto R1 buses at LRT stations. Some passengers arriving at Hurdman stations found themselves waiting for R1 buses, only for them to arrive full.

At least one passenger decided to get on the train going east, get on a bus at Blair Station then come back downtown, Coun. Marty Carr tweeted.

"We are aware of increasing volume of customers at some OC Transpo stations," OC Transpo tweeted. "Our Transit Operations Command Centre is actively working to adjust service to meet customer demands."

We are aware of increasing volume of customers at some stations.

Our Transit Operations Command Centre is actively working to adjust service to meet customer demands.

We know it's challenging morning and appreciate your patience.

— OC Transpo (@OC_Transpo) January 9, 2023

Officials warned Sunday that running the R1 will affect other parts of the bus network. OC Transpo's live Twitter feed showed about 16 route cancellations were reported during the morning commute.

Amilcar said increased R1 bus service will be added to Tuesday morning's service to support riders.

Transit commission chair Glen Gower told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s "Ottawa Now" with guest host Stefan Keyes Monday afternoon that he is waiting for an update from OC Transpo on how repairs went. He does not know whether the line will be ready by Tuesday morning.

He said what happened this week is neither normal nor acceptable and he recognizes the damage it does to public confidence in the system.

“It’s frustrating in this case because the system had been running reliably since last February or March and this sets the clock back to zero in terms of regaining trust,” he said.

- with files from Josh Pringle and Katie Griffin, CTV News Ottawa