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
BREAKING Shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion, 1 person seriously injured: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
How to overcome 'savings guilt' when you're living paycheque to paycheque
As the higher cost of living continues to squeeze household budgets, many Canadians find they have even less left over at the end of every month to squirrel away for the future.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.