Computer blamed for third day of LRT delays
An on-board train computer at Bayview Station suddenly went kaput Thursday, causing a delay on the LRT system for the third consecutive morning.
The silver lining was it wasn’t a jammed train door that caused the LRT slowdown, since the delays on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings were chalked up to customers pushing or prying doors, leaving the head of OC Transpo pleading with people to leave the doors alone.
But John Manconi and Transpo managers on Thursday afternoon were still trying to understand why it took so long for the train computer at Bayview to reset after it went on the fritz around 7:20 a.m.
“Normally, this is a relatively quick reset and we are investigating why there was a delay in the process,” Manconi said in a written statement, apologizing to customers, again, for the morning transit turmoil.
Train service on the 12.5-kilometre Confederation Line didn’t shut down, but service between Tunney’s Pasture and Lyon stations was reduced because Transpo had to route trains around the stalled train.
Passengers’ travel times increased by up to 30 minutes. Transpo activated the R1 replacement bus service during the train problem. Full LRT service returned around 8:15 a.m.
Frustration gripped Ottawa City Hall over more LRT delays during the busiest time of the day. The delays have caused major passenger backups at some bus-train transfer stations, such at Tunney ’s Pasture.
After service was restored, Mayor Jim Watson said he wanted to find out what exactly happened before making any comments.
“I’ve seen the tweets, I’ve seen the anger that people have and I want to find out what happened and what’s being done to get it fixed,” Watson said in a corridor of city hall.
“It seems to have gone better than the previous two mornings in how fast we were able to get everybody moving,” transit chair Allan Hubley said, adding, “but we’re still not where we need to be. This is not the level of service that we want to provide for our riders, so there’s still work to be done here.”
Hubley, the councillor for Kanata South, said he’s hearing frustration from his constituents.
“This impacts everybody’s day and that’s not what OC Transpo employees want to do. It affects them getting to work in the morning. If they have to make up the time at night, then it’s going to affect when they get home, you know? The only thing I can tell people is, we said ahead of time, this is going to take a little while to get all the kinks out.”
Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower said he’s been watching how the transit network has been working this week and receiving feedback from angry residents.
“It’s been pretty awful so far,” Gower said. “Three days in a row where we’ve had significant delays on the morning commute. I’m frustrated. I know residents are frustrated and we’ve got to get these things fixed.”
Gower said Transpo staff have done well to provide information, but council should be turning its mind to the transit problems at its next meeting, on Oct. 23. The transit commission doesn’t meet again until November after an Oct. 16 meeting was cancelled.
Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney said Transpo’s overseers are calling for answers.
“There is a concern among transit commissioners. We need a resolution to this and more details,” Tierney said. “Alstom has to be called on the carpet at some point.”
Thirteen double-car Alstom Citadis Spirit trains run on the Confederation Line at peak times.
Transpo also said it’s making improvements to bus transfer areas and the LRT vehicles.
For customers who can’t reach the overhead bars in trains, Transpo is looking into installing strap hangers (like the ones on buses). jwilling@postmedia.com twitter.com/JonathanWilling