No LRT service on Line 1 this weekend for planned maintenance

An eastbound O-Train pulls in to Rideau Station on the Confederation Line of the Light Rail Transit system in Ottawa, Ont. (Brenda Woods/CTV Ottawa)

Line 1 O-Train service will be offline this weekend.

Planned maintenance occurring on Line 1 this month requires some partial or full interruptions to service for passengers, with most of the work occurring at night or on weekends. Service stopped early the evenings of June 6, 7, and 8, with more days of interruptions planned.

The next planned shutdown takes place this weekend and will affect the whole line.

“The maintenance and Stage 2 East integration activities will continue as planned on June 14 and 15. During the weekend there is no train service on Line 1 and R1 bus service will be running between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations,” said Transit Services general manager Renée Amilcar in a memo Thursday.

The Line 1 east extension is getting closer to completion, with the Transit Committee hearing Thursday that the public is expected to be riding the train east from Blair Station to Trim Station in Orléans before the end of the year.

The maintenance schedule for Line 1 also includes no train service on the entire line between 8 a.m. and noon on June 22 and on June 29, with R1 buses moving transit riders between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations during those times. Amilcar says these interruptions are required for additional adjustments to Line 1 service for Stage 2 East Extension integration work.

A planned early closure on Thursday night did not happen, as Amilcar said work was completed ahead of schedule.

Line 1 service was slated to be offline between uOttawa and Blair stations after 10 p.m. Thursday, with R1 bus service running between Rideau and Blair stations, but instead ran as normal until 1 a.m.

“Since June 6, Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) has been performing annual maintenance activities on O-Train Line 1. They have been able to accelerate some of the work, and as a result the early closure of Line 1 on Thursday, June 12 is no longer required,” Amilcar wrote. “Customers have been advised through all our communication channels that Line 1 service will continue to operate until the normal closing time.”