Ottawa's light rail disaster

I have been reluctant to share any thoughts about Ottawa’s new electrified Confederation Line light rail system on this blog. You don’t need to live in Ottawa to know that the launch of the east-west Confederation Line has been an unqualified disaster. There is no other way to describe this system. It was already well past its launch date when it began service in September. Admittedly, hopes were high when it did begin operations, but the problems began almost immediately.

Here is an unofficial summary of what Ottawa commuters have had to face since September.

1. City officials insisted that the trains had to operate flawlessly for 12 consecutive days before actual commuter operations were to begin. That did not happen, but city officials used all sorts of bafflegab and doublespeak to explain away this obvious failure to comply with its own guidelines.

2. The first major problem happened almost immediately when commuters tried to pry doors open when trying to catch a train. This is common in most transit systems. Most buses and subways have safety and redundancy systems that account for this behaviour. The O-Trains could not handle these situations and the doors would remain open after being pried open. The trains would then shut down. The door issue has been resolved through a change in commuter behaviour, but it’s not clear to me that the issue was ever fixed. The city insisted that technical adjustments were made.

3. Switches on the Confederation Line would often not operate normally, which would shut down part or all of the system. This happened multiple times before the issue was largely fixed. It should be noted that this problem has begun to resurface recently, due to winter conditions.

4. The city had told the public that 15 O-Trains would run during peak periods in order to maintain normal 3-minute intervals of service at all stations. The system has not yet had 15 trains working at one time. City officials have quickly changed their tune, saying the number of trains operating during peak periods is 13. No one has ever explained why this has changed.

5. There have been many cases where these trains have shut down for no apparent reason. If there were explanations for these mysterious failures, they were not well communicated with the public or not shared with the public at all.

6. Early on, a piece of the continuous welded rail broke apart, forcing the system to shut down while repairs were made to the (at the time) brand new right-of-way. The city insisted that this is a common occurrence in any rail system. Officials were then forced to admit that this “common occurrence” has never once happened on the Trillium Line since it first began operations in 2001.

7. A long piece of the overhead catenary was torn off its bracing by an O-Train for no apparent reason near Saint Laurent Station. The city never offered any explanation as to why this would happen.

8. Multiple O-Trains experienced power failures around the New Year. In this case, it was explained that the company that maintains the trains had to modify its maintenance practices because the pantographs that pick up the power were being compromised by a mixture of copper shavings from the overhead catenary mixed with rock salt.

9. In the New Year, the entire Confederation Line was severely compromised by a number of flat spots on the train’s wheelsets. The company maintaining the fleet explained eventually that its wheel truing machinery had broken down. The result was that only eight trains were available for use during peak hours for more than a week.

10. On New Year’s Eve, the city offered free rides on the O-Train for those going out for a night on the town. A mysterious failure on one of the trains caused a delay of more than an hour, due to the fact that there was obviously no back-up in place for train failures. Eventually, those stranded on the stopped train did get aboard a replacement bus, but the incident was the latest black eye for the beleaguered system.

11. It took weeks for the city to explain that a faulty sump pump was causing a lingering sewer smell in the underground Rideau Station. The problem has not been totally resolved yet.

12. There are now problems with a rotten egg smell at the underground Lyon Station, for reasons that have not yet been fully explained.

13. The city now says it will take more than a year to fix the electrical problems that are causing untold delays on the Confederation Line.

I mention all these instances as examples of some of the more egregious errors that have happened since this new service was launched. Some of the problems were to be expected with a new system. But the service interruptions have been an almost daily occurrence since December. It’s actually hard to think of a stretch of more than three to four days where the system has operated normally without any problems.

There are three more recent developments that have further eroded any trust the citizens of Ottawa have in our local leadership.

1. The company that is largely responsible for the current Confederation Line, SNC Lavalin, was handed the contract to extend the Trillium Line as part of the Phase II of the system’s expansion. This, despite the fact that the company had failed to meet the minimum technical threshold to advance in the bidding and was disqualified by the city’s own technical evaluation committee. That committee’s decision was overturned by senior city officials, due to a secret power they held to make such an arbitrary decision. It has since been revealed that SNC failed to grasp in its bid that the Trillium Line is not an electrified line, but rather a diesel line. The company’s bid also did not include provisions for snow removal. Yet, they won the bid. The city council has ordered an independent review of this contract process.

2. City officials have only recently come forward publicly with the revelation that the trains they purchased from Alstom, are not terribly reliable in a North American winter. These trains are a specifically modified version of another Alstom train that is used worldwide. However, the fact remains that the trains used here are the canaries in the coal mine, so to speak. They are the first to be used anywhere. And, as one city official admitted, they are so far proving to be lemons.

3. Ottawa residents were told that the company that is maintaining the Confederation Line and electric O-Trains has not been paid yet, due to the poor performance of the service since September. Only, that was another lie or half truth from city officials. It was actually revealed that the city, in fact, paid the company, which is called Rideau Transit Maintenance or RTM, $4.5 million.

I won’t offer my opinion, other than a few words. Everything that I have mentioned here is what has been reported. As a taxpayer and commuter, I can only hope that things will get better. I have lost trust in this city’s senior managers and the mayor. This will affect my vote in the next election. But, here’s the obvious truth. This is what happens when you don’t understand railways and have not had to live in a city with overly visible railways for the better part of half a century.

Ten thoughts about the Confederation Line launch

I reluctantly took my first few trips aboard the new O-Trains on the city’s much-ballyhooed Confederation Line recently. To my surprise, I found the new system quite nice, with many small details well executed. There’s no doubt that people in the city are impressed with the new system. I think much of the excitement is centred around the fact that the line acts as a quasi subway through the downtown core, as it travels beneath the main parts of the core between the edge of the LeBreton Flats to the west and the University of Ottawa to the east.

Without getting into the politics behind the new line or the operational and bureaucratic miscues that have led us to this point, I thought I’d share a few observations on the trains themselves and the on-board experience.

1. My first impression of the train was that the ride was quite smooth and the trains remarkably spacious, considering how many people are hopping aboard at the end points of the line, which for me is Tunney’s Pasture. However, it is important to note that the old rapid bus transit system is still operating normally until Oct. 6, so these trains aren’t yet at full capacity just yet.

2. From a purely aesthetic point of view, I find these trains fairly ugly, especially the operator’s area at either end. I’ve seen other light rail sets in other citys that do not look like an insect’s head. Our trains look as though they have grotesque bug eyes on either end. I know they are probably designed this way to maximize safety and the sightlines for the train’s operators, but still. This is the light rail version of the P42. A small complaint.

3. The downtown underground stations are impressively laid out and quite functional. They are clean, although a bit sterile for my tastes. Most of the stations along the Confederation Line have a fair bit of artwork in them, but I found the actual platform areas at Rideau and Lyon Station to be a bit bland. Once you get into the areas with the stairs and pedestrian ramps that lead you away from the platforms, you begin to see more of the artistic flourishes. I suppose the platforms are no better worse than the subway station stops I can recall from my time taking transit in Montreal or Toronto.

4. The four-storey escalator that takes you from the deep underground Rideau Station to ground level is disorienting. It’s encased in a long, drab concrete tube. Unfortunately, there was no thought put into designing anything along the tube that is positioned at level. That means when you ride the escalator, you have a hard time judging whether you are standing at level. Think of the Crazy Kitchen at the Canada Science and Technology Museum and you will begin to understand. I have issues with vertigo and equilibrium and found the escalator a bit unsettling.

5. Pity the poor Trillium Line, the city’s first true light rail system. With all the hype and hoopla surrounding the launch of the Confederation Line, it’s somehow getting lost in the shuffle that this city has had a light rail system for more than a decade. The media coverage suggesting otherwise is just lazy.

6. The sound of the Citadis Spirit trainsets on the Confederation Line is more of a whirring rather than the sounds you typically associate with railways. I’ve been on subways in Toronto and Montreal and have to say that these LRT trainsets here sound much differently. There are no clanking sounds, just a high-pitched whirring.

7. The downtown rail tunnel is much louder than I thought it would be. As the trains makes their way through the core, the echoes of the train through the tunnel are quite noticeable inside the train cars. This is not a complaint. Just an observation.


8. The Tremblay Station that is right near the Via Rail central station has to be one of the more lightly used stations on the line. I am not an east-end commuter, so I can’t say this definitively. I took the train during off-peak hours but was still quite surprised at how empty this station was.

9. It’s interesting how the city links together two trainsets for the morning rush. The trains arrive every 3-5 minutes and are always in this configuration where two cabs are linked up together in the middle. I suppose this gives the operations people flexibility when they have reduced demand on the weekend and don’t need to use this two-trainset consist.

10. The new system has proven to get me to my workplace a few minutes quicker each morning, which was a pleasant surprise. Still, I’m not exactly thrilled that I have to make two connections just to get to work.

I guess I will reserve final judgment until this line operates in the winter. But, so far, so good.

We'll see.

Sure, it looks cool, but...

On my lunch break a month ago, I made my way to the western portal for the new O-Train downtown tunnel. I did it for no particular reason other than to get some photos of the new Alstom Citadis Spirit trainsets making their way into and out of the tunnel. Given I went on a brilliantly sunny day, it was easy to get a few shots from the overpass over the tracks that also houses the upper level of the Pimisi O-Train station.

Eastbound O-Train makes its way to the downtown transit tunnel, as seen from Pimisi Station

I don't want to get into the messy history of this new line. The consortium building this new railway missed its completion deadline in the spring when the system was to be turned over the city so it could commence transit operations. That last delay meant it's been more than a year since this line was supposed to open to commuters. There are many, many different angles of this debacle that I could get into, but I'm growing really tired of blogging about it.

Now we're told that the city will officially take ownership of the line in mid-August and trains will roll in September. That's the last pledge, anyway.

Westbound O-Train makes its way toward Pimisi Station during a test run

Ottawa LRT is a notoriously tight-lipped consortium that has repeatedly failed to explain to the public why it is taking so long to finish this project. The city, for its part, has also been notoriously vague regarding a number of aspects of this project, often giving maddeningly bureaucratic answers to the simplest of questions. The company that built these trains, Alstom, is trying to ease fears that these European trainsets will be able to handle the Canadian climate, even though they have never before been in use in North America and have so far proved to be unreliable at times.

I could go on and on, but I won't.

As a communications guy, I will reserve my criticism for the mayor and councillors who have been trying their hardest to drum up any sort of excitement for this new line. The problem I have with their barrage of social media outreach about this rail line is that it is completely tone deaf. Every time I see a councillor's tweet with video of the new O-Train being tested, I roll my eyes. The tweets are usually accompanied by some sort of overly positive, hopeful comment about how we should all be very excited about commuting on these trains.

If I was in communications with the city, I would advise those around the council table to adjust their tone to acknowledge the fact that these delays are extending the grief for many people in the city. It hasn't made a huge difference to my commute, but for some, it's been a constant hassle. For the residents who live on roads where hundreds of buses have been rerouted each day, it's been a nightmare.

The constant barrage of positivity coming from the city is understandable, but misguided. When you have a project this far behind which is causing this many headaches, you can't fault the citizens of Ottawa for rolling their eyes and not getting on board with vapid cheerleading efforts. Instead of telling us all to don't worry, be happy, maybe a change is in order as we (possibly) approach the finish line.

Maybe change the message to say we're sorry for these problems, but it will be worth it. I would appreciate that approach much more than what I'm seeing right now.

Program note: I mentioned last week that I would share photos and commentary about the Perth Turn, which originates in CP's Smiths Falls yard. I will share that post next week, but wanted to bump up this post, given that it now appears the LRT project may actually, finally be close to being ready.

Lies, half truths and flat out numbskullery

I was waiting for my bus recently when a full consist O-Train trundled by on the Confederation Line. It was interesting to see the reaction of my fellow commuters. A few people turned around briefly while most seemed to ignore the train, which was a combination of two trainsets. Apparently, this will be the configuration used frequently. But, given this LRT system is already a year behind schedule, people are growing tired of being reminded that they should be excited by this tiny first phase of the city's new light rail line.

This was a shot of the train pulling out of Pimisi Station on the Lebreton Flats, just west of Ottawa's downtown core. Pimisi, for those wondering, is an Algonquin word for the eels that can be found in the Ottawa River.

The site of the O-Train got me to thinking of the lies, half truths and misinformed messages I've heard since the city decided to plow ahead with its electric light-rail dreams. Here's a brief list of things that have really bothered me about this project.

1. Phase I will benefit all commuters - The way the city is hyping light rail, you'd think there would actually be some sort of benefit to commuters. The truth is, unless you are within walking distance of the stations along this route, the first phase of this light rail service will not benefit you. I live in the suburbs. For me, this new line means my morning commute now involves two transfers. Right now, I need to transfer between my express route to a shuttle route across the river so I can get to work in Hull (those brown buildings you see in the picture). Adding another connection will only take away time from my day that could be spent elsewhere. The city's ad campaign really makes no attempt to be honest about this point. All riders west and east of the end points of this line will need to make a transfer. That adds time. There's no way around it.

2. Our way or the highway - Since the beginning of the rail renaissance in Ottawa, the city has been very clear that there is no other way to design a commuter transit system that is not the city's way. Ottawa has not pursued a option that multiple political candidates have put forward of using existing railways for commuter purposes, like they do in Toronto...

and in Montreal.

You might think this is a safe statement to make, since Ottawa is nowhere near as big as Greater Montreal and the GTA. But, here's something you might not know. Geographically, Ottawa spans 2,778 square kilometres. That makes it the biggest of Canada's big cities, in terms of area. (There are seven cities that are geographically bigger than Ottawa, but they are nowhere near as big as Ottawa in terms of population. Their land mass and city status are a byproduct of municipal amalgamations that created a city where there isn't always a population to truly back up the claim).

Think of the other very real opportunities Ottawa has passed on since 2009.

1. Commuter rail on Beachburg Sub into North Kanata and even to Fitzroy Harbour
2. Commuter link over the Prince of Wales Bridge, which may yet happen, thanks to Gatineau's own light rail plans (remember that this bridge was weeks away from being converted into a recreational pathway)
3. Extension of the existing O-Train to the Ottawa Airport and into Riverside South (Yes, I know that this extension is a go, but how long did it take and how many times was this plan presented and rejected?)

3. The O-Train will save the environment. Honestly, this argument that light rail is good for the environment is naïve to say the least. Long term, a LRT system should be good for the environment, but it depends on whether you are successful in getting people out of their cars. Right now, I can't honestly say that the train, even when it does reach closer to my neighbourhood, would convince me to change my habits. The sad truth is, in many North American cities, the most successful public transit systems owe much of their success to the fact that they are the easiest form of transportation to get downtown. As long as getting downtown by car is easy, people will not make the switch. I would never drive downtown for work, but I wouldn't take the train downtown on the weekend, either. To me, there's no net gain here for the city. And the interesting thing in Ottawa's case is that the biggest factor in reducing the city's CO2 emissions came from the province. Ontario's decision to shut down its coal plants did more for the environment than any local initiative.

Call me a disgruntled, skeptical commuter, if you must. But I'm not alone.

Some facepalm moments

A few railway headlines recently made me think of bringing together another themed package for a post. The new Via Rail order for Siemens Charger locomotives made me shake my head. Not because I don’t think the chargers aren’t a great pick. They seem like very capable locomotives and they are, in my opinion, a real aesthetic upgrade over the hideously ugly P42s and the boxy F40PH-2s.

But the paint scheme has me baffled, if Via follows through with its goals to have a yellow black and grey colour scheme. I don't have a huge problem with the colours on the surface, but it seems really odd that a railway would use a light colour on the top of a locomotive, where it is sure to bear the signs of engine exhaust in no time flat. Yes, the Chargers will be much cleaner-running engines than what we see on the rails today, but yellow on top and black in the centre? Makes no sense. I won’t get into the longstanding issue I’ve had with the railway over its incoherent colour schemes and liveries over the years. Pick a good scheme and stick with it.

I don’t have a problem with the half maple leaf on the end of the unit, since Ottawa’s city buses have sported the same leaf design for decades. It’s the choice of yet another new colour scheme that makes no sense to me. Look to railways like CN and UP as good examples of sticking with a good thing. It creates trust and reinforces the best things about your brand.

This leads me to my favourite railway target of all: the bumbling City of Ottawa. Let’s just put it this way. It’s absolutely bizarre how the consortium building the new Confederation Line LRT could have gotten this far along in their testing and not have some sort of plan in place for a heavy snowfall. I mention this because one of the city’s new Citadis Spirit LRT consists was marooned somewhere on the Confederation Line because of the heavy snowfall. That unfortunate blunder cost the consortium a few days of testing, as they figured out how to clear the line and rescue this train.

I will say nothing of the growing realization that this consortium will miss its third completion deadline, if recent media reports are to be believed. But not having a plan in place for heavy snowfall? In Ottawa? C’mon, people. I know that no one at city hall has any clue about railways, but we all know about snowfall. Figure it out.

Here's a quick shot of one of the new Citadis Spirit O-Train consists at Pimisi Station on the Lebreton Flats. Behind you will see Place du Portage, the massive government office complex in Hull. I waited for a while for this train to pull out of the station, so I could get a better shot of it, but it just stayed there, seemingly stuck. Kinda fitting.

And one of the companies that is responsible for this first phase of the LRT is also in the running to be part of the second phase of the railway construction. That contract will be handed out next week. I won't say much about the company: SNC Lavalin.

All I will say is I am not all that impressed with the delays with phase one, nor am I pleased with what I've read about this company, as it pertains to national affairs, if the media is to be believed.

For so many reasons I will not get into here, we can do better.

Regional rail becomes an election issue in Ottawa

And here we go again. Most of my fellow Ottawa railfans know the city has once again pushed back the start date of the city’s Confederation Line O-Train service, although some of you out there who don’t live in this city might not know. I’ve tried to avoid too much commentary on this project, since I want to focus this blog on much more than LRT. It gets tiresome, to be honest.

Lots of construction, but no trains. Get used to this.

That being said, it would be crazy for me not to write about some of the recent developments in this city’s sad, sad history of rail bungling. And let’s be clear. Light rail transit has been bungled here many times. There was a plan under previous Mayor Bob Chiarelli, which once amazingly called for the removal of the existing Trillium Line (former CP Ellwood Subdivision, which is largely buried in a trench and hidden from view in the neighbourhoods it serves). Then there was the fixation with a downtown rail tunnel under Mayor Larry O’Brien, when a surface option was never seriously considered. Let’s not forget the giant sinkhole that collapsed near the O-Train tunnel on Rideau Street and the amazingly absurd insistence that this would not set the project back too far. More recently, we have seen the initial April deadline for the beginning of service missed. That was followed by the city letting the Rideau Transit Group off the hook by not insisting on a $1-million late penalty, which was written into the original contract. Now, the Rideau Transit Group is going to miss its own rescheduled deadline of November 2nd. When will service start? We’re being told the first quarter of 2019.

West end railway stations are still a long way from being able to host trains. This shot was taken in May, a month after service was to begin.

And I’m not even adding in the amazingly myopic decision that the Prince of Wales Bridge would be converted into a recreational pathway. This was very close to becoming reality until the city came under pressure from the Moose group and then the City of Gatineau, which wants to use the bridge as a commuter rail link as part of its own light rail system.

You can thank the City of Gatineau and the Moose Consortium for preventing this railway bridge from becoming an underutilized and overly expensive pedestrian bridge. In the coming years, it will host trains and yes, pedestrians. Everyone wins.

So, where does that leave us? Well, essentially in a holding pattern. I’m not bothered so much by the delays. This is a massive project and there were unforeseen delays, like the sinkhole. What bothers me is how little information has been shared, even when it is obvious to just about anyone that this project is nowhere near complete. Anyone that lives near the western stations on the Confederation Line knows they are still months away from even being close to ready for trains.

I will keep all this mind as the municipal elections approach. I don’t like the way the mayor has handled this file and I worry about Phase 2, as there are already some decisions in place that show an utter lack of understanding of how railways work.

So, all this to say, the light rail system has become an election issue, at least for those who know that there is more to the light rail story than the remarkably one-sided stream of “information” that has come from city hall.

Add to this drama an interesting twist. A former city councillor, Clive Doucet, is running for mayor. He has once again raised the prospect of using existing rails (what’s left anyway) for commuter rail. That would be a huge boon to my neighbourhood, which has rails running through it that are used twice a week.

Mr. Doucet, you may recall, once suggesting running rails down Carling Avenue and was harshly criticized for the idea. Honestly, I thought it had merit.

True to Ottawa’s recent history, Mr. Doucet is a day late and a dollar short (to be generous) with this proposal, although I happen to agree with the principle behind it. Mr. Doucet is proposing to run commuter trains to Smiths Falls, Fitzroy Harbour, Kinburn, Chelsea, Navan, Vars, Limoges and Lorrain Avenue in Gatineau, to name but a few proposed destinations. This includes using the Prince of Wales Bridge to connect the O-Train Trillium Line to Hull.

Next week, I intend to analyze just what it might take to realize the dream of regional commuter rail in Eastern Ontario. But, let me just say that part of Mr. Doucet’s plan involves commuter rail over scrapped railways including the old Beachburg Subdivision, the former Carleton Place Sub and the old Maniwaki Sub.

I would peg Mr. Doucet’s chances of winning the mayor’s chair as slim, but I hope he has at least generated some new enthusiasm for regional commuter rail. It’s at least worth discussing. Right? Anyone? Mr. Mayor? Is this thing on?

First look at the Confederation Line in motion

This was a happy accident. I was waiting for a connecting bus at the Lebreton bus stop on the Lebreton Flats when I turned around and saw that OC Transpo was testing its one west-end Citadis Spirit light rail consist near Pimisi Station.

Sadly, my bus was arriving right at the time when this trainset was pulling out of Pimisi Station (for those interested, Pimisi is an Indigenous word for the eel that is native to the Ottawa River). So, I took a few shots of the train quickly with my iPhone.

A few observations from this short view. One is that the new O-Trains sadly have the same electronic bells that their diesel cousins have on the Trillium Line. I have read complaints more than once from railfans here that the electronic bells are no match for the real thing.

In this case, this train's electronic bell was not working properly. The sound was coming out very choppy, but this is only a test run, so I'm assuming they will iron out those glitches before November, if in fact that Confederation Line is ready to begin operations. City officials in recent weeks refused to confirm the November start date for the new light rail service.

The second thing I noticed is how these trains appear to be floating or levitating. The wheels are very much shielded by the train's body, which makes for an odd site for people used to watching conventional trains.

The last thing I noticed was that I wasn't the only commuter that was taking an interest in the train's testing. There were a number of people waiting for their bus who turned around and watched the action, which is an indication that people in the city are at least curious to see this new system in action.

People in the east end of the city are likely more accustomed to seeing these trainsets undergoing testing between Blair Station and Cyrville Station, which has been happening for months. The west end of the line, as I have mentioned before, is quite a bit less developed than the east end, so testing between Tunney's Pasture and Pimisi has only begun in the last few weeks. 

I figure it be worthwhile to share these photos now, while there's still a novelty attached to this light rail line. To be honest, I don't think I will be taking many pictures of thee trains, although I will say they are growing on me. When I first saw them, I thought they were pretty ugly.

What do you think? Is this something worthy of railfanning?

Spring observations in Ottawa

As the city’s Confederation Line light rail system lumbers toward completion, there remains a flurry of activity at a number of points along the line. I recently took a stroll along the tracks just west of the downtown, to see what was happening.

The first site I saw was the exposed western tunnel entrance. This is the first time I saw the tunnel entrance, which has been covered until very recently. Over the course of the early spring, the final tie clips were fastened into place, thus completing the Confederation Line from Blair Station in the east with Tunney’s Pasture Station in the west.

At Bayview Station, where the Confederation Line crosses over the existing Trillium Line, workers were busy with a number of tasks, including extending the Trillium Line beneath the Confederation Line flyover. This is an interesting job, since Bayview Station remains at the centre of a dispute between the City of Ottawa and the group calling itself the Moose Consortium.

As you have read here before, Moose has been battling the city over use of the Prince of Wales Bridge, which once connected the old Canadian Pacific Ellwood Subdivision with the CP trackage in Quebec, including the Maniwaki and Lachute Subs. The Trillium Line has been disconnected from the bridge for several years, as you saw in this photo I took in 2013.

More recently, when work began on Bayview Station, a portion of the trackage leading the the bridge was covered over by consruction. Moose, which has goals of establishing some sort of regional commuter rail service in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec, challenged the city before federal authorities. Moose has long argued that the city cannot simply sever this trackage from the O-Train line without proceeding with discontinuance of service paperwork with the Canadian Transportation Agency. The city has argued that has long-term plans for the old rail bridge.

Whatever the outcome, the city cannot deny that, even recently, it had money set aside to convert the bridge into a recreational pathway. The city also cannot claim that has done much to maintain the bridge. The CTA recently sided with Moose, meaning it agreed with the group’s position that the city cannot sever the rail line over the Ottawa River from its Trillium Line without going through a discontuance process. The city is appealing that decision. At the very least, it appears that the tracks laid beneath the Confederation Line could very easily link back up with the trackage leading the bridge. I doubt that was the reason why the tracks were laid there, but it at least raises the possibility that the city might finally get serious about using the bridge for commuter rail.

Speaking of the Prince of Wales Bridge, the rusting old relic found itself as the centre of attention briefly during the early days of the Ontario provincial election. A group of local Liberals made an announcement that they would support any efforts to extend the city’s light rail system over the bridge. This announcement made me roll my eyes for several reasons. First, it seems strange to me pledge support for an extension of this system over the river at a time when this potential part of the light rail system is not an immediate priority. I also laugh whenever the city begins the trumpet the fact that the province is chipping in on the light rail system, as if the money is coming from some other taxpayer. Message to politicians: the city taxpayer, the provincial taxpayer and the federal taxpayer are all the same people.

For those who are following the progress of the Confederation Line, you may have noticed that a complete trainset has been sitting on the tracks near Tunney’s Pasture Station for weeks. The trainset is being guarded around the clock, even though the tracks at this point are in a deep cut. I suspect that those living near this end of the line will soon be seeing test runs. Most of the testing that has happened so far is happening near Belfast Yard on the east end of the line.

I did manage to take some time to get a few shots of the Trillium Line recently, including this meet between two diesel powered trainsets near Somerset Street. As anyone who takes the bus in Ottawa knows, the Trillium Line has been numbered “Line 2” while the Confederation has been numbered “Line 1.” I find this a bit odd, since the city went to great trouble to rebrand the original O-Train line as the Trillium Line. Now, if you are on a city bus nearing Bayview Station, you will hear the automated public address system announce “Bayview Station, O-Train Line 2.” I wonder if this will confuse anyone who have come to know the original O-Train line as the Trillium Line.

Oh well, at least all this activity has given us something to talk about.

Confederation Line is nearing completion

I won’t say I’ve come around to the city’s vision of the O-Train, but I have to say I understand some of the elements of Phase I better, having seen another city’s light rail system. Recently, my family visited Kitchener-Waterloo. As my wife attended a professional conference, I was able to spend some time in the city, where I lived for a few years.

My first impression of that region’s light rail system was that the north-south line was very much incorporated into the Kitchener and Waterloo city streets. I’ve long thought that we could avoid the costly construction of a downtown tunnel here in Ottawa by planning a smart rail corridor on Slater and Albert streets, two major one-way streets that bisect downtown Ottawa from east to west. These streets are cluttered with buses every day. It made sense to me that you could replace those buses with a surface rail line and still be able to retain a thoroughfare for vehicles. Of course, that vision died with former Mayor Larry O’Brien, who began to champion the idea of a tunnel.

When I saw the KW tracks running up and down King Street in parts of Kitchener and Waterloo, my first impression was that the region there is heading for massive traffic headaches. In some spots, these light rail tracks make sharp right turns and dominate busy intersections. In other places, drivers will be forced to make right turns off King Street by crossing the tracks, which are tucked away to the right of the street and separated by a small curb. I can foresee trouble with this system, based on my fleeting assessment. It looks much more like a streetcar line than a light rail line.

A friend of mine told me that the region has had troubles in recent months with delayed delivery of the Bombardier trainsets. So far, only a handful of trains have been delivered and have been tested on the new KW light rail system.

Ottawa, by comparison, looks to be in good shape. The fleet of Alstom light rail trains has largely been delivered and is being tested and readied for next year’s launch of commuter service, whenever that actually happens.

Recently, I was able to have a look at the progress of the Confederation Line on its west end. Most of my looks at the new system have been in the east end, particularly around the Via Rail station on Tremblay Road. The eastern half of the system is much further along in its development than the west end, but that is changing.

July view of the Confederation Line tracks near Belfast Road, near the Via Rail station

Catenary is going up on the LeBreton Flats. Rails have been laid in recent months. The Pimisi, Bayview and Tunney’s Pasture stations are all starting to take shape, including the roofs, stairs, walkways, platforms and other structural features. I know the Lyon and Parliament stations are also taking shape nicely, although that progress is not being seen, since both stations are underground.

I was walking in the area when I caught site of some maintenance of way equipment near Pimisi Station. It’s a good sign that testing might not be far off.

The poles are up, the MoW equipment is on the line and progress is being made. Those buildings you see in the distance are Tunney's Pasture, where the Confederation line will end next year.

Meanwhile, the Trillium Line continues to operate, as per usual, in the shadow of the Confederation Line hype. I was on the Trillium Line not too long ago and took this shot from the Carling station platform.

The city rolled out its Get Ready for Rail ad campaign in recent months to educate riders about how the new transit system is going to work. In many respects, the transit system we have now is a point to point system, but it will change to more of a hub and spoke system when the Confederation Line is operational.

The city has even asked residents to submit their ideas for train names, as each train will be named. I was told that “Trainy McTrainface” will not be accepted, but the appeal was made to children in particular, so who knows what direction that naming will take? I wonder if Thomas will make the cut.

As you get closer to the western terminus of the Confederation Line at Tunney’s Pasture, you can see the first signs of the catenary poles going up, as most of them have been erected. I am hoping in the coming months that I might be able to catch some images of testing happening on the LeBreton Flats section of the line.

Speaking of that end of the line, you can see the recently erected fencing that is preventing people from using the Prince of Wales Bridge as a makeshift pedestrian crossing. There were some fairly significant protests when the city finally came around to the fact that the bridge will be used for light rail, but those efforts did not go far. Common sense prevailed instead.

To be honest, I'm surprised it took the city this long to fence off this bridge, given the potential safety issues of people using it as a makeshift pedestrian bridge.

I would imagine that longtime residents of the city must be smiling to see the sight of train tracks back on the Lebreton Flats, after nearly 50 years absent. This section of the city has been dormant for so long and is now set to reclaim some of its rail heritage, which will in turn bring so much more life back to this longtime wasteland west of downtown. When you think of the new Senators arena, the new main branch of the public library and other projects taking shape in this area, you begin to understand how the ridership for the O-Train will develop.

Summer observations in Ottawa (Part I)

There's no shortage of rail news in Ottawa this summer as the city gears up for the launch of its Confederation Line light rail service next year. But it's not just the O-Train that is making the news. There are a number of other interesting items I have come across in recent weeks.

Let's start with something simple. In my years watching Via Rail at Ottawa's Central Station, I have not seen all that much of the maligned Renaissance equipment. Back in 2013, I caught some of this equipment a few times, but then noticed that it largely disappeared from the regular mix of corridor trains I watched. That isn't to say that it wasn't being used. I'm just saying that I didn't see it much. Of course, given the problems this equipment has experienced in recent years, it's not much of a stretch to say these coaches have seen light duty in the corridor compared to what Via originally intended.

Well, lo and behold, I did catch some of the Renaissance equipment recently, as it was being pulled by F40 6445. This was a surprising consist for me, as I have not seen the Renaissance equipment being pulled by an F40 before. I was under the impression that only the P42s were able to couple with the Renaissance cars, but I guess that is not the case. This was Train 24 headed to Quebec City. I've taken this train before (LRC coach, of course). It's a great ride.

Another interesting development at the station. Via is now using the northern spur at the edge of the station yard. This stub of a track has only seen use in recent years as a storage track for Via's snow clearing equipment. But, as you may have noticed in the top left of the photo, work to raise the platforms has put some of the trackage in the station yard off limits, which is likely what pressed this old track into service. Note the train in the hole. F40 6427, a Business Class LRC coach in renaissance colours and three old streamliners in the blue and yellow. Who says Via is boring?

I took some photos of Train 24 from the Belfast Road overpass. I made sure to cross over to the eastern side of the bridge to catch the train as it departed on the Alexandria Sub. The consist was led by Renaissance baggage car 7001, which is a refurbed shell of a sleeper. You can still see where the windows were covered over. Note, also, that the Business Class coach still reads "Via 1." Time for a new patch?

While I was at the station, I took a look at the ongoing work on the O-Train Confederation Line. The wiring is largely up from Blair Station in the east all the way to about Hurdman Station, just outside the downtown. Here, we see on of the many hi-rail trucks that roam the line. I even caught one of the makeshift maintenance of way cars, but that will have to wait for the next post.

Here's a shot of a worker doing some work on a crossover just in front of the Via station. You can see the station canopy in the top left. That shell you see top right will be the O-Train station that links commuters to the Via Station. As expected, the commuter station that serves the Via station will no longer go by the name "Train" since it seems a little redundant. It worked as a name when buses served the Via station on the Transitway, but as a LRT station, the name didn't work so the city has renamed the commuter station as Tremblay Station, to reflect the street where the Via station is located.

Much of the work on the west side of the Confederation Line does not appear to me to be as advanced as the work on the east side of the line. There is no catenary up between Tunney's Pasture and the downtown. There is some track laid, but there are gaps still between LeBreton and the western approach to the downtown rail tunnel. There is also no trackage in place at the end of the line at Tunney's.

I should mention that, while work on the Confederation Line is briskly progressing, another commuter rail development is beginning to make headlines. The Moose consortium, which is pushing to establish a GO Train style commuter service between Ottawa and various towns outside the city, is making its pitch to communities as we speak.

I'll speak to that in more detail in the next post because there is too much ground to cover. I have to admit, I am skeptical about Moose's plans but I am also intrigued by the group's ambition and its approach.

The Prince of Wales Bridge: Oh, no, not again

Just when you thought it was safe to put this piece of Ottawa's rail past and future on the back burner, the Prince of Wales Bridge has once again made headlines. The bridge, which has not seen action in many years, has long been neglected by its current owner, the City of Ottawa. After years of rejecting calls to preserve the bridge for use as an interprovincial light rail link, the city has finally come around to the idea of using the bridge for commuter trains in the future. So, all is well right? Well, not so, apparently.

As many locals know, the Prince of Wales Bridge was once a key piece of the Canadian Pacific Railway's rail network in Ottawa. It once played a key role in connecting the CP Ellwood, Prescott, Lachute and Maniwaki Subdivisions in the National Capital Region. In the final days of the Canadian Pacific's presence in the region in the late 1990s, the bridge was lightly used although it did connect CP to its last remaining customers on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. After CP left Ottawa, the bridge was purchased by the city as part of the deal it struck to buy the Ellwood Subdivision, which is now the O-Train Trillium Line.

In recent months, the city has been busy putting the final touches on the O-Train Confederation Line. The new electrified light rail line crosses over the old  Ellwood Subdivision. The contractor building the line is in the midst of constructing the new Bayview O-Train station, which will allow commuters to transfer from the electrified Confederation Line with the diesel-powered Trillium Line (there will be no rail connection like a diamond due to interoperability issues between the two O-Train systems).

The problem that the city has now is that the old rail line that leads to the bridge was removed, which is a no-no under federal laws. This is the position of the Moose Consortium, a organization that has plans to establish a private regional commuter service on the existing rail lines in the capital region. Now the city is in big trouble, it seems, with the Canadian Transportation Agency, which is the body that grants permission for rail lines to be removed. Making matters worse for the city, it appears that it okayed permanent structures to be built atop the old rail line. Now the city has until the end of the month to explain to the federal agency why it has removed rail without following the proper procedures, according to local coverage.

In my former life as a journalist, I spoke to the man behind the Moose Consortium Joseph Potvin and he told me flat out he was going to make sure that the city lived up to its obligations as the owner of the rail line and the Prince of Wales Bridge. He told me more than once that he would do everything he could to make sure that the infrastructure at Bayview was kept in some sort of operational condition. He says fixing this mistake will cost the city $20 million.

Here's what I am wondering. If the city is serious about using this bridge for rail, which finally appears to be the case, why is the city building over this line? If what Moose is saying to true, why would there not be a plan in place to preserve this rail?

Here's the biggest question in my mind: Am I the only one who noticed when the Trillium Line was rebuilt that the Trillium Line's connection to the old trackage to the bridge was disconnected and buried? It's been several years since this part of the rail line was removed, but nothing was said then. While I appreciate that the removal of the 250 or so metres near the new Bayview Station is much more noticeable, I wonder why nothing was said about the original disconnection of the Prince of Wales trackage years ago.

I can only shake my head as a railfan and as a taxpayer that this situation is resolved properly.

Common sense prevails as LRT moves forward

It's always a good news/bad news situation when it comes to Ottawa's light rail plans. The city recently unveiled its latest update for the second phase of its light rail expansion. The bad news is the $3-billion price tag for the second phase now stands at $3.6 billion dollars, thanks to previously undisclosed infrastructure projects that will be part of the second phase.

Here's the best news, in my opinion. The first project to be complete under Phase II will be the southern extension of the Ellwood Sub (known publicly as the Trillium Line) to Bowesville Road in the city's south end. This means the communities of Riverside South, Findlay Creek and Leitrim will have a much faster route to downtown Ottawa when this phase is done in 2021. Remember that there is an existing right-of-way (the old CP Prescott Sub) in place. Included in this project will be a spur line to the Ottawa International Airport and a 3,500 spot park and ride at Bowesville where people can park and hop on the train. All in all, this is good news for the growing south end and great news for those frustrated with the congested Airport Parkway. This should have been a priority long ago, but better late than never.

Diesel O-Train C4 at Bayview Station earlier this month

So, the bad news? The Trillium Line will be shut down for a year and a half as the extension of this line is underway. Considering the city didn't seem at all interested in this common sense project until recently, I would gladly sacrifice this line for a year if it meant that it was extended to where it should be by 2021.

O-Train heads south near Young Street on Feb. 20

The next part of the second phase to be completed will be an extension of the eastern half of the Confederation Line from Blair Station to Trim Road, instead of Place d'Orleans. I'm glad that the city is moving quickly to further extend the train to Trim, since this is where it needs to be in the east end, and as soon as possible. This project will be finished in 2022 and will include a widening of the city's Highway 174 to accommodate light rail through the centre median. This will be a painful process for east end commuters, but having railways running in the centre median is smart and saves money, as there will be no costly land expropriations, neighbourhood fights and other hassles that go along with building rail lines through urban communities.

Two O-Trains meet near Somerset Street on Feb. 20

The good news for the western Confederation Line extension is that the western leg of the line will be extended from Tunney's Pasture to Moodie Drive by 2023, which will bring the train closer to Kanata much earlier than previously planned. The original plan was to have trains in Kanata by 2031. The extension to Moodie Drive is good news for Bells Corners and to Department of National Defence workers, who are in the process of moving into the old Nortel Networks Campus on Moodie. The original second phase plans called for the end of the line to be at the Bayshore Shopping Centre.

Still, I'm sure a few west end residents are wondering why they are the last ones to get light rail extended to their neighbourhoods as part of this plan.

I'm also still curious, given the city's change of heart on the southern extension and its plans to extend light rail over the Prince of Wales Bridge eventually, why nothing has been done to investigate light rail over the existing Beachburg Sub/Renfrew Spur in the west end. These lines are lightly used, to say the very least, and seem to be ripe for further use. And they just happen to cut through Kanata, which desperately needs better transit options.

Construction is proceeding at Bayview Station as O-Train C4 pulls into the station on Feb. 20

In total, 36 kilometres and 22 stations will be added, including the recently announced Moodie station.

In a related commuter transit vein, the city is now putting its old Bombardier Talent trainsets up for sale. At one point, the city was considering using them in some fashion, but those plans were never seriously considered. The Talent trainsets were the original train consists used for light rail in Ottawa until they were replaced by Alstom Coradia LINT units. I'll miss the old O-Trains. Happy Trails!

I won't get into the details of why the expanded service on the Trillium Line has not reached the frequency of a train every eight minutes at every station, as was promised. Ottawa's Mayor Jim Watson did mention this week that he was disappointed that the newly expanded service as not delivered as promised.

Winter observations in Ottawa

It's been averaging about -15C for the last few weeks here, which has made for a cold, dry winter. A very brief break last week brought the temperatures back to around freezing, which of course resulted in a pretty substantial snow storm. The brief thaw and storm reminded me that I had not ventured out to take photos recently, so I braved the cold and made my way to Ottawa's central station, to see if there was anything interesting happening. Other than the installation of some new signal equipment, there wasn't much to see. It certainly was not as exciting as last year's January trip to the same station.

You can see the new signals framing incoming Train 50 from Montreal in the shot below. They are more than likely part of the capital improvements that Via has been making in this corridor.

I was looking through the functions of my old camera, which I had with me, and was surprised to learn it had its own primitive burst mode, allowing me to get multiple shots. The one below turned out okay, thanks to the clouds covering the sun and reducing the shadows, which is always the problem when you visit this station. The cranes you see in the background are working on the Confederation O-Train LRT line.

Here's one final shot from the old camera, which actually isn't that bad. The best tip I learned when I was a reporter was that just about any shortcoming that a camera might have can largely be made up by getting as close as you can. Of course, you can only get so close at Ottawa station. It was -33C with the wind chill when I took this shot, so needless to say, I didn't stick around long.

This past weekend, I made a trip to the McKenna Casey crossing outside Barrhaven in the morning. The temperature was -18C without the wind chill factor so I set my car up on the side of the road and stayed inside the car until I saw the Via corridor train making its way to the crossing.

Watch the snow fly!

Sadly, CN 589 has already done its rounds, so I was not able to catch it after the Via breezed through.

Speaking of Via, a west-end neighbourhood is celebrating its railway past, as Jan. 14 marked the 25th anniversary of the last run of Via's Canadian through the west-end neighbourhood. You can read about the local railway heritage exhibit here. After the train passed through Stittsville, CP began tearing up its Carleton Place Subdivision.

The other big development is that the city is showcasing a full-scale model of the electric Alstom Citadis Spirit light rail train at the Aberdeen Pavilion through March. The grand unveiling was held last week. You can read about it here. The shot below, from the City of Ottawa's media release, is a shot of the engineer's controls.

The media was in force for the announcement and it seems that Mayor Jim Watson is genuinely enthused about his light rail plan. The city estimates that, when the Confederation O-Train line is operational between Blair to Tunney's Pasture, the zero-emission trainsets will take the equivalent of 7,300 cars off the road.

I always wonder when we hear these estimates. No doubt the trains will take cars off the road and reduce emissions on a day-to-day basis, but I always wonder how much carbon is generated to produce the electricity these trains need to operate every day? I think this is a fair question to ask whenever anyone talks about the benefits of electric vehicles.

And, while I'm on the topic of the O-Train, it seems that Mayor Watson is somewhat less keen on the proposed extension of the existing O-Train Trillium line to the airport and beyond on existing trackage.

Although I was a little disappointed that there were a lot of conditions to the city's support for the proposal. The mayor points out that the airport will have to pay part of the costs of a spur track off the existing line, so that the O-Train can serve the airport. I agree with that assessment, but was still a little disappointed that the city continues to hem and haw about this extension, which should have been done years ago.

Anyone who has taken the 97 bus to the airport knows how badly this rail connection is needed.

Here's an article from the Ottawa Citizen, which explains how the new line would work. Readers might recall that I predicted that this line extension would likely result in passengers having to change trains at the south end of the current line. Apparently, the engineers drawing up the plans agree with my assessment. I love it when I'm right!

Prince of Wales Bridge Update: The city has hired a consultant to advise the city on what it would cost to convert the Prince Of Wales Bridge from its current form as a railway bridge to a recreational path for cyclists and pedestrians. The reaction to this has been positive, as I expected it would be. However, it also marks the potential beginning of the end for this vital piece of rail infrastructure, which was once part of the Canadian Pacific Railway and is now owned by the City of Ottawa. As you have read in this blog, there appears to be no appetite for a potential commuter rail link between Ottawa and Gatineau. This decision will come back to haunt the region. Anyone who sees the flood of traffic over the interprovincial bridges knows how useful a rail link between Ottawa and Gatineau would be, if only there was the vision to make it happen.