Ottawa LRT trains travelling slower due to snow buildup
If you've taken the LRT recently and it seemed a little bit slower than usual, you're not imagining it.
Trains were travelling slower on some sections of the Confederation Line on Monday, city of Ottawa staff confirmed. Customers reported similarly slow speeds on Tuesday.
The reason, in short: the snow buildup is interfering with the trains' detection system.
“Customers may have noticed that trains were travelling slightly slower on certain sections of Line 1 earlier this morning," a city spokesperson said in a statement Monday attributed to Troy Charter, OC Transpo's director of transit operations.
"An accumulation of snow resulted in some false readings on our Guideway Intrusion Detection System (GIDS), which warns rail operators about a possible intrusion on the tracks near a station," the statement said.
When that system is deactivated, OC Transpo implements temporary slower train speeds in the area so train operators have enough time to see a potential obstruction and stop safely, Charter said.
"Additionally, under certain track conditions, we may adjust the train’s brake and acceleration rates to be more gradual when approaching a station," he added. "These routine operational adjustments ensure safe operations of the train and result in minimal to no impact to customers’ trip times."
Ottawa has received more than 200 centimetres of snow so far this season, including almost 100 cm in January alone.
The LRT has fared well during storms that involve just snow. But part of the line was shut down for six days after some freezing rain fell early this month.
On Sunday evening, service on part of the line was shut down for about 90 minutes due to a power outage.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
A look back on Alberta's record-breaking wildfire season: Preparing for potential challenges in 2024
By the end of the 2023 wildfire season in Alberta, 1,088 wildfires had burned more than 2.2 million hectares of land, and this year, the wildfire season is already in full swing.
Video appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs beating singer Cassie in hotel hallway in 2016
Security video aired by CNN appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs physically assaulting singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta border: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Anglers reel in 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off coast of Florida: 'She found my bait'
A group of fishers said it took roughly 20 minutes to reel in this 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off the coast of Florida.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
Scottie Scheffler isn't the first pro golfer to be arrested during a tournament
Scottie Scheffler's arrest hours before his second-round tee time at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, will go down as one of the most shocking in professional golf history. It certainly wasn't the first, though.
Canadian convicted of attacking Nancy Pelosi's husband with a hammer sentenced to 30 years
The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.