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Climb aboard Ottawa's new and improved Trillium Line

Ottawans will soon be able to ride the rails on the expanded Trillium Line for the first time since May 2020. The expanded north-south light rail line, including a new extension to the Ottawa International Airport, will officially open to the public on Jan 6.

Members of the media given sneak peek at expanded north-south LRT line Monday

Gabrielle Huston · CBC News ·

Here’s what lines 2 and 4 will look when they open

11 days ago
Duration 2:30
Ahead of the Jan. 6, 2025 opening of the Trillium line, CBC’s Elyse Skura got a tour of lines 2 and 4.

Ottawans will soon be able to ride the rails on the Trillium Line for the first time since May 2020.

The expanded north-south light rail line, including a new extension to the Ottawa International Airport, will officially open to the public on Jan 6.

On Monday, members of the media were invited to see the new and improved route for themselves.

Inside and out

The Trillium Line is equipped with Swiss-made Stadler trains (a model dubbed the FLIRT) and French-made Alstom trains (a model dubbed LINT).

Alstom also made the trains that run on Ottawa's Confederation Line, which are different from the LINT model. Only the Alstom trains will run on the spur line to the airport.

A large red train as seen from the outdoor train platform.
An Alstom-made LINT train pulls in to South Keys station. (Francis Deschênes/CBC)
A train car pulled into a public outdoor platform. The train is white and red.
The Stadler FLIRT train is diesel, but includes electric components. It could be converted to electric, battery or hydrogen in the future. (Kate Porter/CBC)
The inside of a public train.
The Stadler FLIRT train on the Trillium Line seats 200 passengers and can carry up to 420. (Elyse Skura/CBC)
Blue seats on a public train.
The seats on a Trillium Line train on Dec. 16, 2024. (Kate Porter/CBC)

Faces behind the train

A woman in a pink coat stands in front of a large light-rail transit car.
Renée Amilcar said she will be there at 6 a.m. on Jan. 6 when the first train on Line 2 starts up. The trains will operate on weekdays for at least the first two weeks. (Kate Porter/CBC)

Renée Amilcar, the general manager of transit services at OC Transpo, may be one of the few people in Ottawa who is hoping for bad weather over the holidays. 

"Hopefully we'll have some freezing rain and we'll have more snow so we can practise," she told CBC. "I cannot believe that I'm saying that, but it's true!"

Troy Charter, director of transit service delivery and rail operations for OC Transpo, agreed they need more practice, but said he and his team are excited to get going. 

"This is an exciting time," he said. "I mean, very few people can say that they were part of launching a rail line.... The whole team is proud of this."

A man stands on a public train, smiling at the camera.
'We're launching in January to have some more time to continue to practise, so we can make sure that we keep to the kind of schedule that you want,' said Troy Charter, director of transit service delivery and rail operations for OC Transpo. (Elyse Skura/CBC)
A grey-haired man with a light beard smiles at the camera. He is sitting inside a bus shelter and wearing a visibility vest.
Michael Lesarge has been an OC Tranpso bus driver for 15 years and will now operate the LRT, as the Trillium Line reopens to the public. (Kate Porter/CBC)

Michael Lesarge has been a driver for 15 years, and now he's been trained to operate the Stadler FLIRT trains. 

"It was a great opportunity, but it was a lot of work to drive these things!" he said.

Ottawa Morning10:49A sneak peek at expanded north-south LRT line
Reporter Kate Porter joined councillors and media for a ride on the new Trillium Line, set to start opening on the first Monday in January.

Student pickup

A train station in the winter. The ground is covered in blue rock salt and a nearby bus shelter reads "Carleton."
Students at Carleton University have been anticipating the expansion of the Trillium Line to get them quickly to and from campus. (Kate Porter/CBC)

Charter said the Stadler trains, which are longer and have more doors, will be particularly useful at the Carleton University station. 

"We do anticipate Carleton being one of our busier stations," he said.

Buildings are seen over a pedestrian bridge on a river.
The campus of Carleton University as seen from the LRT on Dec. 16, 2024. (Kate Porter/CBC)

Straight shot to the airport

An electronic display inside a train showing the next stop.
Line 4 trains going to the airport start at at South Keys station and also visit Uplands station. (Elyse Skura/CBC)

For the first time, people will now be able to reach the Ottawa International Airport by train.

Mark Laroche, president and chief executive officer of the Ottawa Airport Authority, said he hopes that will attract more conferences and other events to the city.

He said he was "shocked" that the original Trillium Line bypassed the airport, and fought to get it included in the expansion.

"That's why I'm retiring at the end of next week — I was making sure it got done!" he said. "We have to look at this as a long-term economic investment."

A large hallway with windows to the outside along either side. A large gate is front and centre, reading "Train to City" in French and English.
'We view this as a future-looking investment to the airport terminal. It's not all about making a profit,' said Mark Laroche, president and chief executive officer of the Ottawa Airport Authority. (Joe Tunney/CBC)
A middle-aged man in a grey suit stands on a train platform and smiles at the camera.
Laroche stands near the train at the airport's station on Dec. 16, 2024. (Elyse Skura/CBC)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gabrielle Huston

Gabrielle is an Ottawa-based journalist with eclectic interests. She's spoken to video game developers, city councillors, neuroscientists and small business owners alike. Reach out to her for any reason at gabrielle.huston@cbc.ca.

With files from Elyse Skura and Kate Porter

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