O-Train South Line 2 & Line 4

[hoggytime]

Formerly known as 'Trillium Line'

Project Website

Current status (Feb 2024) :
Line 2 Bayview-Limebank U/C
Line 4 South Keys-Airport U/C


Previous discussions on SSP Ottawa:

Trillium Line Upgrades & Extension (Stage 2) [Greenboro to Airport/Limebank] | U/C
Trillium Line (O-Train) Updates

 

[hoggytime]

Article from CTV today:

Opening date for Trillium Line still uncertain with final tests underway A train sits at Bayview Station as construction continues on the north-south Trillium Line. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

Opening date for Trillium Line still uncertain with final tests underway​

A train sits at Bayview Station as construction continues on the north-south Trillium Line. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

William Eltherington

CTV News Ottawa Digital Multi-Skilled Journalist

Contact

Published Feb. 21, 2024 3:13 p.m. EST



OC Transpo officials are still not committing to an opening date for the Stage 2 Trillium Line, but are hinting that "very good news" might be on the way next week.

"We'll have very good news to share, stay tuned," said transit services general manager Renée Amilcar at a media availability on Wednesday.
"I've always said that for the Trillium Line, it should be this spring, so I'm still there," Amilcar said.

A report shared with councillors(opens in a new tab) for next Thursday's Light-Rail subcommittee meeting said final construction of Line 2 "is well underway," including the near completion of the stations and signalling systems.
The report says the city will "review and assess an opening date along with the required regulatory approvals," with the final date selected being "heavily influenced by the safety, reliability, and general performance of the system."
Some of the remaining risk factors that could further delay the opening date include safety and security management, system wide testing and performance, training completion by operators, regulatory requirements, construction completion and third-party development.
Starting in January, test trains have been operating on the mainline and airport extension between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. Monday to Friday. The report says OC Transpo plans to increase the number of operating hours of the trains to match planned service levels.
"This period of additional running time, including through the current winter season, is critical to surfacing and correcting issues before the line opens for service," the report says.
Last November, OC Transpo began testing seven trains on the mainline Trillium Line and two on the airport extension. Additional testing is currently underway to "demonstrate the functionality of the system and to ensure the operations of the train control systems."
Final preparations for the train stations are also underway, including elevator adjustments and inspections, installation of aluminum panels, final glazing installation and communications device commissioning.
The report adds that 9 of the 54 diesel rail operators have completed their certifications, while 24 are progressing through their classroom training program. Twenty-three have completed their classroom training and are expected to receive their final certification in Q1 and Q2 of 2024.
Construction for the Trillium Line was originally scheduled to be completed in August 2022, but was delayed until September 2023. On Sept. 29, Amilcar said that based on the progress to date, a fall launch was no longer possible and would be delayed until the "spring of 2024."
Regulatory approvals from Transport Canada and the Canadian Transportation Agency, Building Code Services and Ottawa Fire Services, and secondary approvals for elevators from the TSSA are still ongoing.

 

[pgagnon]

Strange since they extended an existing line and added 2 stations, testing should be relatively easy and quick. If they started testing in November, that means it's been almost 4 months of testing... I guess they are being overly cautious after what happened with the opening of line 1. I'm hopeful though since the article says "very good news" might be on the way next week.

 

[J.OT13]

Yet they were so confident in the million completion dates they had announced previously.

 

[hoggytime]

SHOCKING news that nobody expected from CTV:

Trillium Line hits another delay, opening pushed back through the summer​

A train sits at Bayview Station as construction continues on the north-south Trillium Line. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

William Eltherington

CTV News Ottawa Digital Multi-Skilled Journalist

Contact

Published Feb. 27, 2024 4:41 p.m. EST


OC Transpo officials say the north-south Trillium Line could hit yet another delay, with the timeline for opening being extended into the summer.

Councillors have been told in a slide presentation on Stage 2 construction on late Tuesday afternoon that OC Transpo is giving themselves a wider timeline than had been previously announced with an opening day potentially being in September.

A slide says the transit authority's period for handover could be between April and June, with passenger service happening sometime between May and September, but a firm date had not been given. Officials had previously said the window for handover would be between February and April and passenger service would be between March and June.

Transit services general manager Renée Amilcar had said the anticipated opening date would be in "spring of 2024" in recent months.

Construction for the Trillium Line was originally scheduled to be completed in August 2022, but was delayed until September 2023. On Sept. 29, Amilcar said that based on the progress to date, a fall launch was no longer possible and would be delayed again.
This could mean the Trillium Line would open a full two years behind schedule. This would be the third major delay.

At a media availability after last week's city council meeting, Amilcar said she was still anticipating the opening date to be sometime in the spring and added she would have "very good news" to share at Thursday's Light-Rail subcommittee meeting.
"I've always said that for the Trillium Line, it should be this spring, so I'm still there," Amilcar said last week.

The Trillium Line will run between Bayview Station and Riverside South, with a spur to the Ottawa Airport.

 

[pgagnon]

Am I missing something? Because the headline states pretty boldly that opening would be in summer, yet there doesn't seem to be any reliable source confirming this outright in the article. Amilcar has said last Spring 2024 and that good news were on the way this week so I'm confused...

 

[rdaner]

Another confirmation of a Spring opening today.

 

[hoggytime]

Caught the train as it pulled into Bayview today! The sound was horrendous, like a thousand fingernails on chalkboards played on a loudspeaker. Those tracks need some grinding!

 

[J.OT13]

 

[Bartlebooth]

Saw some testing at Carleton Friday evening. Trains look good.

 

[CapitalSeven]

I believe they were testing at 12-minute interval on Saturday early afternoon. The trains were at Corso Italia platform at the same time.

 

[thenewguy]

Some one more knowledgeable may have figured this out - but I sat at South Keys and watched how they (seemed) to be managing the interaction between Line 2 and Line 4. The pattern looked like this to me....

North bound train arrives - and sits for 10 minutes

South bound train departs and nearly the same time as nouth bound train arrives.

Once south bound track is clear, Airport line 4 train arrives.

Southbound train sits for 5 minutes to collect transferring passengers from Airport Line 4

Airport Line 4 departs.(southbound)

New south bound line 2 train arrives - once single track to north is clear, long dwelling northbound train departs.

Good news: seamless transfer for arriving airport passengers. Very bad news - commuters from the south end have a very, very long dwell at South Keys before they continue on their way.

If this is really what they propose to do in real life, i see no end of complaints from many commuters who are disadvantaged by 10+ minutes for presumably very few airport arrivals.

I'm I reading this right?

 

[CapitalSeven]

There's no way that that is a sensible procedure for normal operations. They have said they are testing various scenarios involving delays and diversions, and it sounds more like what might happen with trains going in and out of service in the morning or late evening.

The normal operation was for line 4 to arrive and unload then pull into the tail track. Both line 2 directions would come and go at about the same time, then line 4 would load up and go to the airport. No train would dwell more than 30 to 60 seconds. The whole track layout was set up to do this, and there is no logical problem with the timings.

The problem is that no one seems to have seen them actually testing that scenario. It would be nice if someone with connections could ask whether the operations plan is still the one laid out in the contract documents. If they're going to have to provide something worse, it'll be another huge black mark.

 

[J.OT13]

I assume the Line 4 trains will have to wait in the pocket track for several minutes after dropping off people before picking new people up after Line 2 trains leave.

 

[CapitalSeven]

After some hunting, I finally found this in the Project Agreement documents for Trillium. The easiest place to locate the document is in the Rail Fans Canada archive at this link.

Some other points:

• The procedure could be reversed, with Bayview-Airport direct and a Limebank Shuttle. The city has said this won't happen, and the shorter line 4 platforms would seem to rule it out, but its not impossible to imagine on weekends, when commuting from Riverside is not happening but a big event at EY is.
• Airport link shuttle has to run in a 24 minute cycle.
• South Keys dwell times never exceed 30 seconds.
• Time at the terminals for Line 4 is at least 3 minutes. This leaves at least 9 minutes per direction, which is generous, and I think OC Transpo has said the trip will be about 7.5 minutes.
• Trains don't seem to be required after 11 pm, but this is subject to change. Will there be pressure from the airport or Carleton students to run trains a bit later, or are the buses enough?