No additional Line 1 trains expected to be available next week as spalling fix ongoing

Passengers pack the platform at O-Train Line 1's Lyon Station on Jan. 27, 2026, after a stopped train farther down the line disrupted service. (Kristy Cameron/Newstalk 580 CFRA)

The head of OC Transpo says there will be no notable changes to service on O-Train Line 1 next week as no additional trains are expected to be available as staff work on replacing affect vehicles due to the recently discovered spalling issue.

Line 1 has been running at reduced capacity since last week when spalling — flaking and chipping on the cartridge bearing assembly — was discovered. Dozens of trains were pulled from service for inspection, and most have yet to be returned to the active line.

This week, 18 train vehicles were available for service, with 41 vehicles stopped. Fifteen trains ran during peak periods, with three set aside as spares. To deal with crowding on platforms and single-car trains, OC Transpo boosted train frequency during peak service hours to every three to four minutes.

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In a weekly update on Friday, interim general manager of Transit Services Troy Charter said those numbers are not expected to change next week.

“Next week, customers can expect Line 1 operations to remain at three- to four-minute frequency during peak service. OC Transpo anticipates 18 trains will be available as RTG continues to develop a CBA replacement strategy that balances increasing fleet availability with ongoing maintenance and inspection requirements,” Charter said.

“We continue to work through all streams of our action plan to restore Line 1 capacity for customers, and additional meetings began this week with RTG and Alstom’s external experts and the OC Transpo team. These discussions will continue over the coming days.”

Peak service usually requires 26 light rail vehicles, running as 13 double-car trains every five minutes.

The reduced capacity has led to large crowds being reported at times at some stations and trains being cramped with passengers. Charter said OC Transpo staff have been sent to “key locations during the busiest periods” to assist in crowd management and more on-board announcements are being made to inform passengers about the adjusted service.

During a technical briefing on Wednesday, Charter said there is no timeline for a return to regular service.

“What I can assure everyone is we’re working as best as we can, as hard as we can, as fast as we can to come to a solution in terms of being able to increase the number of vehicles,” he said. “We need to be confident the vehicles are safe to run in service.”

An action plan has been developed for Rideau Transit Group, and Charter said OC Transpo would hold Rideau Transit Group accountable for the reduced service through the contract with the City of Ottawa.

1,530 cancelled bus trips last week

Charter said the week of Jan. 18 to 24 showed signs of improvement in bus service delivery compared to earlier in the month, with 1,530 cancelled trips out of 45,342 scheduled trips. The week prior saw 2,330 cancelled trips. There were 2,768 trip cancellations the week of Jan. 4–10.

“While metrics are generally trending in a positive direction, we remain focused on the work required to meet our targets for bus availability and service delivery,” Charter wrote.

A lack of mechanics to repair the aging fleet of diesel buses and a delay in the delivery of zero-emission buses are some of the primary reasons OC Transpo has given for the cancelled trips.

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In his latest update, Charter said that mechanical breakdowns accounted for 313 trip cancellations, traffic collisions and other on-street incidents accounted for 431 cancelled trips, a lack of available drivers resulted in 386 cancelled trips and a lack of available buses led to 400 cancelled trips.

However, OC Transpo has also reduced the number of weekly planned trips to account for the lack of available buses.

As of Jan. 12, OC Transpo has been delivering 255 fewer trips as part of a temporary schedule adjustment. Charter said these trips would return to the schedule when fleet availability improves.

An average of 494 buses were available each weekday for the week of Jan. 18 to 24. OC Transpo typically requires 520 buses per weekday but adjusted that figure down to 500 due to fleet availability pressures.

Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower, chair of the city’s Transit Committee, told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron that he’s not happy with the level of service OC Transpo is delivering.

“I’m glad that it’s better than it was during that first week of January when we had six per cent of trips that were undelivered. That was awful,” he said. “But any trip cancelled, it’s someone who’s waiting in the cold... late for work, late for an appointment, late for a test at school. So, it’s not acceptable. And we’ve got to see that number getting better and better every week.”