LRT won't reopen for at least another week

Ottawa's light-rail transit system will remain shut down for at least another week, city officials announced Monday, with plans for a "gradual" return to service starting July 31.

The city gave an update Monday morning on the LRT after another bearing-related issue shut down the entire track last Monday afternoon.

The entire light rail line has been shuttered for a week, as experts try to decipher why a bearing on a train became loose and whether any other cars were afflicted.

OC Transpo general manager Renée Amilcar said Monday that service will reopen gradually starting July 31, once it has an analysis of the failed axle hub assembly (which was sent to France to the train manufacturer, Alstom, for investigation) and a revised safety plan, which the city is working on in collaboration with LRT builder Rideau Transit Group and Alstom.

The analysis of the failed hub and the revised safety plan are expected by the end of the week, Amilcar said.

Meanwhile, 44 of 45 light rail cars have been inspected so far. Six require further investigation, and the final car (which is undergoing unrelated work in Kingston) will be inspected later on, according to Richard Holder, the city's director of engineering services.

You can watch Monday's media briefing in the player below:

Axle hub assemblies will be redesigned

Bearings have been a recurring problem since the Confederation Line opened in fall 2019. 

Nearly two years ago, the entire system was shut down for nearly a week because of a similar problem. Weeks later, LRT service was suspended for nearly two months in the wake of another malfunction.

To address long-standing bearing problems in the axles of light-rail cars, the axle hub assembly is going to be completely redesigned, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe announced Monday.

"That alone will not solve all of our issues, but I and the team at OC Transpo are hopeful that this redesign will be a giant step forward. At last we are working on the root problem, and not just the issues that arise from it," Sutcliffe said.

RTG to handle costs for new assembly

A preliminary design of a new axle hub assembly has already been submitted, according to Nicolas Truchon, CEO of Rideau Transit Group. A final design needs to be signed off on, followed by making a prototype and "significant testing."

"This is not a small undertaking," Truchon said. 

It could take about 12 to 18 months to come up with a final design, test it and install it on every LRT car.

More details are expected in the coming weeks, Amilcar said.

The entire cost for the new hub, testing and installation will be charged to Rideau Transit Group.

Short-term fixes

To help deal with the bearing issue in the short term, equipment will be installed at 16 points along the Confederation Line to grease up the track in tight curves, Holder said. It will take several weeks to complete the installations.

Staff are also working to optimize a maintenance plan for the system, Holder said.

R1 buses are currently running the length of the line, except for Cyrville station. A shuttle instead connects Cyrville and St-Laurent stations.

People have expressed frustration over the R1 bus service, including capacity.

OC Transpo is trying to be agile in responding to complaints and suggestions about R1 replacement service, according to interim city manager Wendy Stephanson.

Media briefings will be held daily to provide updates until service resumes.

Testing and work done so far

OC Transpo still doesn't know what the root cause is. A report is expected in the coming months.

In addition to inspecting all the axle hub bearings for every LRT car after the latest issue, the entire track was inspected visually and no issues were identified, according to Holder.

The rails have been measured to see how they're holding up, and those results are being analyzed. Several restraining rails have been reset to optimum positions, and the remaining restraining rails will be adjusted by July 30.

OC Transpo has also conducted multiple test runs using a train with axles equipped with monitors and sensors, to find out how different temperatures, weights, speeds and restraining rail positions may be affecting the bearings.

Preliminary indications are that "repetitive loading cycles contribute to degraded performance," according to a slide presented by Holder.