OTTAWA, Ontario — No timeline has been set for resuming service on Ottawa’s light rail Confederation Line, officials said during a Tuesday press conference. The line was shut down Monday afternoon because of equipment concerns [see “Ottawa light rail line shut down …,” Trains News Wire, July 18, 2023].
Discovery of a bearing issue on one of the Confederation Line trainsets require transit agency OC Transpo to inspect every axle on every train, Richard Holder, city manager of systems and operations integration, said during the press conference, according to a CBC report. As of the press conference, inspection of five trainsets had been completed, along with inspection of all track on the 7.8-mile, 13-station system.
The CBC also reported that the bearing issue was discovered during a routine 50,000-kilometer (31,000-mile) inspection, and detailed the history of bearing issues that have plagued the Confederation line. Bearings played a part in derailments in August and September 2021. and led to advisories from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada over failures of bearing assemblies.
A public inquiry into the Confederation Line issues last year also raised the possibility that the wheel-rail interface on sharp curves may be putting excessive stress on components including the bearings.
Of course, all of this is not a pleasant development for either Alstom or OC Transpo!
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Good lord, you are so incredibly rude, Charles Landey. Do you ever have anything constructive to say to anyone?
How on earth do you blame the Prime Minister for bad train sets that were built by Alstom in the United States (some of the newer ones were apparently built in Canada).
Honestly, I don’t know why I bother. So many nasty negative Nancies here, but particularly you. Your negativity makes things very unpleasant and you comment on everything. I wonder how many other people simply refuse to comment because you’re so nasty.
How is it that two ultra-liberal, ultra-Green leaders, Biden and Castreau, neither one can implement a decent passenger train system. Maybe because their combined IQ couldn’t tie Pierre Eliot’s shoelaces. Eh?
Boondoggle Trolley, Canada now home of failed rail projects like Via, worse than Amtrack and collapse of Montreal fiasco, time for baby Trureau to be thrown out.