Ottawa residents will see more trains running on the O-Train East Extension between Blair and Trim stations this month, as OC Transpo ramps up “final readiness activities” ahead of trial running. East-West Connectors achieved substantial completion on construction of the O-Train East Extension on March 4, but the 21-day trial running period on the line between Blair Station and Trim Station has been delayed, as OC Transpo and Rideau Transit Maintenance address a spalling issue with the cartridge bearing assembly. In a memo to council Thursday evening, OC Transpo general manager Rick Leary said “work is underway to complete all prerequisites to begin trial running” on the East Extension. “Customers and residents will see an increasing number of out-of-service trains operating between Blair and Trim stations each week,” Leary said. “Running these trains is part of exercising the system, identifying challenges and addressing issues ahead of time, in order to build system reliability for customers. This work is key to building confidence that the system is operating as intended and is ready to move to pre-trial running and trial running.” Leary says a “key part” of the work to prepare for the trial running and opening of the O-Train East Extension is the installation of so-called smart bugs on all Line 1 vehicles to monitor for spalling on the cartridge bearing assemblies. The installation of the conditioning monitoring system “provides near-time monitoring of the cartridge bearing assemblies,” Leary said. “Condition monitoring, in combination with existing safety measures, means more trains are available for daily service.” Approximately 80 per cent of the fleet required for the trial running is equipped with the smart bugs, and Leary says Rideau Transit Maintenance is “on target” to have enough vehicles for trial running by the end of August. “As we work through the installation process for the condition monitoring system, we are also working in conjunction with Rideau Transit Group (RTG) and East-West Connectors, the East Extension constructor, to determine a schedule to begin pre-trial and trial running,” Leary said. As part of the preparations for the 21-day trial running period, Leary says OC Transpo will operate trains along the full Line 1 between Tunney’s Pasture and Trim stations to “ensure new and existing systems are property integrated.” Riders will still ride Line 1 trains between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations, but you will need to disembark the trains at Blair Station before the train heads east. “Passenger information display screens at stations and on trains will show Trim Station as their final destination,” Leary said. Leary will provide an update on the status of the East Extension and trial running to members of the Transit Committee in September. “Later on this year” While Leary won’t say when the O-Train East Extension will open, he suggests riders could be travelling between Blair and Trim stations by the end of the year. “We’re testing it every day. I’m liking what I’m seeing,” Leary said. “We’re doing exactly what we committed to do. Run the vehicles and, you know, find the little knickknacks that have to be adjusted,” Leary told CTV News Ottawa’s Leah Larocque on Tuesday. “I’m hoping that we see something later on this year.”
