City expects big deduction on LRT maintenance fee
The city expects to impose a big financial penalty on its LRT maintenance contractor since the Confederation Line will be unexpectedly off-line for several days.
“As a result of this current service suspension, deductions from (Rideau Transit Maintenance's) monthly payment will be significant,” according to an update sent to council Tuesday by city transportation boss John Manconi.
“While the current Line 1 service suspension continues, the total amount of deductions is yet to be finalized.”
Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) is the maintenance affiliate of the Rideau Transit Group, which built the 12.5-kilometre first leg of the Confederation Line
The company, which has a 30year LRT maintenance agreement with the city, receives monthly payments based on service availability. The city can reduce the payments for scheduled service that wasn't delivered to customers.
LRT workers weren't expected to extricate a disabled train from the eastbound tracks near Tunney's Pasture Station until Wednesday, and the city was still unsure when the $2.1-billion Confederation Line would reopen.
The city and RTM had been enjoying a decent 2021 as the LRT system became more reliable — albeit under with ultralow ridership caused by the pandemic — after a rough launch in fall 2019 and a patchy 2020.
Then came Sunday night.
One of the 10 axles on an Alstom Citadis Spirit left the rails while the double-car train pulled away from the station. There were no customers on the train, which was out of service and en route to the maintenance and storage facility.
All LRT service stopped out of caution while RTM inspects the axle bearing assembly on the entire fleet and gets to the bottom of why that one train axle left the rails.
Workers can't fully examine the axle bearing assembly until the train gets back to the maintenance and storage facility and they can disassemble the part.
But before that can happen, RTM has had to test special equipment used to move the train, which will be a delicate process since workers want to avoid more damage. Another update sent to council from Manconi said workers need to ensure the weight of the train is distributed evenly during transport to the maintenance facility off Belfast Road.
Manconi's memo on Tuesday said staff expect the mandatory fleet inspections would take “several days,” though a previous update said staff were looking at Friday or Saturday for a return of LRT service.
The Transportation Safety Board is also investigating.
Replacement bus service has been available to transit customers who would normally use LRT.
The city regularly monitors RTM's performance when deciding how much money to send to the company. The monthly payments have ranged between $4 million and $5 million before any penalties are applied.
RTM-submitted invoices for service between September and December 2019 are still under review by the city as it tries to align an appropriate payment with the performance at the time. There's also a review happening for invoices related to service between January and March 2020. jwilling@postmedia.com