Ottawa LRT service resumes following freezing rain shutdown
Full service resumed on Ottawa's light-rail transit system Thursday evening, 33 hours after a power issue during a freezing rainstorm shutdown the transit line.
OC Transpo announced just before 7 p.m. that full O-Train service was running between Blair Road and Tunney's Pasture.
"Trains are available at all platforms and all stations are open," the transit service said on Twitter.
LRT service partially resumed Thursday morning between Tunney's Pasture and Rideau stations, with service extended to uOttawa station as of 7 a.m. At 3 p.m., OC Transpo announced the O-Train is running in the east end between Tremblay and Blair stations.
In two memos to council, Transit Services general manager Renee Amilcar said Rideau Transit Maintenance staff completed several steps to restore service, including:
- Manual removal of built-up ice on the overhead wires
- Re-energizing of the system
- Inspection of stopped trains and removal from the line
The section between uOttawa and Tremblay stations was the last section to see LRT service resume. Two stopped trains stopped just east of Lees Station on the Rideau River bridge during the storm, and had remained there on Thursday.
Five LRT vehicles were immobilized Wednesday morning due to power issues, trapping passengers for lengthy periods of time until they could safely disembark the trains, with the help of firefighters and Rideau Transit Maintenance staff. OC Transpo shut down the full LRT line between Tunney's Pasture and Blair stations just before 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Rideau Transit Maintenance says the five vehicles stopped when the onboard systems detected power fluctuations from the overhead catenary system.
"When the overhead wire that supplies the power has ice on it, the pantograph on the vehicle is not making good contact, and we see big fluctuations in voltage. When the vehicle sees that, it shuts down to protect itself," Rideau Transit Maintenance CEO Mario Guerra said Wednesday.
With files from CTV News Ottawa's Ted Raymond
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
Toronto man falls off his chair after seeing $70M Lotto Max win in his bank account
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account.
Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code
Students at Curé-Antoine-Labelle High School near Montreal are protesting after they say their school's administration started pushing what they call a 'sexist' dress code.
Officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler is being disciplined for not having bodycam activated
The Kentucky police officer who arrested top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler outside the PGA Championship is receiving 'corrective action' for failing to have his body-worn camera activated.
'I won't stop,' Celine Dion says in trailer for upcoming doc about her health woes
Celine Dion's fans are getting a first glimpse of the superstar's struggle with a rare neurological disorder in an emotional trailer for an upcoming documentary about her career and life.
Air travel is expensive. WestJet wants the government to do more to change that
WestJet is asking the federal government to put measures in place to lower ticket costs for travellers, but questions remain on who would foot the bill.
Hundreds have applied for this 'adventurer' job in Banff National Park
Coined as Banff's 'ultimate summer job,' the Moraine Lake Bus Company says hundreds of people from across the world have applied for its adventurer position.
Ottawa police investigating death of a gosling in Kanata
Ottawa police are investigating after someone allegedly stomped on a gosling in Kanata. Police say it appears that Canada geese laid eggs in the area, 'and on May 21, a suspect stomped on one of the hatched babies.'
Treasury Board president urges managers to be flexible on exemptions for new 3-day office mandate
The president of the Treasury Board is standing by the federal government's new hybrid office mandate for federal public servants, but is urging managers to be flexible for staff requiring exemptions.