Restore Prince of Wales Bridge within 12 months, regulator rules
The City of Ottawa must restore the Prince of Wales Bridge and the railway that approaches it in the next 12 months or formally discontinue the operations, a regulator has ruled.
Knowing it’s virtually impossible to find resources to do such work in short order, the city is considering seeking a court review of the decision released by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) on Friday.
The agency told the city to either restore the bridge and railway or start the process to officially discontinue operating the federally regulated rail line in that area. The CTA is giving the city until April 30 to choose an option.
City clerk and solicitor Rick O’Connor told council members late Friday afternoon that the legal department, transportation department and external rail experts will review the decision.
“That review is intended to inform a recommendation as to the next steps to be taken in this matter, which may include a request for judicial review,” O’Connor told council.
This all started with a complaint to the CTA by the Moose Consortium in 2016 alleging that the city didn’t follow the proper process to remove tracks between Bayview station and the Prince of Wales Bridge.
The city has an ongoing construction zone at Bayview station to build the Confederation Line LRT, requiring the removal of existing tracks.
Other rail companies could get access to a discontinued rail line if the owner has stopped operating the tracks.
Moose (Mobility Ottawa- Outaouais: Systems and Enterprises) wants to build a regional train service funded by the private sector and it has eyed the Prince of Wales Bridge as the connection point to western Quebec.
The city owns the bridge, which is completely closed to all uses, and hasn’t used the railway that runs north of Bayview station. The O Train Trillium Line stops at Bayview station, which is the northern terminus of the service.
The decision on Friday caps several months of back and forth between the city and the CTA over this complaint.
The city told the CTA last September that it would take about two years to realign the tracks and three years to restore the bridge. The CTA told the city the timelines weren’t reasonable. The city then told the CTA that the agency was exceeding its jurisdiction.
The city intends to use the bridge to link its rail service with the Gatineau transit system, but not in the foreseeable future.