O-Train east extension still waiting on spalling issue; west extension launch delayed to summer 2027

Trim LRT station in Ottawa on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)

Councillors on the Transit Committee received updates on the eastern and western extensions of the O-Train on Thursday, including new details on milestones reached in the west, while most attention is focused on the soon-to-be ready east extension.

Interim general manager of Transit Services Troy Charter says the city remains on track to open the east extension of O-Train Line 1 in the second quarter of this year, sometime between April and June, but the issue with spalling on the Alstom Citadis Spirit trains that run on the line is still unresolved.

The east extension, which adds five stations and 12 kilometres of track between Blair Station and Trim Road in Orléans, achieved substantial completion last week, a milestone that permits staff to start the critical trial running step. The start of that step, however, remains unclear, as the line continues to deal with a deficit of available light rail vehicles.

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In late January, flaking was found on parts of the axle bearing assemblies of some trains, known as spalling, which prompted an immediate removal of most vehicles from service for inspection. To date, 21 trains have been made available for service, but staff need 49 to conduct the trial running.

Staff say work on a revised containment plan for Line 1 remains ongoing. Once the revised containment plan is finalized, a technical briefing will be held to explain the plan and the restoration of service.

But staff could not provide a date for that technical briefing when councillors asked on Thursday.

Charter said his focus is on finalizing the containment plan, which will allow for the return of the full fleet and the lifting of the safety note that currently requires trains with axles that have more than 100,000 kilometres of mileage to be pulled from service for inspection.

“We’re making good progress and I think we are close to being able to schedule that date,” he said. “We need to finalize that containment plan in order to schedule dates. I know it’s frustrating because this has been lasting for a long time, but we are getting very, very close.”

West extension pushed back

Councillors also heard that the launch of the western extension of LRT, which will run to Moodie on one line and Algonquin College on another, is now not expected until the third quarter of 2027, sometime between July and September.

A projected timeline presented to committee members showed that the handover from the constructor to the city is expected in the second quarter of 2027, approximately six months later than what councillors were told in September 2025.

Preparations for opening are now expected in Q3 2027, as opposed to Q1.

“This change reflects updated planning that incorporates the remaining scope of work including ongoing construction, system installation, integration, and extensive testing, which is required before the extensions can safely and reliably enter our service,” said director of rail construction Richard Holder.

“Our team continues to work with the builder to explore ways of advancing this schedule.”

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During a presentation to the committee, staff said all 36 kilometres of track had been installed and installation of the overhead power system was 65 per cent complete, including all 2.9 km in the tunnels on the western extension.

Algonquin Station had also received its occupancy permit, making it the first of 25 permits that need to be obtained.

The next update on the west extension is expected in June, Holder said.