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 II)

As I mentioned in the first summer observations post, a lot is happening in Ottawa this summer, especially on the rail front. However, something that isn't necessarily news is that it has been a cold and rainy summer, for the most part. I have made my way out to Fallowfield Station a few times, mostly to get shots of the Via Canada 150 wraps.

Here's a pretty typical shot from Fallowfield. The skies are grey while P42 920 leads a four-car consist westbound toward the station just past Woodroffe Avenue in mid-July. Under grey skies, of course. You can see a puddle trackside.

As I mentioned in the previous post, work on the the Confederation O-Train line is progressing at quite the pace at the moment as the Rideau Transit Group tries to get the system operational for next year. The east end of the line seems to be farther along than the western end. I have seen a fair number of hi-rail vehicles on the rails, but I have never seen the maintenance of way equipment. Here's a shot of some of the "rolling stock" along the line, although I think the British term "wagon" is a little more appropriate.

This shot was taken near the central Via station. I didn't know what to think when I saw this piece of equipment. It's an interesting site, to be sure.

At Bayview Station, work of the new transit station is progressing well. Here's a shot of the new light rail station. This is the station that is sitting atop the old Canadian Pacific trackage that leads up to the Prince of Wales Bridge.

As you may recall, the group looking to establish a privately-run commuter service between Ottawa and several outlying towns in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec has taken the city to task for not maintaining the old CP track. In a complaint filed with federal authorities, the Moose Consortium argued that the city has an obligation to maintain the track it owns that leads to the bridge. The city has responded by saying it has not abandoned the line. The city, in fact, has recently begun working with the City of Gatineau on working toward establishing O-Train service over the bridge. I don't know how this will happen, since the old CP Ellwood trackage is not only disconnected to the O-Train Trillium Line (the track is buried in ballast near the Trillium Line, as I pointed out in this post), but another section is now buried beneath the new LRT station.

I wonder how the city plans to establish a connection to Gatineau when it seems like there is no plan in place at Bayview to retrofit the facilities to accommodate a new connection to the bridge.

I will get back to the Moose Consortium in a minute, but wanted to touch on Walkley Diamond. In the past few weeks and months, some readers have alerted me to some work being done to the diamond as well as the tracks leading up to the Trillium Line. The end result is that much of the trackage on the diamond appears to have been upgraded. The ballast is new and the ties look to be new as well. You will recall from this post that this work was started in the spring. The shot above shows one of the Alstom Coradia LINT O-Train diesel trainsets heading south toward Greenboro Station at the diamond.

This shot above shows the new O-Train connection (at left of photo) between Walkley Yard and the Trillium Line. You can see the disconnected track immediately to the right of the new O-Train connection. Further to the right, some more work is ongoing in the CN portion of the yard as some track inspection takes place near a switch. In the background, you can see a long string of covered hoppers and tank cars, along with one lumber car hitched to the tank cars.

So, that leaves us with Moose. The group recently made its pitch to regional municipalities about establishing a GO Train style of regional commuter service between Ottawa and communities outside the city.

Does this mean we are likely to see trains like this one, above, in the National Capital Region soon? I have to admit I have my doubts. I give the group credit for its forward-thinking vision and ambition, but I can't see how it will overcome the massive hurdles it now faces.

Let's start simply. The group of 12 businesses backing this plan wants to establish a 400-km network along existing rails and recently abandoned rights-of-way. The commuter service would link Ottawa with Arnprior, Smiths Falls and Alexandria in Ontario. On the Quebec side, the service would link the urban area with Bristol, Wakefield and Montebello.

The railway is banking on the development opportunities along its network as a way to fund its operations. The premise is simple. Development usually happens along railway lines, so the Moose Consortium is expecting to collect a share of development money once development occurs along its line. The group also plans to allow private concerns to build the railway stations along the network. Finally, Moose plans to collect fees from municipalities that would benefit from this commuter service. Essentially, they would subscribe to the commuter service.

It's an interesting concept, particularly since it is aiming to be a privately funded venture.

Here are the issues, as I see them.

1. Linking any community along the old Beachburg Subdivison northwest of Nepean Junction would require a new rail line to be built. The group has pinpointed this old right-of-way as part of its network in several graphics.

2. Linking to Arnprior would require some significant upgrades to the Renfrew Spur in order to accommodate passenger trains operating at higher speeds than CN's weekly 589 Arnprior turn.

3. Linking to Wakefield will require saving the old Canadian Pacific Maniwaki Sub, which has been inoperable for years. The municipalities along this line recently decided it was better to pull up the rails than to invest in repairing damage from floods. This line has only hosted the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Train in the last few decades. At the very least, it needs significant work, if it is saved at all.

4. Linking to Alexandria and Smiths Falls would require trackage rights from CN and Via. This is not a huge hurdle, but I would imagine it would be tougher to get schedules to fit on the Via Smiths Falls Sub, given the frequency of Via Rail corridor trains on this line. Similarly, I see similar issues on the Alexandria Sub, given the frequency of Via service between Ottawa and Montreal.

5. The group does not appear to be interested in charging commuters a set rate for riding its commuter trains. Instead, the operations would be covered by the subscribing municipalities. I have a hard time believing a commuter service could be viable with no reliable commuter fares.

Those are just my concerns, but I do hope this group can make a go of this plan, since regional rail service appears to be a big need in and around Ottawa. I just hope some of these hurdles can be overcome. It makes for interesting blog fodder, at least. I'd be interested in what other railfans think of this plan.

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: New mileage!

I found my way to the east end of the city this weekend, which gave me a chance to look at the progress being made on the O-Train Confederation Line and the renovations to Via Rail's Ottawa Station.

The most interesting site was at Belfast Yard. I don't know when railfans in Ottawa can claim to have seen new rails put it place in this city, other than the odd siding or such installed by Via Rail recently. What you're seeing below is a small section of the Confederation rail line as it enters Belfast Yard, the site where the new electric Alstom Citadis Spirit trains are being assembled and tested. If you look closely, you can see the catenary over the rails and the signals.

Those who are following the progress of this phase of the LRT project know that the city held a press conference recently around Cyrville Road, where they showed off an assembled trainset that was being tested on the tracks.

Here's another shot, below.

Both shots were taken from the Belfast Road overpass, facing east. Unfortunately, since the west sidewalk is the only vantage point that is walkable at this time of year, I was unable to get a shot from the east side, which would have minimized the impact of the fencing that was hindering my shots.

You may recall that I got a peripheral shot of the construction of this facility a few years back when I was shooting an incoming corridor train at Ottawa Station. The shot below gives you an idea of where Belfast Yard is relative to the station. Those cranes were assembling the Belfast facilities at the time. In some respects, the LRT yard is a next door neighbor to Via. The shot below shows a westbound train from Montreal coming in to the station in January 2015.

As you walk over the Belfact overpass, you can see where the Confederation Line dips below both the overpass and the Alexandria Sub trackage leading into the Via station. It's hard to photograph where the lines cross over, since no sidewalk access on the east side of the overpass prevents a good shot, so that will be for another day.

By all accounts, the O-Train project is progressing smoothly. This past year saw a few delays, one of which was caused by a massive sinkhole on Rideau Street in the downtown in late June, which flooded the O-Train tunnel and trapped a few workers for a short time. The sinkhole was fixed quickly, but the questions over how this hole formed are likely not going to be answered for some time. The last report I saw suggested that the tunnel was not a major factor.

The new line is slated to open next year. While the existing O-Train Trillium Line continues to operate normally with diesel Alstom Coradia LINT sets, the new Confederation Line construction is already having an impact. When the Confederation Line opens, the O-Train's existing Confederation Station, seen below, will likely have to be renamed to avoid confusion. This station , seen below, is named after the Confederation Park business park it serves, which includes a number of federal government buildings and Canada Post.

The debate over what to call the bus/train commuter stop at the Via Rail station was settled remarkably quickly, which surprised me. The stop, which went by the name Train, will now be called Tremblay Station, since the Via Rail station is on Tremblay Road.

Speaking of the Via Rail Station, I did manage to snap a few shots  of the action Saturday morning through the fog. The tracks were pretty full, judging by this shot I took from the Belfast overpass.

The fog really didn't help my cause from this vantage point. The wires are still a pain, too! But if you look, you'll two trains the south track (left) and two more on the right side of the picture. There is one on the centre track, hiding beneath the canopy. That's five trains at the station at once. That P42 is just about to leave for Montreal.

A little later, I drove down Belfast Road and was able to get up to the fence by the tracks to get this shot of two generations of Via diesels. The new diesel, P42 904, has the old blue and yellow paint while the older unit, F40 6446, has the new scheme. Those paying attention would notice that 6446 was the same train in the shot I shared above from January 2015. I was lucky that a huge snowbank allowed me to get a little elevation and get a shot over the chain link fence.

Just about a minute after I got the family shot, 6446 was on its way to Toronto, as seen below.

I didn't notice a whole lot of work being done on the platforms (read about the station renovations here), but there were some construction vehicles and some boarded off sections of the platform, which at least suggests that work has started in some spots to raise these platforms and enclose them from the elements.

I just hope the renovations don't ruin the vantage points from local rail enthusiasts.

Post 100: Review of Ottawa's new O-Trains

(Yes, I've hit Post No. 100. Click here to read Post. No. 1 - Michael)

As I mentioned recently, I had the opportunity earlier this month to ride this city's new O-Trains. The city's 8-km Trillium Line began to host new Alstom Coradia LINT trainsets a few weeks ago, which has allowed the service to increase train frequency and operate speedier service. The new trains now travel on a revamped line, which is complete with passing sidings, new track and new signals, all of which allow for a much better experience.

After a few initial glitches with the new service in the first week, the Trillium Line is now fully operational with the new trains. The following are a few observations I made when I took a trip from Bayview south to Confederation stations.

O-Train C4 near Somerset Street overpass and Bayview Station

The new trains, in my opinion, look a little bulkier than the Bombadier Talent trains, but a reader reminded me that the Alstoms are sleeker in some ways. The platforms at all stations along the Trillium Line had to be extended to accommodate the profile of the more slender new trainsets. I made note of this when I boarded the train.

I should mention that, upon arriving at Bayview Station, a trainset was idling. These trainsets do not sound like a conventional train when idling. They sound much more like a bus or truck.

On board, the seats are arranged as they would be on a bus, with the exception of a few areas where seats are facing each other, much like you'd see at the end of a Via Rail passenger coach. This seating alignment probably works for most. For me, I found the leg room lacking. I found my knees were rammed up against the backs of the seats in front of me. I guess these seats weren't built for tall guys.

Enjoy the view out of the giant picture windows in the new O-Trains.

The ride itself was smooth. The new tracks on the Trillium Line and the new trains made for a nice trip. The picture windows in the new trains are massive (as you see above), which allow you to get an interesting view of the rock cut that CP Rail made to recess its old Ellwood and Prescott Subdivision right-of-way beneath the surrounding neighbourhood in the Little Italy area.

A northbound O-Train passes under Bronson Avenue as its approaches Confederation Station.

I did notice some small touches along the line that, for a railway fan, were classy tips of the hat to the line's past. For one, those shiny metal boxes that you see at the train stations were all labelled "Capital Railway Ellwood Subdivision." I like that the city maintains an official name for its light rail service and continues to refer to the line by its Ellwood moniker. An interesting break from tradition, however, is the kilometer post designation. I noticed that the line has km posts rather than mileposts.

I also saw that a number of streets that the line passes under are either labelled with small signs connected to the tunnels beneath the streets or large signs that face the tracks. For example, when my train was passing beneath Gladstone Avenue, there was a large sign facing the tracks that read "Gladstone."

Northbound O-Train approaches the Somerset Street overpass. A long staircase on the overpass makes railway photography easy and safe.

 



As I previously mentioned, the line's Confederation Station seems pretty isolated, although this is hardly a new development. This station was in place when the service first launched. I figure it was placed where it was because of its close proximity to several government office buildings and Canada Post facilities nearby. Still, it seems a little far from the closest neighbourhoods off Heron Road. But it's still only about 10-15 minutes away if you are walking.

Carling Station

It was hard to get a photograph of stations along the line from inside the train, given the light and reflection, but I'm hoping this above shot gives you a rough idea of what some of the stations look like along the line. My train was manned by an operator and two fare inspectors positioned at either end of the train. For most people, getting on board is as simple as passing their Presto card over the scanners at each station. Those trying to use bus tickets were removed from the train.

Overall, it was a great experience. The wait for a train is no more than five minutes now, which is great for commuters. Here's one last shot I took (below) when I was walking east on Heron Road to Bank Street. This is an old right-of-way, by the looks of it. I'm not sure what line this may have been. (Update - Read Alex's comment below, which explains that this was an old CP right-of-way) Perhaps one of my Ottawa readers can fill me in. I have done some initial research on this old right-of-way but have not found anything yet. Still, a good shot of Ottawa's railway past.

Ottawa's O-Train: The good, the bad and the ugly

I was pretty excited to see Ottawa's new O-Train service in action this week on the recently dubbed Trillium Line. It didn't take long for my excitement to turn to disappointment.

This Monday, after months of testing, the city retired its fleet of Bombardier Talent light rail trains, replacing them with more efficient Alstom Coaradia LINT trains. There is much to like about the newly expanded O-Train service. There are more trainsets working on the old CP Ellwood/Prescott Subdivision. There are several passing sidings and new traffic signalling equipment, which have increased the frequency of trains to five minutes. The new trains are better for the environment.

The $60-million expansion of the service wasn't even launched this past Monday before a faulty insulated joint and controller error (OC Transpo's words) halted the new service in its tracks. This held up the official launch, much to the chagrin of numerous city officials and OC Transpo executives, who had staged several photo opportunities at O-Train stations for the morning rush. After some delay, the trains began to run, although commuters were none too pleased with the morning rush hour snafu.

New Alstom Coradia LINT train C7 heads south near Somerset Street on March 4, 2015

By the end of the first day, it was evident that the new service was not operating properly, so transit officials suspended service, telling riders to take the bus until further notice. On Tuesday, commuters were told the Trillium Line would be up and running by Thursday. Meanwhile, at the northern end of the line at Bayview Station, I noticed a brand new trainset sitting idle, being guarded by OC Transpo constables, since it was not able to return to Walkley Yard.

By any estimate, it was a terrible week for the city's light rail service, although service seemed to be returning to normal Wednesday afternoon. I ventured out on my lunch break to see what was going on and was surprised to see the service operating at five-minute intervals. This shot below is what the city wants you to see. Two O-Trains pass each other near Somerset Street, making use of the new passing sidings that were installed last summer and fall. It was fun to see this for the first time.

Here's another shot of the meet:

Of course, this latest snafu could have happened to any train service in any city. The fact that it happened in Ottawa might just be a coincidence. I tried to restrain myself earlier this week, given my vocal criticism of the city's railway policies. But, since this is a blog, I am going to let the city have it one more time. The following is my personal list of the top ten railway blunders here in the City of Ottawa in recent years. I will keep this list mainly focused on recent commuter rail decisions.

1. Allowing CP to tear up the Prescott Subdivision within city limits. This has to be the top blunder of all. This is the mistake that the city is now paying for dearly. The O-Train launched in 2001, just a few years after CP was allowed to rip up its Prescott Subdivision in 1999. Had the former Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (now the City of Ottawa) had any vision in 1999, it would have retained the rails and right-of-way for future commuter use. It's obvious today that the biggest demand for light rail is coming from the southern suburbs Barrhaven and Riverside South. This mistake leads to blunder number two.

2. Not expanding the Trillium Line on existing trackage. The one saving grace of the local government's inaction in 1999 was that it retained trackage to the southern limits of airport land, near Leitrim Road. This will allow the city to expand the Trillium Line to the airport, if it ever gets around to committing to this long overdue expansion. Council still has not moved much on a city staff proposal to expand this line, which I find baffling. The expansion is currently undergoing an environmental assessment, but recent comments from the mayor suggest support for this expansion is no sure thing. How the city waited 14 years to seriously consider the merits of this expansion is beyond me. Anyone who wants to take public transit to Ottawa's airport knows why a rail link is desperately needed. Bus service on the two-lane Airport Parkway is simply not enough. And, if this expansion does eventually happen, the city will now have to create new rail beds and lay new tracks to Riverside South.

3. The tunnel. This blunder, in my opinion, is simply a matter of cost. I will admit that routing trains below Ottawa's core makes sense, given the old downtown would be hard pressed to accommodate trains without a good plan. However, given that Ottawa has several wide one-way streets with limited business frontage and wide berths for tracks, I have always maintained that trains on the surface can work. These one-way streets are used almost exclusively by city buses during rush hours as it is. Building a billion-dollar tunnel is simply not affordable. Many other cities operate commuter trains on roads. I have never understood why former Mayor Larry O'Brien insisted on a tunnel. Current Mayor Jim Watson vowed to look at the tunnel issue when he was elected, but he soon found himself an ardent tunnel supporter.

4. From nowhere to nowhere. The current O-Train Confederation Line plan began when former Mayor Larry O'Brien essentially scrapped his predecessor Bob Chiarelli's rail plan. Although Chiarelli's plan had major flaws, it looks downright sensible in retrospect. The biggest flaw with O'Brien's O-Train plan is that the first phase of the service begins and ends in areas of the city that are not terribly close to neighbourhoods. These areas, Tunney's Pasture and Blair, are well served by the city's Transitway rapid bus service. We all remember the bridge to nowhere in Alaska. I fear this will be train to nowhere. This will be rectified when the second phase of the Confederation Line is in place, but are commuters going to jump on board with Phase I? I wonder.

5. Dropping the ball on the Prince of Wales Bridge. Ottawa city buses go to Gatineau every day. Gatineau buses cross the river to Ottawa every day. Why has no one ever bothered to look into extending the O-Train over the Prince of Wales Bridge on existing trackage? The city owns the bridge and tracks and yet seems determined to convert the bridge into a recreational pathway.

6. Bob Chiarelli's proposed abandonment of the Trillium Line. At one point, the former mayor was proposing to tear up the current alignment of the Trillium Line and replace it with an all-new north-south alignment. Considering the land expropriations, environmental assessments and enormous costs involved, this thankfully never came to pass.

7. Building a new O-Train service facility in the middle of nowhere. This was another strange component of Bob Chiarelli's plans at one point. Instead of establishing a maintenance and commuter train yard in Ottawa's half empty Walkley Yard, there was a plan to build a completely new O-Train yard and servicing facility along Bowesville Road in the south end of the city near airport lands. Environmentalists were furious with this part of the plan, since the proposed new yard would be plopped down in the middle of a natural area. This idea, thankfully, has never attracted much support.

8. Deafening silence on Mike Maguire's common sense plan. Mayoral candidate Mike Maguire had a radical idea in the fall election. Why not establish commuter rail on existing trackage in the city? The most common objection to this plan was that the city had already gone too far with its own plans to press the reset button. I think the merits of Maguire's idea were lost amid the noise and fear-mongering during the election campaign. I still wonder why no one ever suggested that the two ideas could co-exist. After all, CN still has some vital - and sparsely used - trackage in the city that travels through densely populated areas.

9. Inaction on the Beachburg Subdivision. Any hopes for regional rail to Renfrew County, Pembroke and Petawawa went out the window when the city essentially washed its hands of this rail line. CN tore up much of the right-of-way this past fall. A small part of this subdivision is still in place to north Kanata, where it could be used as a commuter link. But that will not likely happen. The city simply does not see the value of commuter rail on this line. I understand why there would be no interest in retaining this line outside of Kanata, but using the rail to the north end of this suburb still makes sense.

10. Deafening silence on Carling Avenue plan. I was no fan of  former councillor Clive Doucet, but when he ran for mayor, he had an idea for light rail that had some merit. He suggested running trains down the middle of Carling Avenue, a divided six-lane thoroughfare through much of Ottawa's west end. His plan was short on details, but he correctly pointed out that the road passed through a number of densely populated areas, including numerous rental communities. Sadly, there was no consideration for this idea. And now, the city is haggling with the National Capital Commission over where to place part of the second phase of its western LRT line, since the NCC won't let tracks cross over its precious Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway lands.

This was an exhausting post to write. I can't believe how much fodder this city gives rail critics like me. This is the city that keeps on giving.

Oh, and Happy Trails to the Bombardier Talents! They served the city well from 2001 to 2015. Sharp looking trains. I will miss them on the current Trillium Line. I'm glad the city is keeping them and I hope to see them in use again.

For consideration: GO Trains in Ottawa

It's nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks Ottawa needs to retain what little heavy rail network it has left.

In my travels with family this summer, I ended up having an interesting conversation with a friend of my wife's family that once operated a truck stop in Cardinal, Ont., a small town in Eastern Ontario. She mentioned to me that she found operating the business extremely difficult because finding staff was a major headache. She explained that most people told her they were chasing a federal public service job in Ottawa. This got me to thinking.

Thousands upon thousands of Eastern Ontarians commute into Ottawa each day to work in the federal public service. The traffic volumes on the region's two 400-series highways are a testament to the commuting patterns in the region. There's also little debate over the growing traffic jams on the roads.

I began to think about this conversation the other day when I stumbled across another conversation on YouTube. The commenters spoke of how silly it was that no one stepped in in 1997 to save the old CP Prescott Subdivision between Kemptville and Ottawa. Another commenter questioned why the dormant CN Beachburg Subdivision between Nepean Junction and the Pontiac Region in Quebec hasn't been eyed for a regional rail commuting service.

It seems painfully obvious that the last remnants of the CN Beachburg Sub north of Nepean Junction will be gone before long, even though it has managed to remain intact this summer, much to my surprise.

Going, going, gone: Could this stretch of the old CP Prescott Subdivision have hosted GO Trains for Eastern Ontario commuters? Some people here think so. Too bad this rail is now gone.

In 2009, a group that once operated the Ottawa Central Railway attempted to purchase the remnants of the Beachburg Subdivision. I recall interviewing James Allen, the former general manager of the OCR, for a story I wrote for a local news website. In addition to establishing immediate freight service for a wood pellet plant in Pontiac, Que., Allen said there were plans for a regional commuter service between Renfrew County, the Pontiac Region and Ottawa. It would be focused on those who work in Ottawa and live in the valley (what locals call the area northwest of Ottawa).

Unfortunately, rails were lifted from Pembroke all the way to the Quebec border. The remainder of the rails to Nepean Junction also seem to be on their way out, despite some very measured and sensible arguments about the importance of this infrastructure to the future of the region. Sadly, Ottawa has expressed no interest in this line, even though city staff said they would be interested in buying the land for a recreational trail. If this city valued its rail infrastructure as much as it values its trail network, local transit would not be such a challenge.

Could the Beachburg Subdivision see new life as a commuter line in west Ottawa? It doesn't seem like city planners see any potential for this corridor other than as a future recreational trail.

The obstacles to regional rail in Eastern Ontario are formidable. The National Capital Region spans two provinces, which means a number of provincial policies would need to be streamlined for a regional service to operate across the Ottawa River. Don't count on this. Ottawa and Gatineau can't even agree what to do with the Prince of Wales railway bridge, which has sat dormant and neglected for years.

Another significant barrier would be how this system would be funded. Would municipalities have to buy in on their own dime? Would the service be funded through the Ontario government like GO? How would it be funded if it crossed over into Quebec? How would it operate in conjunction with the existing Ottawa bus and O-Train service? How would it operate around other rail operations like Via and CN in the capital region?

These are all tough questions, but it seems to me that some have remarkably straightforward answers. Toronto's transit system is far from perfect, but I have never heard anything bad about the GO Trains. Having taken GO Trains before, I can vouch for their reliability and convenience. It seems that this is a conversation worth having in this region.

Why? Well, Ottawa's main expressway, the Queensway, is being widened  in the city's east end, but it's obvious that the highway has no room left to expand in many spots through the city. The city's planned Confederation Line O-Train expansion will not be open until 2017. And the new east-west line will operate from Tunney's Pasture to Blair, on brand new trackage. These areas of the city are sparsely populated at best.

Tunney's Pasture is a warren of outdated government office buildings, with very little connection to nearby neighbourhoods. And it has the advantage of being fairly close to the downtown core. It is already well served by the existing bus commuter road, the Transitway. How this area became the western terminus for the new O-Train line is beyond me. It is by no means underserved.

Blair, the city's east end, is a commercial area with lots of commercial development, but very little housing in the immediate vicinity. Again, I struggle to understand how this became the eastern terminus.

The existing north-south O-Train line, from Bayview Station to Greenboro Station, is well used. There has been talk about extending this line, which was once the CP Ellwood and Prescott Sub. Existing trackage has been left in place all the way to Leitrim Road, which is a road in the city's south end, relatively close to the Riverside South neighbourhood, which is crying out for better transit options. The city owns the old CP right-of-way to Osgoode, a community in the city's mainly rural southern countryside. Why the rails were never retained along this right-of-way is a real head scratcher. The city now faces the possibility of having to install a new rail line along the old CP right-of-way, just to reach Riverside South and other developing communities in Ottawa's southern suburbs like Greeley and Manotick. The lack of vision is astounding.

Taking all of this into consideration, it seems to me that regional rail could still be done in Eastern Ontario, provided the political will and vision is there.

Unfortunately, this might be the biggest obstacle of all.

Summer Observations in Ottawa

Due to technical difficulties with my computer, I am not able to share the third part of my Bedell, Ontario series with you this week. I had loaded the images for this series on my main computer, but had yet to back them up on my removable drive, so those images are in limbo until the computer is fixed. Fear not. The images are not in imminent danger.

Rather than leave the blog idle for a week, I thought I'd share some thoughts about what is going on here in Ottawa lately. Let's start with Via Rail.

Service in Ottawa has been affected by two derailments this summer, as most readers already know. The most recent was the accident near Trenton. Although this has proved to be a tough summer for Via with service interruptions, the silver lining is that the railway's problems in Ottawa seem to have been solved. There have been no reports of any incidents in Barrhaven since late May, which I'm sure is a great relief to Via. The railway is continuing its work in the area, although I haven't heard where a planned passing siding will be constructed. I'm hopeful we'll get an update soon from the railway and its point man in the area, former Via COO John Marginson.

Above: Via corridor train from Toronto arrives at Ottawa's central station (July photo)

 

Here are a few photos of my meet with this corridor train from last month. I have to admit, as much as I dislike the P42s, they look like a good match for the streamliners. It's always nice to see these coaches in the corridor in the summer.

 

 

In the shot below, you can see the Belfast Road overpass, which is undergoing work as part of the construction of the city's Confederation Line O-Train line. The O-Train has been in the news recently as it gears up for the coming school year. The Capital Railway is preparing its Ellwood link for the beginning of the school year, when Carleton University students flock to the 8-kilometre line.

 

Unfortunately, recent work to switch the current O-Train line from its original signalling equipment to a new system has met with snags, delayed trains and frustrated commuters. Check out the story about the angry commuters in this story from the Ottawa Citizen. This latest round of work will complete the project started last year to expand the Ellwood line's capacity and make way for new trainsets. This was the state of the line in May (below). You can see below that the new signalling equipment had been installed but not activated.

 

 

In late July, the new signalling equipment was brought online. As you can see, everything was functioning this week and operations appeared to be running smoothly.

 

 

The final piece of this expansion will clear the way for the new Coradia-built trainsets, which will take the place of the current Bombardier trains (above and below). You can check out the new trains in this photo from an earlier post. I'm not sure when this change will occur, but I would guess it's going to happen soon. That means train watchers up here will have to get their final looks at these Bombardier trainsets.

 

Summer Reading

 

I came across two fascinating articles and I thought I would pass them along to you. The first is the incredible story of the lost railway train that is, according to many here in Ottawa, still trapped underground below a long-since demolished brewery. It's a mystery to me why no attempts have been made to locate this piece of history and preserve it.

 

The second story echoes what I've been saying for more than a year on this blog. A local writer talks about how Ottawa's Prince of Wales Bridge is being left to rust while various government officials twiddle their thumbs. He also points out section 146 of the Canada Transportation Act that is allowing a number of railway lines to be ripped up with very little critical thought. This article is more of an opinion piece, so beware of the political rants.

 





The curious case of the Prince of Wales Bridge

On my recent trip aboard the O-Train, I noticed that Ottawa's Capital Railway at Bayview no longer connects to the former CP trackage that leads to the Prince of Wales Bridge. Instead, the old CP tracks have been buried by ballast, thus severing their connection to the Capital Railway. These tracks, it should be noted, pass through the old City of Hull along the old Maniwaki Sub. This sub is still technically intact to Wakefield, since it is the home of the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Steam Train. This tourist train, it should be noted, is in all likelihood a lost cause since storm damage to the line is too expensive for local governments, who own the line, to fix.

But getting back to Ottawa, I was a little surprised by the disconnection at Bayview, although it sadly makes sense given Ottawa's utter lack of vision when it comes to its railway infrastructure. I wandered over to the end of the Capital Railway the other day to take a few shots. Here's a shot below of the buried connection (almost dead centre) taken from the Somerset Street overpass.

This connection, as you can see on the left, still bears witness to the time when the line was part of CP's Ellwood Subdivision.

The other side of the sign reads "CAP" which obviously stands for the Capital Railway, which is the official name of the O-Train operation in the city as it stands right now.

This severed connection is not, on its own, a big deal, but it takes on more significance given what has happened on the other side of the river in recent years.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the bridge connects to Lemieux Island in the Ottawa River, which marks the official end of the Quebec Gatineau Railway, a shortline owned by Genesee and Wyoming. I was doing some research on this railway the other day, trying to figure out where I could go to shoot it, but discovered that it no longer operates in Gatineau, since its main customer on the river, a former pulp mill, has been closed for years. Even more discouraging, I failed to realize that the railway has severed its connection to the tracks in Gatineau, including the stretch leading to this bridge. The furthest west the railway comes is Thurso, while a local continues to serve the Buckingham spur. Much of the QGR right-of-way in Gatineau has been transformed into a controversial rapid bus transit system, which has garnered mixed reviews from residents of the city.

What does this mean for the Prince of Wales Bridge?

Well, it means it is truly on its own for the time being, until such time that the powers that be in Ottawa and Gatineau, not to mention other levels of government, decide to establish a commuter rail link between Ottawa and Gatineau on the remaining trackage. This continues to be a no-go for local politicians, for reasons that escape me.

In the fall, there was a call from city staff to transform the bridge into a recreational pathway for bikes and pedestrians by 2019. This would be a great link, but it also prevents the capital region from realizing the transit opportunity the bridge represents. The report outlined that the city is hoping to do something with the bridge by 2025. In other words, there are no plans. In fact, despite pleas from transportation advocates, the city is not even maintaining the bridge.

This is what the bridge looks like these days, starting with a view from the Ottawa River Pathway.

And a view of the tracks leading to the bridge, just past the end of the Capital Railway. You will notice, compared to shots I took at a similar time last year (see Prince of Wales link above), the foliage is a little late in arriving this year.

And a shot of the Prince of Wales marquis (or is it Ince of Walcs?)

On the plus side, work on the new passing sidings on the Capital Railway has finally been completed, although the new Alstom trainsets have yet to be placed into service. The new sidings have also led to new signalling equipment. Here's a shot of a southbound Bombardier trainset from the Somerset Street overpass.

I have not heard any news as to when these trains will give way to the new Alstom trains, although I would suspect that the new trains will be put into service before the coming school year, since Carleton University, at the half-way point of the Capital Railway, represents one of the biggest sources of O-Train ridership. The new O-Trains are no longer parked in Walkley Yard during the day, so I assume they are being tested somewhere. I dropped by Walkley recently and saw no trace of the new trainsets.