OC Transpo to open Trillium Line in three stages starting Jan. 6

The City of Ottawa will ring in 2025 with the launch of its new north-south light-rail transit line, but service will only be five days a week on the Trillium Line during the first phase of launch.

OC Transpo general manager Renee Amilcar announced a three-phase approach to opening Line 2 and Line 4, officially opening service to the public on Jan. 6.

"I'm confident that OC Transpo and our maintainer, TransitNext, are ready for the new challenges of revenue service," Amilcar told reporters and councillors on Friday.

"I'm confident in the system."

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The Trillium Line will run between Bayview Station and Limebank Station, with a spur connecting South Keys Station and the Ottawa Airport. The Line 2 and 4 were originally scheduled to open in August 2022.

Amilcar says the Trillium Line will open in three phases, starting with five-day service Monday to Friday beginning Jan. 6 for a minimum of two weeks.

"This phased launch approach will help ensure customers have time to build their familiarity with the system, improve service reliability, and allow for comprehensive staff training," Amilcar said.

"In addition, launching a major system change in the winter is not a common practice in the transit industry as the inclement weather adds extra complexity to operations teams and for customers. The phased in opening of Lines 2 and 4 will assist our team to better prepare to manage any service disruptions."

The three phase approach will look like this:

• Phase 1: Lines 2 and 4 will run Monday to Friday for five-day service for a minimum of two weeks. Parallel bus service will continue to run during this phase.
• Phase 2: Six-day service for a minimum of two weeks.
• Phase 3: Lines 2 and 4 will operate on a seven-day schedule.

"Once the system demonstrates the performance we expect, then we will expand to the next phase of service," Amilcar said.

OC Transpo will continue to run parallel bus service along the Trillium Line during the launch period.

"It will only be gradually reduced when it's clear it is no longer required," Amilcar said.

The line has undergone extensive testing and recently passed its trial running phase with a 99.5 per cent grade during the 14-day trial running period.  Staff say issues were identified with the vehicle, signals and the track during the testing and trial running.

"During this time there were three types of issues that impacted TransitNext's 99.5 per cent on-time performance. Overall, it amounted to 26 trips out of 4,850 trips that were delivered by TransitNext as planned," Richard Holder, director of Rail Construction Program, said.

"When issues were identified, our teams worked collaboratively with TransitNext to make adjustments where possible and enhance service delivery."

A presentation prepared for the city's LRT subcommittee meeting last Friday said there was still some work to be done, including additional drills, winter performance preparations, a roll out of customer information and continued training for operators.

Holder said there is still a number of "outstanding work" to address in the weeks ahead before launch and into the new year. The issues include:

• Switch enhancements at Gladstone
• Hot box detection
• Hunt Club Road work
• Modifications to train bell ringing volume
• Building reliability of passenger information displays
• Replacement of a defective sensor in elevators. Holder said there are "several" defective sensors in elevators.

OC Transpo says over the coming weeks, system preparations will include additional drills to practice scenarios employees will face during regular service, continued training of Diesel Rail Operators and "ongoing operation of the line exercising all aspects of daily service including launch and reduction of trains."

Amilcar was asked by Coun. Riley Brockington why OC Transpo is conducting a phased-in approach to running the Trillium Line after months of testing.

"We have to continue to learn. It's something to run trains for years, it's another thing to run trains with a timetable with nine trains daily, with all of the systems," Amilcar said, adding she has spoken to experts from around the world about the launch.

"This approach is the best approach to make sure that we build the confidence, that we build the reliability and then people will come."

Line 2 and 4 will run 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. Monday to Friday.

Line 2 will cover 19 km between Bayview and Limebank stations, passing through 16 neighbourhoods and Carleton University. Line 4 will run between South Keys Station and the Ottawa Airport, including a stop near the EY Centre.