O-Train to skip another September at Carleton University

Students and staff at Carleton University will once again head back to campus inSeptember without being able to ride the promised new north-south Trillium Line.

During Wednesday's Stage 2 light rail construction updateat Ottawa city hall, however, councillors were mostintent on how thattrain line would undergofinal testing. They want to ensure it doesnot repeat the tumultuous Stage 1 LRTlaunchthat wasso heavilyscrutinized during last year'spublic inquiry.

"I'm sure the students at Carleton are going to be disappointed because they've been really impacted by this," acknowledged the light rail subcommittee's chair, Coun. Steve Desroches. "But I don't think anyone is saying, 'Accelerate this, cut corners, get it and running without all the due diligence taking place.' We need to get it right."

• Will the Trillium Line open in September? All signs point to likely not
• It was city officials who suggested making LRT trial run testing easier, inquiry hears

The 19-kilometre Trillium Line, also referred to as Line 2 of the O-Train,is under constructionfrom BayviewStation to Riverside South, with a four-kilometre spur line to the Ottawa International Airport.

The first of three extensions under the municipality'sStage 2 construction project, the Trillium Line was originally scheduled to open in time for the resumption of classes last fall.

Best estimates by rail construction director Michael Morgan now see the City of Ottawa taking over that train line this October, after contractor Transit NEXT, a wholly owned subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin,does itsfinal trial runin September.

A different contractor, Kiewit Eurovia Vinci, is at work extending the electric Confederation Line. The westernextension to Moodie Drive and Algonquin Collegeremains 17 months behind schedule and is due to be transferred to the city in late 2026, while the eastern extension to Trim Road is just 51 days behind and should undergo final testing in January 2025.

Tracks and trains

Much of the attention at Wednesday's meeting was on the Trillium Line, however.

One key date Morgan is watching isAug. 1, when according tothe contractor's scheduletrains should be running along the entire Trillium Line. If that works, the city can move into several weeks of training staff.

As it stands, most of the track has been laidexcept for a section over Hunt Club Road. The diesel trains for the Trillium Line have been in the city for some time, and include a combination of seven new Swiss-made Stadler trainsand six Alstom LINT trains previously used on the line before it closed for construction.

Siemens Mobility is responsible for updating the train signaling system and the Trillium Line's train control system. Itsaidit has delivered its parts on-schedule forTransit NEXT to install.

Morgan said those elements are not yet in place across the line, however.

The struggle to integrate the many systems of the Confederation Line had contributed to that project's delay,but Morgan doesn't see the same issues for the Trillium Line.

"Right now I don't have the same level of concern. We don't have the same level of complexity as we had on Stage 1," he said. "We're in a much better spot than if I think about the last project."

Trillium Line testing

City councillors asked several questions Wednesday about how the final testingwould be different from August 2019,when Commissioner William Hourigan found a small group of city staff and politicians knew the criteria for Stage 1 of theConfederation Line had been loweredto allow the new system to pass.

• ANALYSIS| How the bar for LRT trial running was lowered then lowered some more

Morgan pointed to two main changes.First, the final trial period would be 21 days longer than the 12 consecutive days originally set for Stage 1 before the criteria were changed. Second, the City of Ottawa wrote specific trial run criteria into the contract.

That documentstates Transit NEXT must hit 98.5 per centon-time performance over a 14-day period within the 21-day trial running period.

Councillors also wanted to knowif the system had been tested in winter, which was another criticism of the Stage 1 project.

Morgan pointed out a short stretch of test track is being used between Hunt Club Road and Leitrim station, withSiemens's train control systems in place.Trains have been able to run back and forth in that area in the past few months even on a very cold winter day,Morgan reassured councillors.

As for the extensions to the Confederation Line, which ispowered byan overhead electric catenary, Morgan said the hope is that early testing can begin on the eastern extension by this fall.