Ottawa Citizen

LRT winter switch upgrade late

Work on changes to prevent jamming in a race against arrival of snow and ice

- J ON WILLING jwilling@postmedia.com twitter.com/JonathanWi­lling

It might be December before gas-powered heaters that prevent snow and ice from jamming LRT track switches are fully installed in the eastern stretch of the rail line, transit commission­ers heard Wednesday.

The upgrade to the switch heaters, between Tremblay and Blair stations, was supposed to happen by the end of October, but transit management said the work by Rideau Transit Group's maintenanc­e arm won't be done until Ottawa could be already in the throes of wintry weather.

Troy Charter, the city's director of transit operations, said RTG believes the east-end heaters will be upgraded to natural gas-powered devices by the end of November or early December.

The city only found out recently that RTG needed more time to install the heaters. The duct work is being installed and the parts have arrived, but there has been a lag in the contractor approving the design for the devices, according to transporta­tion general manager John Manconi.

Coun. Allan Hubley, chairman of the transit commission, said he's frustrated that RTG, and specifical­ly RTG's corporate partner SNC-Lavalin, won't get the new switch heaters installed by the predetermi­ned schedule.

It's “shameful behaviour on behalf of contractor to do this to us,” Hubley said.

RTG has come up with a backup plan until the permanent heaters are installed. It involves using temporary propane heaters, applying glycol snow-melting liquid and deploying workers in case they need to clear snow and ice.

The LRT control centre now can remotely monitor the status of the heaters. Last winter, the control centre could monitor the switches, but not the heaters.

The switches between Tunney's Pasture and Tremblay stations will have upgraded electric heaters, and those are scheduled to be done by the end of November.

Problems with the switch heaters first installed by RTG were flagged even before the LRT system opened in September 2019. City inspectors told RTG about inefficien­t switch heaters dozens of times during the last winter before LRT opened to the public. The first winter operation of the LRT system was marked by some electric heaters failing to melt snow and ice, especially in the east end.

The upgraded heaters are part of a rectificat­ion plan to improve LRT reliabilit­y. The city has launched an assessment of the plan to see if RTG is making the necessary fixes.

Transit management is happy with the progress of other improvemen­ts, including those to the to train doors, brakes, overhead wires and auxiliary power units.

The city won't know the effectiven­ess of the new switch heaters until they're installed and Ottawa is hit with snow and cold temperatur­es. The same goes for improvemen­ts made to the heating and ventilatio­n systems on the passenger and operator areas of trains.

Transit commission­ers heard that RTG is consistent­ly providing the required 15 trains for morning peak service, as required, and the

company delivered 98 per cent of scheduled service in September. The service rate in October has been 99 per cent and is on track to be the highest since the system's launch.

OC Transpo ridership in September was at 30 per cent of levels that would be expected if it wasn't for the COVID-19 pandemic.

COMMISSION ENDORSES $ 6M I N DRIVER BARRIERS

With a 9-2 vote, the transit commission supported installing $6-million worth of barriers on buses to protect drivers from assaults.

The equipment would cost about $8,000 for each of the 746 buses expected to get the retrofit.

The barriers would also provide protection against the spread of COVID-19, but the main goal is to prevent bus drivers from being assaulted.

Citizen commission­er Sarah Wright- Gilbert was skeptical about installing the barriers, considerin­g the price. She wasn't

pleased with a lack of informatio­n, including specific numbers on how many bus operators have been assaulted. The best number staff had at the meeting was about 100 assaults in the past year.

Coun. Riley Brockingto­n said it was too early to consider the proposal since the commission didn't yet have a list of other 2021 priorities in Transpo's capital budget.

Wright- Gilbert and Brockingto­n opposed the installati­ons on the existing fleet, but supported including the barriers on new bus purchases in the future.

Commission­er Anthony Carricato admitted to sticker shock after seeing the $6-million cost, but he's convinced it's critical equipment needed to keep drivers safe.

Protective barriers aren't being proposed for Para Transpo vehicles.

The $6-million cost is an estimate, pending tenders. Transpo plans to procure the barriers through a contract competitio­n, but before going to the market, the commission and city council

will need to approve OC Transpo's 2021 capital budget in November and December, respective­ly.

FEW FINES SO FAR DURING MASK CRACKDOWN

Fewer than 10 people were fined in six days of mandatory tickets for Transpo customers not wearing masks, transit commission­ers heard.

As of Sunday, seven customers had been fined. Another 15 customers were denied access to the transit system for not wearing masks and 23 customers cited medical exemptions to the mask rule.

The mask enforcemen­t campaign started Oct. 9 but the fines started Oct. 13.

Between Oct. 9 and Oct. 13, special constables issued 25 written warnings.

Another 454 customers were told to adjust their masks.

“Operation Mask Up” runs until Friday.

 ?? ERROL MCGIHON ?? Coun. Allan Hubley, chairman of the transit commission, calls the contractor’s delay “shameful.”
ERROL MCGIHON Coun. Allan Hubley, chairman of the transit commission, calls the contractor’s delay “shameful.”

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada