OC Transpo boss floats possible return to LRT service on Aug. 14

The head of OC Transpo says she believes LRT service could resume by the middle of this month if everything goes according to plan, but she admits that the latest return to service date is a best case scenario.

Service was initially expected to resume July 31, but OC Transpo later said another 10 days of work would be needed and then said it had no timeline for a return to service. Now, in a memo, transit services general manager Renée Amilcar has floated a possible return to service on Aug. 14.

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"This is an early estimate, based on projected timelines for these action items. As work progresses, we will provide an update on the potential timing to gradually restart service," Amilcar wrote in a memo.

If service does resume on Aug. 14, it would put this latest shutdown at 27 days, the second-longest interruption to service since the 54-day closure following the Sept. 19, 2021 derailment.

The LRT has been offline since July 17, when OC Transpo made the abrupt decision to stop all train service in the middle of the afternoon after a routine inspection discovered an issue with one of the wheel hub assemblies on one of the trains.

The issue has been confirmed to be similar to what caused the derailment in August 2021 and a wheel hub failure in July 2022. 

The work outlined to return to service includes the finalization of a new risk assessment, which is due Thursday, and 10 days of work to reposition the restraining rails on the line, which can only commence after the acceptance of the risk assessment. There must also be trial running of the line, but the start and end dates have yet to be confirmed.

The trial running could be done in parallel with the rail infrastructure work, with Amilcar saying they could test certain parts of the line while work is going on elsewhere.

Amilcar said that 14 trains have had their wheel hub assemblies replaced so far under the new inspection regime, up from 12 on Monday. 

No details on backup plan for back-to-school

Amilcar told reporters in a virtual news conference Tuesday that OC Transpo has a backup plan to handle the influx of riders when university and college students return to the city ahead of the fall term, but she had few details to share.

French school board students return to classes at the end of August and English school board students return in early September, some of which also use OC Transpo instead of yellow school buses.

"Our backup is R1 service for sure, but we are confident that now we are working very, very hard to be able to resume the service as soon as possible," she said. "RTG continues to have more LRVs available... so we will be able to serve the service in September when students come back and most of the workers as well."

Previously, Amilcar said the return-to-service plan included single-car service with R1 buses continuing to run parallel to accomodate ridership. She said that plan was originally intended for the July 31 return to service, but with more trains being made available the parallel R1 service might not be needed.

"My goal is to have more LRVs available as possible. If we think we don't have enough capacity, we'll continue to run R1 service in parallel," she said. "Next week, I will have a better view and I'll be able to come to you and explain what is the plan."

R1 service pulls drivers and buses from other routes across the city, leading to hundreds of cancelled trips.

Still working on compensation: Gower

Chair of the city's transit commission Glen Gower told reporters the city is still working on a compensation plan for the reduced service.

He told reporters in French that council is still waiting for financial details from OC Transpo staff, including how much it would cost to compensate riders in some way.

Amilcar has said the issue of compensation is up to council but stressed that service is still being delivered, but only by buses and not by the LRT.

"We continue to deliver the service with buses; however, I recognize the LRT does not work and that's why we are working very hard, around the clock, to be able to resume the service as soon as possible when it's safe," Amilcar said.