OC Transpo forced to pull trains after new Line 1 issue discovered

Ottawa residents and councillors are furious after the discovery of a new issue with the problematic light rail transit (LRT) system.

According to a memo to council members from Troy Charter, Interim General Manager, Transit Services Department, it reads that starting Wednesday, Jan. 21, fewer trains will be running on Line 1 of the Ottawa O-Train for the foreseeable future.

This is from a new issue that was identified with the cartridge bearing assemblies on the train vehicles, forcing the agency to pull all trains with mileage higher than 100,000 kilometres from its fleet. As a result, the number of trains available will be reduced, meaning Line 1 will operate with single or double-car trains.

The letter notes that this will happen while “maintaining its current frequency.”

Councillor Jeff Leiper said that the single-car trains during rush hour caused crowded platforms on Wednesday evening.

“Business owners have told me they’re frustrated that their workers can’t get to their jobs on time, if they can get there at all,” he wrote in a social media post. “If it takes over an hour to get downtown for someone studying at Algonquin and working a part-time serving job downtown, what are we even doing?”

Charter said that crowding on trains and platforms is possible during the peak periods. Trains on Lines 2 and 4 are not impacted, and service continues as normal.

What is the issue?

Part of the ongoing investigation, Rideau Transit Group found that spalling was detected on several of the mechanisms on the train vehicles. This is when flakes break off the metal inside the axle, creating pits that grow over time.

“If not addressed, this can lead to cracks and can result in bearing failure,” the memo notes.

This, it says, is a separate issue from the axle bearing assembly problem. Rideau Transit Group is looking into the root cause in relation to the previous issues. In discussion, both the Transportation Resource Associate and Rideau Transit Group, the city decided that the vehicles would be removed until the units are replaced.

“OC Transpo recognizes that this situation is disruptive to customers and will provide updates on all of its communication channels including octranspo.com, text messages, social media and public service announcements,” the agency said.