OC Transpo launches Shuttle Express service, running single-car LRT trains in the fall

The city’s light rail transit (LRT) system resumed service on the entire Confederation Line on Monday, Aug. 14.

All O-Train service was suspended, and all stations closed around 5 p.m. on Monday, July 17 after a bearing issue was discovered on one train vehicle.

“Line 1 service across the full alignment successfully launched this morning at 5 a.m,” said OC Transpo general manager Renée Amilcar in a memo to Ottawa City Council on Monday, Aug. 14. “During the morning and afternoon peak periods, service is running every four to five minutes. Service is operating every six minutes the rest of the day and on weekends.”

As of Monday, Aug. 14, transit riders can expect the following service as LRT service resumes:

• Line 1 will operate between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations
• During the morning peak period, 11 single-car trains will provide service every five minutes
• During the afternoon peak period, 13 single-car trains will provide service every four minutes
• During the rest of the day and on weekends, nine single-car trains will provide service every six minutes
• This level of service will meet customer volumes throughout the day

Amilcar said R1, R1 Express, and R1 Para service will end at the end of service day on Aug. 14.

However, Amilcar noted that a new Shuttle Express service is being introduced on Tuesday, Aug. 15.

“OC Transpo has listened to and heard the positive feedback from customers on R1 Express bus service and is responding,” she said in her memo. “The Shuttle Express will operate in the morning peak period from
Blair Station to downtown and from Tunney’s Pasture to downtown. In the afternoon peak period, the shuttle will run from downtown to Blair and Tunney’s Pasture. This service will be in addition to Line 1 service and will offer our customers an additional travel option during the busiest commuting time.”

Shuttle Express will run every 10 minutes and will operate on:

• Monday to Friday from 6:30 to 9 a.m.: Blair Station to downtown with service on Mackenzie King Bridge and on Albert Street and Tunney’s Pasture to downtown with service on Slater Street and Mackenzie King Bridge
• Monday to Friday from 3 to 6 p.m.: Downtown to Blair Station with service on Slater Street and Mackenzie King Bridge and downtown to Tunney’s Pasture Station with service on Mackenzie King Bridge and
  on Albert Street

When OC Transpo’s fall schedule goes into effect on Aug. 27, Amilcar said 13 single-car trains will operate every four minutes during peak periods. The remainder of the day and on weekends, 11 single-car trains will run every five minutes.

Amilcar said OC Transpo is bringing a full report on the axle bearing root cause to the City’s transit commission meeting on Oct. 12.

“This report will be published in early October and will include technical reports including research results from the National Research Council and Transportation Safety Board,” she said in her memo. “At this meeting, we will also provide an update on issues related to freezing rain and lightning strikes.”