Earliest opening for Line 2 and 4 of O-train is mid-November

Lines 2 and 4 of the O-Train are starting the final testing, with officials saying the earliest opening date for the system could be mid-November.

The highly anticipated Light Rail Transit (LRT) system will stretch to Limebank from the already-established Greenboro station, adding an additional 16 kilometres of track.

Line 4 from South Keys will then travel to the airport, adding four kilometres of track, with officials saying it will be open next month if testing goes well.

“We have been steadily working to have system reliability through continuing the daily operation of trains on Lines 2 and 4,” Renée Amilcar, general manager of transit services, said at the briefing. “We have completed practice runs, finalized station construction and continued training rail operation staff.”

Stage 2 of the LRT is being touted as a way to change the city’s dependency on personal vehicles and blend together communities. As the system develops over the next several years, more lines will open and give Ottawa residents more options to travel across the nation’s capital.

Map of Lines 2 and 3 of the Ottawa O-Train LRT system

However, before the opening dates for the lines, officials stressed the final testing period, beginning Oct. 7, will be rigorous in applying real-life scenarios to the system and its personnel.

Amilcar said the goal of the final testing period is to demonstrate all trains on the lines are safe and ready to serve the public in its highest capacity. Testing will have two phases that will take place over a minimum of 21 days.

“It is important to note that the standards for testing are very high, and it may be necessary for trial running to extend beyond the 21-day time frame,” she said.

The first phase includes simulating regular passenger service on the south extension, which to pass, the system must operate in the 98.5 percentile. Although it may seem like high standards, officials said the pre-testing has shown the trains can exceed expectations, landing at a 99.12 per cent performance average over the last 10 days.

It will not open until it is able to reach the goal.

When successful, officials will test the maintenance scenarios over a seven-day period. This includes issues such as train stops, single platform service, train swaps and door incidents.

“I want to be abundantly clear, we will not open the system until we are absolutely confident of its readiness and safety,” Amilcar said.

The opening of the lines will add eight stations to the city’s growing network, with four new upgrades. According to OC Transpo it will make people’s commutes 15 minutes faster between South Keys and Bayview Station.

Trains are slotted to run every 12 minutes on Line 4 taking people to the Ottawa International Airport.