An Ottawa Light Rail Transit (OLRT) train travels along the tracks in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean KilpatrickSean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Ottawa’s light-rail transit service has fully resumed after a month-long hiatus.
A fleet of between nine to 13 single-car trains – varying with ridership peaks – will run along the entirety of the LRT’s east-west line for the rest of August.
Service was abruptly halted in the middle of rush hour on July 17 after a safety issue with a train’s wheel hub assembly was discovered during a routine inspection.
The city’s transit provider committed to a detailed inspection of every vehicle and originally said the LRT would be back on track by July 31.
It later scrapped that plan, saying it needed more time to adjust restraining rails on sharp curves and replace wheel hub assemblies.
Last week, a reduced fleet of trains operated between the line’s westernmost Tunney’s Pasture Station to University of Ottawa stop just east of downtown.
Ottawa’s transit commission will receive a report analyzing the root cause of the train assembly issues – specifically with axle bearings – and another “outlining LRT incidents related to freezing rain, lightning strikes and other issues” on Oct. 12.