Ottawa LRT running with only 10 trains

Ottawa's Confederation Line is down to 10 trains from "the required 13" because of a series of mechanical issues, the head of OC Transpo said this afternoon.

The train shortage led to slight delays and longer waits on crowded platforms for this afternoon's commute.

The Confederation Line had 13 working trains available when it launched Sept. 14. But a CBC source said only 11 double trains went into service Friday and Monday mornings.

In a statement sent shortly before 3:30 p.m., OC Transpo's general manager John Manconi confirmed that 11 trains were in operation during the morning commute.

He wrote that two more were taken out of service this morning due to technical issues — a compressor fault and a wheel issue.

Manconi said Rideau Transit Maintenance advised the city that it would be running 10 trains "instead of the required 13" this afternoon and evening.

Trains would operate approximately every five minutes during the afternoon peak, leading to wait times a minute longer than usual, Manconi said.

This is the first time OC Transpo has blamed delays on a train shortage.

One train was sent to the service garage for repairs on Thursday after its overhead power line "snagged" as it entered St-Laurent station.

On Monday morning, OC Transpo tweeted about a mechanical issue on a train during a morning peak that caused delays, crowding and the closure of a platform at Tunney's Pasture.

Monday's issues are the fifth and sixth announced by OC Transpo on the Confederation Line over the last five days, and eighth and ninth so far this month.

Initially, OC Transpo planned to run 15 double trains during morning and afternoon peaks, plus another two kept aside as spares. That number was eventually reduced to 13 trains on the track at rush hour.