‘Worth waiting for’: First day of O-Train Line 2, 4
Posted Jan 6, 2025 09:46:36 AM.
Last Updated Jan 6, 2025 04:23:02 PM.
Shane Seguin was impressed this morning by the spacious cars and smooth journey while riding the new O-Train Line 2 in Ottawa.
The editor-in-chief of the Rail Fans Canada site, and transit enthusiast, told CityNews in an interview that the system is “really nice.”
“It’s very exciting, and the trains are very smooth; they’re quiet, spacious, very comfortable (with) nice seats,” Seguin said. “Everything in the stations look really nice too, there’s a lot of glass, some of them have interactive lighting. Nice design, architecturally; it really shows very nicely for the city.”
The first train left Bayview Station just after 6:00 a.m. this morning marking the beginning of the new O-Train Line 2. Seguin formed a meet-up of over three dozen rail fans that rode the first train to Limebank Station then back to South Keys Station before hopping on Line 4 out to the airport.
According to a memo sent Jan. 6, the launch of the highly anticipated service went off without a hitch. This comes after years of delays and controversies over Line 1.
“It was a wait, but it was a wait that was worth waiting for,” Seguin said.
Renée Amilcar, general manager of transit services department, wrote to council in a memo that O-Train Lines 2 and 4 completed the morning peak commute period operating as planned.
“I’m pleased with how the system is progressing,” she said in a media availability at 3:00 p.m.
The vehicles have made multiple end-to-end trips with customers onboard. It’s been a long time coming, Troy Charter, director, transit service delivery and rail operations, said.
“The service started on time and ran according to schedule without any significant issues,” he said.
Buses through routes B2 (formerly called Line 2 buses), 99 and 97 will run parallel seven days a week in case of any issues. OC Transpo staff are at “key” stations, Amilcar said, with updates throughout the day and coming weeks shared through all platforms.
“OC Transpo’s team and our maintainer are closely monitoring the system from the Transit Operations Control Centre and with staff across the system to be ready to respond as necessary to keep customers moving,” the memo notes.
O-Train a ‘game changer’ for Ottawa
While looking out the window from Limebank Station towards South Keys, Seguin noted how exciting it was to ride the train seeing rural, undeveloped land.
“The distance between those stations is quite large so the train gets up to 80 kilometres an hour, and it takes a couple of minutes, but you barely feel the vibration. The noise is very manageable,” he said. “It’s going to be a game changer.”
The potential for transit-oriented development along the line is something people like Seguin are looking forward to.
For Dennis Van Staalduinen, who as of six months ago got rid of his car and committed to taking transit as his main mode of transportation, the opening of the O-Train will give his family more travel opportunities.
“The new line is going to be fun to give new options… New shopping options (and) we have a way to get to the airport that’s a whole lot nicer than trying to take the bus,” he told CityNews in an interview.
Van Staalduinen was one of many excited riders this morning who tested out the new lines, noting how smooth the journey across the city was. When at Bayview after transferring twice from the airport, he spoke to a man who was just coming off a flight from Europe.
“How does this compare to your experience?'” Van Staalduinen asked the man. “He kind of rolled his eyes, and said ‘it’s not there yet.'”
However, the transit enthusiast said the O-Train opens up opportunities for more people to use the system. He did note that the new lines feel more like a regional commuter train, especially with the large cars compared to Line 1 and the travel through rural land.
Another thing Van Staalduinen noticed was the “brief” pause that sometimes happened as the train came into a station. Portions of Line 2 are not double-tracked, which in some instances causes a very small stop in motion. That being said, Van Staalduinen did say the trains still ran on time.
There is six kilometres of track from Leitrim Station to Limebank Station that is doubled tracked, and the terminal stations at Bayview and Limebank have two tracks to allow out-of-service trains to be parked while the line is open.
