Line 1 has been out of service since last Monday
At 4 p.m., OC Transpo will hold a news conference about the LRT.
The LRT has been out of service since July 17. It has been shut down for more than a week. The latest shutdown was caused by a problem with the bearings, but the city hasn’t said why it keeps happening.
OC Transpo said at a news conference on Wednesday that it expects Ottawa’s light rail system to start running again on Monday with just eight single-car trains, which is a small part of its 45-car fleet.
The eight cars will run about every seven to eight minutes, according to OC Transpo. This, along with a full replacement bus service running in parallel, will meet current customer demand, the transit agency says.
Alstom, the company that made the train, and Rideau Transit Group (RTG), the group that built the Confederation Line, are redesigning the wheel hub assembly as a permanent fix, even though the root cause of the problems hasn’t been found yet. It is expected that the whole process, including design, testing, and deployment, will take up to three years.
Over the last two years, most of the problems with Ottawa’s light rail system have been caused by the bearings.
Buses have been running the whole length of the line while the line is closed.Riders have complained about longer commutes and more crowded buses. This has raised questions about whether riders will be compensated, which the head of OC Transpo wouldn’t answer at a press conference on Monday.
In the meantime, a college student has come up with creative ways to help other people avoid the late and crowded buses.