OC Transpo begins simulating regular LRT service
OC Transpo started simulating regular light rail service on Thursday morning, another step in reopening the Confederation Line to passengers for the first time since September.
Customers may see trains travelling the entire track, stopping at stations and making announcements, OC Transpo tweeted.
There is no firm date for the line to reopen, but city officials say they are still aiming for a partial return to service within the first two weeks of November.
In a memo to council Wednesday afternoon, City Manager Steve Kanellakos said city staff and TRA Inc. will hold a technical briefing Friday at 11:30 a.m. on the return-to-service plan.
"This technical briefing is being provided now, as the full system-wide testing of O-Train Line 1 for the partial return-to-service plan is currently underway, under the oversight and ongoing monitoring of TRA," said Kanellakos.
"The testing is allowing TRA, (Rideau Transit Group) and the City to confirm that all the repairs on the trains, track and the infrastructure meet the quality standards required for the safe and continued operations of O-Train Line 1."
Kanellakos told council that service would not resume until TRA provides a briefing on the return to service plan from RTG.
The light rail system has been shut down since a derailment on Sept. 19. The derailed train near Tremblay Station damaged the car, the track and the LRT infrastructure.
Trains began testing on the line last Wednesday.
Rideau Transit Group has provided a target date of Nov. 29 for full service to resume, which includes 15 trains during the morning rush hour and 13 in the afternoon.
The city says it anticipates a return to full service by mid-December. Officials say they will not reopen the system until third-party firm TRA Inc. signs off on its independent safety review.
Mayor Jim Watson said Thursday morning the city expects some good news in the coming days.
"We're going to have some positive news, I believe, in the next couple of days," he told CTV Morning Live. "One of things that this has proven to us, without the train service for over 45 days, is that people relied on that train service. And now, we’re giving them a substandard service with the R1 buses,” he added.
“It just shows how essential light rail is for our city. … It’s integral to getting a city of million people moving in an efficient way. And the last two months, it has not been efficient. It has quite frankly been an embarrassment, and I take full responsibility for that as the head of the organization.”
LRT train damaged in ‘minor incident’
An LRT train sustained minor damage to a roof panel on Tuesday in what OC Transpo is calling a ‘minor incident' during a routine maintenance activity.
“There were no injuries or impacts to systemwide testing as a result of this minor incident,” said a statement attributed to Brandon Richard, chief safety officer. "A summary of the incident was provided to the Transportation Safety Board as part of our regular reporting.”
The TSB said it’s aware of the incident and conducting “normal follow-up activities.” It’s classified as a Class 5 occurrence, which means the board will collect data and record it for statistical reporting and future analysis.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Michael Cohen: A challenging star witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial
He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now Michael Cohen is prosecutors' biggest piece of legal ammunition in the former president's hush money trial.
Millions of Canadians have been exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
As Israel pushes deeper into Rafah, Hamas regroups elsewhere in ungoverned Gaza
Israeli forces were battling Palestinian militants across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including in parts of the devastated north that the military said it had cleared months ago, where Hamas has exploited a security vacuum to regroup.
4th Indian national arrested, charged with murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Homicide investigators in B.C. say murder charges have been laid against a fourth Indian national in connection to the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Surrey gurdwara last year.
Balancing act: Canadian North’s first Inuk CEO juggles Arctic airline challenges
With carriers' flight volumes above the 60th parallel hovering below pre-pandemic levels, Canadian North’s first Inuk CEO now bears the task of balancing those financial and logistical challenges with the needs of communities for which she feels a deep affinity.
Thousands of civilians evacuated from northeast Ukraine as Russia presses renewed border assault
Thousands more civilians have fled Russia's renewed ground offensive in Ukraine's northeast that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar fire, officials said Sunday.