Power outages, freezing rain to blame for latest Line 1 east woes: Memo

This week’s ice storm is still causing trouble for Ottawa’s infamous light rail transit system after OC Transpo revealed a new problem.

According to a memo from Troy Charter, interim general manager of transit services, power outages near Tremblay and Blair stations and a piece of the Overhead Catenary System damaged and fell at Blair are the reasons for Friday morning’s problems.

The work will continue into Saturday.

“It’s incredibly frustrating to see your travels impacted,” Charter said in a media availability. “But we need to give RTM time to complete the repairs.”

According to Charter, there was “extreme arching” seen on this portion of the system, something that happens when the wires along the line have ice built up on them, creating gaps where electricity travels. If prolonged, the sparks and arching, damage the wires, he said.

This comes after freezing rain on Thursday caused damage to the system on the east end. In a memo, officials note that workers were on site overnight to fix the issue.

Friday’s issues appear to be linked to the weather event from the day prior, as OC Transpo said it was a “new issue” that caused trains to stop at stations.

“Overnight, Rideau Transit Group completed the removal of ice buildup across the (Overhead Catenary System), except near Lees Station, and are also working to remove a stopped train at this station,” the memo at 6:42 a.m. reads.

Then at 11: 46 a.m., another memo indicated that Rideau Transit Group were conducting inspections between Lees and Blair stations and started to tow three stopped trains from the system.

This work, including repairs to the overhead system at Tremblay and Blair stations, inspecting the line, re-energizing it and running out-of-service vehicles to test it will be completed over the next day.

The east end of the line has not operated since 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. R1 bus service is running between Lyon and Blair stations.

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‘It’s a ghost town’

Ottawa City Councillor Tim Tierney went to Blair Station just after 9:00 a.m. on Friday to check out the situation and found no one there.

“I’m looking around on the platform. I’m like, ‘Where is everybody?’ There’s nobody. There’s no Rideau Transit Group. There is no OC Transpo people. It’s a ghost town,” he said in an interview.

CityNews reached out to both Rideau Transit Group and OC Transpo to comment on the councillor’s concerns. Neither provided comment ahead of the deadline.

Tierney said there is a disconnect between what the transportation agency is saying and what is happening on the ground with the latest LRT problems.

“This is why we need somebody else to come in and take over this thing,” he said.

The councillor wants an engineering audit on Line 1 to understand all the issues. He said this would be good to do before the system is uploaded to the province, a campaign promise Doug Ford made, and something Ottawa councillors have continued to ask for.

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“The province made the commitment to take it over, so let’s call in the province,” Tierney said. “Let’s get it up. Let’s start moving. Because clearly our system is suffering.”

Line 1 has experienced a host of problems this year, including to the vehicles, which OC Transpo was forced to pull because of a spalling issue, which is when flakes break off the metal inside the axle, creating pits that grow over time. This, it says, is a separate issue from the axle bearing assembly problem that has been plaguing the system for years.

Since January, the line has been running with 70 per cent of its vehicles in maintenance.

This has raised serious questions from Tierney, who does not believe the east end extension will be ready by this spring, despite what OC Transpo has said.

“There’s no way it’s going to be running by the end of the second quarter in the east end,” he said. “We’re in deep trouble.”