Ottawa LRT is safe, but transit boss says extra precautions can't be used long term
Transit general manager says permanent LRT fixes needed by Stage 2 opening
Ottawa's light rail system is safe for riders but short-term fixes can't be used for decades, the city's transit general manager said Thursday, one day after the Transportation Safety Board warned about the light rail vehicles.
The safety board (TSB) has studied what caused an axle to break off a train wheel in August 2021 leading to a derailment, as well as a related vibration issue an operator observed the following summer. In its most recent letter to the city, the TSB said some component failures could be due to the design of the Alstom Citadis Spirit vehicle, which was a new model made to the city's specifications.
Transit general manager Renée Amilcar briefed councillors Thursday about the TSB letter during the very first meeting of the city's newly formed light rail sub-committee. She also took questions from reporters.
"It's safe to take the train right now," Amilcar said. "I took the train yesterday, and I will take the train again and again and again."
The risks laid out in the letter are being alleviated, she said.
The city's private-sector maintenance group — Rideau Transit Maintenance and its subcontractor Alstom — are performing extra inspections that require a lot of staff, the trains are travelling at lower speeds, and many train axles are being replaced much earlier as a precaution, said Amilcar.
While she said those steps allow the city to "live with the risk," the situation can't go on for long.
Sticking with Alstom trains
Amilcar wants the axle bearing problems fixed by the time the Confederation Line's eastern leg to Trim Station opens in late 2024 or early 2025.
That's part of the reason why the City of Ottawa settled maintenance disputes with Rideau Transit Group, she said. The deal includes a commitment by RTG to fix issues for the long term, although city officials have said the public will never learn the terms of that settlement.
Asked whether the City of Ottawa would consider changing train models, or cancelling its order for more Alstom Citadis Spirit trams for Stage 2 extensions east and west, city officials said no.
All but about 20 of the 72 light rail vehicles for Stage 2 have already arrived, said Amilcar. If the root cause analysis of the axle problem suggests a particular fix, all Alstom vehicles will need to be fixed, she said.
Similarly, if that analysis has suggestions for the tracks currently being laid by Stage 2 contractor KEV, they can be fixed with a rail grinder, added the city's rail construction director Michael Morgan.
Menard motion
The new light rail sub-committee's role is to have oversight of rail construction, but it's also responsible for ensuring the City of Ottawa follows up on recommendations from the LRT Public Inquiry report released last November.
Of those 103 recommendations, 95 are directed at the city and Rideau Transit Group. Amilcar promised to have a full action plan by the next meeting in March.
Coun. Shawn Menard tabled a motion Thursday to address one of the inquiry's main findings: the decision-making authority that council had delegated to staff for Stage 1 LRT.
The public inquiry found former transit boss John Manconi and former city manager Steve Kanellakos withheld details of the train's final testing in the summer of 2019.
The sub-committee agreed staff should have to provide regular updates on how they use that authority, and "material amendments" to light rail contracts would have to be brought to council for approval.
Menard's move to revoke the city manager's authority to change the criteria for the final trial running for Stage 2 LRT, leading up to the city taking over those extensions, failed in a 4 to 2 vote.
"I am concerned about that 'go/no go' decision, and I want to ensure that council is kept fully informed," said Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper, who supported Menard. "Council has been burned once. The residents of Ottawa have been burned."
But Coun. Glen Gower, who also chairs the transit commission, said some decisions can be politicized if left only to city council. Gower, Cathy Curry, Steve Desroches and Tim Tierney voted against revoking that authority.
During the meeting, Amilcar had promised to provide emails to council every day during the trial running for Stage 2.
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