OTTAWA - Ottawa's top transit boss is apologizing to riders after a train door jam at the uOttawa transit station triggered a long service delay after 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.
John Manconi said in this case, the train operator and a technician were not able to fix the door jam on site.
“We think this perhaps might be a mechanical issue, so it got jolted or held back in such a state that those technicians couldn’t isolate the door,” said Manconi at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
As a result, that train was taken out of service, and east and west-bound trains had to share a track between uOttawa and Hurdman stations. The city says the service detour lead to train delays between 15 to 20 minutes, and major passenger backlog on station platforms like Tunney's Pasture. Some riders tell CTV News they waited 40 to 50 minutes to get on a train. Normal service was eventually restored at 9:15 a.m.
On Tuesday morning, many passengers took to social media to express frustration with the long wait for train service.
This is why we can’t have nice things. #ottnews #otttraffic #octranspo pic.twitter.com/XWixVHzOau
— Jon MacIndoe (@J_MacIndoe) October 8, 2019
Uh oh. Things not going super well at Tunneys right now. #octranspo #ottlrt #ottawa #ottnews pic.twitter.com/DRnxFwVdOX
— Abe Greenspoon (@worldofabe) October 8, 2019
Dozens or hundreds of people waiting at #Tunneys_Pasture #LRT station!!! #octranspo #train pic.twitter.com/qeQImhMHri
— Somayeh Mortazavi (@SomayehMGK) 8 October 2019
Manconi is reminding customers to not hold the doors. In a memo to Ottawa City Council, Manconi says "It is unsafe and can cause delays to service. As the train approaches a stop, customers wishing to exit the train should move towards the door. If it is not their stop, they should make space to allow other passengers to exit the train easily. Customers are also reminded to leave plenty of room on the platform for other customers exiting a train and to move away from all doors once they have boarded the train."
Manconi also says OC Transpo is looking at whether door timing needs to change. He is also reminding users to allow for an adjustment period. Tuesday's commute marked just the second weekday of full LRT service. On October 6th, parallel bus service ended with direct bus routes into the downtown core ending for suburban riders.