Severe winter storm impacts O-Train commuters

It feels like déjà vu for many commuters along Ottawa’s light rail transit system this morning, as delays from snow impacted them.

OC Transpo’s Line 1 trains were delayed due to the “heavy snowfall” and high winds, Renée Amilcar, general manager of transit services for the city said in a memo.

The trains started at 5:00 a.m. but snow accumulation on the tracks between Tremblay and Hurdman stations — despite snow clearing Amilcar added — was enough to force trains onto one track on Thursday morning.

Rideau Transit Maintenance deployed all resources to clear the snow at stations and tracks; due to this, service is operating on the westbound platforms at uOttawa, Lees and Hurdman stations only.

The city’s newest trains and system, Lines 2 and 4, opened on time for riders but snow also impacted service.

Trains were diverted due to snow on switches causing delays for customers.

“For the first time, we implemented the Severe Storm Schedule for bus service. We are monitoring bus operations closely and are seeing effective results so far in keeping the bus network moving in poor conditions,” Amilcar said.

The major storm system is still dumping snow across the city with more set to come this weekend according to forecasts.

The wind is starting to pick up in the nation’s capital adding to blowing snow and the large snowbanks crews are trying to get rid of.

“We expect that conditions will fluctuate throughout the day,” Amilcar said.