It has now been three weeks since
OC Transpo
last announced an increase in the number of trains available on the O-Train Line 1 as the transit authority continues to deal with issues on the train car axles.
In a Friday update, OC Transpo interim general manager Troy Charter said a total of
21 trains remained available
for service. The last time the transit agency reported an increase in trains was on Feb. 13, when numbers increased to 21 cars from 18.
Justifying a lack of increase over the past few weeks, Charter explained that OC Transpo had shifted its focus to looking ahead to the return of the whole fleet instead of looking at the incremental return of individual cars.
“That’s what … the entire team is working on, is what are the necessary mitigations and measures and processes that need to be put in place to allow for the return of the full fleet,” Charter said Friday. “We need that for our service, and we need that
for the East Extension
.”
This may include plans to contain and further mitigate the ongoing issues with the axles, including monitoring and technology that could detect issues with trains as they occur.
On Jan. 21, the transit authority
removed 41 train cars from service
after Rideau Transit Group identified “spalling” issues with the cartridge bearing assembly in the train cars’ axles.
Charter has
explained spalling
as flakes breaking away from the metal surface inside the bearing, which can result in further degradation and “can ultimately lead to a failure.”
Line 1 service continues to operate using single-car trains at three- to four-minute intervals during peak periods.
Next week, Charter added, the number of available trains would remain at 21, with 15 single-car trains in service during peak periods. He did not provide a timeline as to when fleet numbers were expected to increase.
What does this mean for the O-Train East Extension?
The update came a day after OC Transpo announced it had achieved a “certificate of substantial completion” on the East Extension, with the transit authority saying it was still on track to welcome passengers aboard this spring.
However, 46 trains are needed to begin the trial-running phase on the East Extension, Charter confirmed Friday, meaning the transit authority is still
well short of the minimum number
of train cars it will need to support service levels during the mandatory 21-day trial period.
The ongoing train shortages, paired with the bold spring opening projections, left Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney skeptical that the East Extension would start operations in time.
“In Stage 1, there were
corners cut
and we want to make sure that it’s done right this time,” said Tierney, the only east-end councillor on the transit committee.
“In the east end, people are fed up, but they also don’t want the train to come at the expense of continual breakdowns.”
Over the trial-running phase, trains will have to run on the tracks successfully for a minimum of 21 days. If any problems are detected, the 21-day period may start all over again, prolonging that phase.
“To achieve 21 days would be the unicorn,” Tierney said, referencing the ongoing issues continuing to plague Line 1.
OC Transpo did not confirm whether trial running would take place along the entirety of Line 1, from Tunney’s Pasture in the west to Trim Station in the east, or whether it would just take place on the new East Extension from Trim to Blair Station.
“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” Charter said. “We’re going to be doing a detailed technical briefing when we get to that point where we’re about to start trial running, and we’ll get into all those details in terms of what that looks like and what customers can expect during that period of time.”
If the trial running does, in fact, take place along the entirety of Line 1, it’s unclear whether any detected issues on the currently operational portions of Line 1 would impact the trial running.
Tierney said he was also unsure about how transit staff would plan to unload passengers at Blair Station only for the testing trains to close their doors and continue eastward without any passengers on board.
“What do you do if you get somebody that’s on the train that refuses to get off? This is a very big possibility, by the way,” he said. “Then they’d have to stop or hold the train. Does that count against the 21 days (of successful testing)?”
Tierney said he anxiously awaited an update as OC Transpo staff were expected to provide further details to the transit committee on March 12.
