OC Transpo will add more trains to O-Train line this fall if ridership increases
The head of OC Transpo says there are plans in place to add double-car trains to the Confederation Line during morning and afternoon peak periods if ridership increases this fall as people return to work and school.
The O-Train Line 1 is running single-car service between Blair and Tunney's Pasture stations following the 28-day shutdown of the LRT service this summer.
Eleven single-car trains will provide service every 5 minutes during the morning peak period, 13 single-car trains will provide service every four minutes during the afternoon peak period and nine single-car trains will provide service approximately every six minutes during off-peak and weekend periods.
Some riders have complained on social media about full trains and station platforms due to the single-car service, but Transit Services general manager Renee Amilar is confident the current service can meet demands.
"Based on the ridership that we have seen, we don't anticipate any issue," Amilcar said. "However, if we see something we'll be able to add more double-trains instead of running single-car trains."
OC Transpo launched the system with double-car trains operating on the transit line at all times. As part of the new Safety Note for the LRT system, all front and rear wheel hub assemblies on LRT vehicles must be replaced every 60,000 km, which will increase maintenance requirements.
The transit service is expecting an increase in ridership this fall as thousands of university and college students return to Ottawa, and elementary and secondary schools use transit to get to school.
Amilcar says possible plans to address increased ridership this fall include running up to 15 single-car trains during the peak periods or some double-car trains.
"We will monitor very, very closely because sometimes maybe 30 minutes during the peak a.m. and one-hour during the peak p.m. we will need more capacity," Amilcar said. "Either we will launch one other single-car (train) or we can just send some double-cars (trains) as well, so we will manage that."
Transit Commission chair Glen Gower says staff are watching ridership this week to prepare for the start of the new school year.
"I know OC Transpo is watching that really carefully and they have extra trains and if they need to augment the capacity on the trains they can do that," Gower said.
"We are watching this week to see how ridership is and continue to watch that into the early weeks of September and we'll have to adjust if needed."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.