OC Transpo begins work on LRT tracks, confirms Aug. 14 return date

OC Transpo says work has begun on the restraining rails located along the Confederation Line, a key requirement before service can resume.

The transit agency received a draft copy of a risk assessment that contained enough information for work to getstarted, said Rene Amilcar, the city's general manager of transit services, at a Thursday afternoon news conference.

The full news conference is available in the player above.

With that work now underway, Amilcar said she's "confident" service will return on Monday, Aug. 14.

"This service disruption has been long, and it's not over yet," Amilcar said. "We're making positive progress."

Restraining rails located at several curvesalong the track, which aredesigned toprevent derailments,must be adjustedby a matter of millimetresto stop them from contactingthe trains'wheels duringnormal operation.

Those repairs are expected to take 10 days, due to a "labour intensive" adjustment process, according to Amilcar.

The restraining rails are heavy and bolted down, saidEnriqueMartinez Asensio, general manager of the consortium that built the Confederation Line, Rideau Transit Group (RTG).

While the adjustments areongoing, RTG is also in the process of replacing the wheel hub assemblies across its entire train fleet. As of Thursday,18 vehicles were ready for operation.

Shut down since July 17

The light rail system has been shut down since July 17, when it was pulled from service during afternoon rush hour after a routine inspection uncovereda problem with a bearing.

The problem behind the current shutdown is"similar to what was found" to have caused a derailment in August 2021 and a wheel hub failure in July 2022, OC Transpo said Monday.

The transit agencyoriginally set July 31 as its target date for reopening the servicebut scrapped that plan last week, saying a new risk assessment mustbe completed.

It has said Thursday it has received a draft version of thatassessment.

An additional 10days of repairs to thetracks have now begun.Those repairs and testingcan take place at the same time.

In the meantime, OC Transpolaunched a newexpress shuttle serviceMonday in an effort to speed up rush-hour trips from Blair station to downtown.

OC Transpoalso introduced a new R1 Para service Wednesday, which it says will provide additional transit options for customers who require accessible service.