New temporary speed restrictions imposed on O-Train between Tremblay and Hurdman stations

The O-Train is moving a little slower between Tremblay and Hurdman stations this week following recent maintenance work on the five-year-old light-rail transit line.

OC Transpo says a "minor temporary speed restriction" is in place on a short section of the track between the two stations due to the recent ballast maintenance.

"As a standard practice in the rail industry, temporary speed restrictions are applied after ballast work has been completed and inspected following several days of operation," Katrina Camposarcone-Stubbs, OC Transpo public information officer, said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

"An inspection of this area will take place soon and we anticipate this ballast-related temporary speed restriction will be removed shortly after."

OC Transpo says customers may experience "an increase in travel time of less than one minute" while travelling from end to end on Line 1 due to the speed restrictions.

O-Train Line 1 was closed for three weekends in October and November, as OC Transpo and Rideau Transit Group worked to address rail corrugation on the line and conduct ballast improvement work between Hurdman and Tremblay stations.

Transit Services general manager Renee Amilcar said crews "successfully completed" ballast work between Hurdman and Tremblay stations during the shutdowns.

OC Transpo says Line 1 will be out of service between Rideau and Blair stations on Sunday to complete some of the maintenance work.

"Unfortunately, RTM was not able to complete all of the required rail grinding work," Amilcar said. "We have worked collaboratively with RTM to plan for the completion of this work as soon as possible and with minimal impacts to customers."

Temporary speed restrictions were implemented on the curves of the O-Trian Line in July 2022, following a recommendation from Alstom.  According to a memo to the Transit Commission in September, the temporary speed restrictions call for speeds to be 10 km/h lower than the designed speed on several sections of the track around Tremblay and Hurdman stations.

The designed speed ranges on O-Train Line 1 range from 35 km/h to 80 km/h depending on if the train is navigating through a curve or travelling in a straight line between stations.