East-end residents excited as tests bring LRT trains to Trim

East-end Ottawa residents are eagerly waiting for the new LRT service to get rolling, as a major test unrolls this weekend. CTV’s Kimberely Johnson reports.

East-end Ottawa residents are getting a chance to see the LRT in action this weekend as an important service test rolls out.

It’s a major step towards fully opening the extended line to passengers.

On Saturday and Sunday, O-Train Line 1 is closed to commuters, with the city running 23 trains continuously from Tunney’s Pasture Station to Trim Station to test the integration of the eastern extension with the rest of the line.

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Watching the trains roll through Jeanne d’Arc Station is something Jake Ting is happy to see from his bus stop nearby.

“I can’t wait for it to open,” he says. “Honestly, we just actually moved to the neighborhood, and we thought it would kind of be ready by now, but it’s fine.”

He says he works downtown during the week and says taking the LRT straight through will shave upwards of 20 minutes off his commute.

“It’s about a ten-minute walk from my house to the Jeanne d’Arc Station here, and, I can’t wait,” he says. “Yeah, I mean, I have to go downtown anyway, so let’s make it as easy as possible.”

Jean-Marc LaFreniere lives in the east end and came out to see the new line in action at the Convent Glen Station on Saturday morning.

“Fantastic, I think,” he says of watching the trains enter and leave the station. “I think we’ve all been waiting a long time for this.”

He says, once open, it will be a big addition to the area.

“We still have a two-lane highway coming here,” he says. “Same thing 25 years ago. So, we need to LRT to ease traffic on the 174.”

The performance test is the second of four milestones that must be successfully completed before trial running starts, and the line opens to passengers. The city says opening the extension by the end of this year is achievable, but no firm opening date has been given.

An east-end councillor says he’s been monitoring the trains speed throughout the morning.

“We want to make sure that obviously the spine, part one, connects to part two. And to be able to do that, they had to close the entire segment,” Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney explains. “They’re running at different intervals. So, it could be three-minute times, four-minute times, five-minute times. They have a whole schedule throughout the day.”

With no official opening date set, memories of past LRT issues have Sheri Draycott feeling hesitant.

“I hope this gets open at some point,” she says. “Maybe this year, maybe next year. Who knows?”

Draycott says it’s best to wait as long as needed though.

“If you take your time with a lot of these things yes its going to be a big pain but it’ll be worth it,” she explains.