No timeline for restoring regular train service on O-Train Line 1 after spalling issue discovered

OC Transpo says a lot of work is required to make sure trains on Line 1 are safe to operate, meaning reduced service for awhile. CTV’s Leah Larocque reports.

OC Transpo staff have laid out an extensive plan to rectify the newly discovered spalling issue on O-Train Line 1 that has caused dozens of train cars to be pulled from service, but it remains unclear when riders can expect a return to regular operations.

Staff held a technical briefing Tuesday to explain the new issue and describe what efforts are being made to deal with it.

Rideau Transit Group (RTG) discovered the issue last week during an inspection. To date, spalling has been found on eight cartridge bearing assemblies (CBAs) on the Alstom Citadis Spirit trains that run on Line 1. Twenty-four CBAs have so far been inspected.

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As of Tuesday, OC Transpo said there are 18 light rail vehicles available for Line 1 service. The line is currently running with 15 trains every three to four minutes during peak periods Monday to Friday, using a mix of single and double-car trains.

Normally, peak service requires 26 light rail vehicles, running in 13 double-car trains.

“I wish I did have a timeline for you. I don’t,” said interim general manager of Transit Services Troy Charter. “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. Ultimately… we need to be confident the vehicles are safe to run in service.”

Frequency during peak periods was increased from the usual five minutes to help deal with crowding on single-car trains and platforms and it will be every six to seven minutes during off-peak periods. OC Transpo says a change in operations will be made when RTG is able to consistently provide more vehicles for revenue service.

Charter told councillors at Tuesday’s technical briefing that it takes approximately one day to inspect four CBAs. There are 20 CBAs on each light rail vehicle. Additionally, seven CBAs are undergoing laboratory testing and analysis and additional CBAs from different vehicles are required to undergo a teardown for further analysis.

Charter said that is also affecting the return of trains.

“We want to get more trains available for service, look at trains that have one axle that needs to be replaced, but at the same time, we also need to advance the what’s happening, what’s the root cause analysis,” he said. “So, there’s been some back and forth and discussions about that in trying to balance those two priorities.”

Charter also said it’s too early to determine how this latest issue will affect the launch of the Stage 2 east extension from Blair Station to Trim.

Action plan

Staff laid out a three-part action plan Tuesday, requiring RTG determine measures to contain the problem and determine long-term solutions.

In the immediate, staff say RTG has not provided the appropriate information showing that containment measures can detect spalling. Once brought forward, OC Transpo and its outside partner Transit Research Associates (TRA) will review RTG’s information.

In the medium term, RTG is asked to provide a complete risk assessment, provide validation and verification that proposed containment measures can detect spalling, and install those detection systems. The long-term requires a full root cause analysis, but it’s not known how long that might take.

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“The risk assessment must account for the frequency and the possible range of severity of the spalling issue, in accordance with RTG’s and RTM’s Safety Management Systems, as well as OC Transpo’s Safety Management System, good industry practice, and applicable law,” OC Transpo said in a presentation.

According to OC Transpo, RTG plans to hire a consultant to provide additional expertise on bearings and monitoring techniques. In addition, experts from Europe on safety and risk management have been engaged, OC Transpo said.

What is spalling?

Spalling is when the surface of a hard material starts to flake or chip, overtime it weakens the material and can crack. If not addressed, it could lead to an axle bearing failure, staff say.

The City of Ottawa has pulled all vehicles with CBAs that have 100,000 kilometers or more mileage from service until the affected CBAs are replaced or until processes are in place to detect spalling.

So far, spalling has only been detected on CBAs that have more than 100,000 km of mileage, but the rate of deterioration on the fleet has not been evaluated.