Ottawa LRT remains partly shut down after freezing rain outage

Work continued Friday morning to restore Ottawa's LRT system after freezing rain and "arcing" may have caused significant damage to the overhead wiring system.

The O-Train was partially shut down in Ottawa's east end on Thursday after freezing rain caused ice to build up on the line Wednesday night, transit general manager Renee Amilcar said in a memo. Frozen wires led to two stuck trains, which had yet to be cleared from the tracks as of late Thursday afternoon.

A section of the overhead catenary system had been damaged near Lees Station, and Rideau Transit Maintenance expressed concern sparks spotted along the LRT line Wednesday night may have damaged the overhead power system, Amilcar told council in a separate email.

Late Thursday evening, Amilcar said repairs were underway on the overhead catenary system near Lees Station and would continue through the night.

On Friday morning, OC Transpo announced those repairs had been completed. However, the two trains which had come to a stop were still in the process of being moved.

A video posted on Twitter just after 11 p.m. Wednesday showed sparks flying from the overhead catenary system as a train approached Hurdman Station.

The overhead catenary system transmits electrical power to the trains.

Hey @OC_Transpo / @OttTransitRider / @ottawacity - Y'all might want to check on your trains, entering Hurdman station. pic.twitter.com/2EgJIdjHOh

— Type-ZERO (@typezero303) January 5, 2023

Trains began running between Tunney's Pasture and uOttawa stations around 6:15 a.m. Thursday. Before that, replacement bus service was running along the entirety of the Confederation Line.

As of Friday morning, train service had been restored from Blair to Tremblay stations. Replacement buses continued to run from St. Laurent to Rideau stations.

Passengers on stopped trains for almost an hour

The problems began when an eastbound LRT train stopped between Lees and Hurdman stations around 11:45 p.m., Amilcar said in the memo.

As technicians from train manufacturer Alstom tried to restore service, trains kept running on the opposite track, but then another one stopped shortly afterwards.

"No injuries were reported on either train," Amilcar said. "Additional Alstom technicians were dispatched to the second train while support was provided to the customers on the two immobilized trains."

Amilcar said staff decided to keep passengers on the trains while Alstom worked to restore service. But at 12:40 a.m., special constables escorted 37 passengers from the two stuck trains to Hurdman stations, where they were transferred to a bus.

"Preliminary analysis shared with the City … indicates that the cause of the stopped trains was ice buildup on the catenary system," Amilcar said.

Because rail service was interrupted, ice began to accumulate on the overhead catenary system. Crews and trains with ice scrapers were dispatched to remove the ice, which delayed the removal of the two stuck trains, Amilcar said.

In a further update late Thursday morning, Amilcar said crews were still working to remove ice accumulation which was delaying the removal of the two trains from the line, as well as a third train stopped at Tremblay station.

ONGOING, Line 1: Train service has resumed between Tunney’s Pasture and uOttawa. R1 bus service running between Rideau and Blair. Bus shuttle service between St. Laurent and Cyrville. Staff on site assisting. Updates to follow.

— OC Transpo (@OC_Transpo) January 5, 2023

Power loss

Shortly after midnight, the system temporarily lost power between Blair and Tremblay stations. Replacement buses ran between Blair and Rideau stations, with train service still running on a loop between uOttawa and Tunney's Pasture.

Amilcar said the cause of the power loss is under investigation.

"Although power was restored at approximately 12:30 am, R1 was kept in place until the end of service as a precaution," she said.R1 bus service is still running between Rideau and Blair stations.

Damage to the system

In an update to Council late Thursday afternoon, Amilcar said a section of the overhead catenary system that powers the train was damaged near Lees Station as crews were returning an immobilized train to the maintenance facility.

"The wire will need to be repaired, and then a full system-wide check of the OCS will be undertaken before full service can resume," Amilcar said.

Meantime, Rideau Transit Maintenance is now concerned the flashes of light spotted in the trains, known as "arcing", may have damaged the OCS.

"While arcing is a contributing factor to the current situation, the root cause investigation continues to identify the full scope of any issues and required corrective actions."

LRT's overhead catenary system, which transmits electrical power to the trains, is seen above this train car on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2022. (Jim O'Grady/CTV News Ottawa)