Safety audit on O-Train Line 1 approved, but delayed until after full service restored

A City Councillor is calling on the City of Ottawa to conduct an audit of safety issues on line one of Ottawa's light rail system.

A safety audit looking at issues raised by the spalling problem on O-Train Line 1 vehicles was approved by Ottawa City Council on Wednesday but won’t begin until after full service on the line is restored.

In January, dozens of Line 1 trains were pulled out of service after the new issue was discovered on several cartridge bearing assemblies. Spalling is when the surface of a hard material starts to flake or chip, weakening the material over time, which can cause cracks. If not addressed, it could lead to an axle bearing failure, staff say.

Coun. David Hill moved a motion Wednesday directing OC Transpo’s chief safety officer to conduct an audit into the safety concerns that resulted in Line 1 Trains being removed from operation; however, the motion was amended to move the timeline of the audit until after Line 1 service is fully restored. Currently, there is no timeline for that to happen.

• Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters

The motion, which was approved unanimously, says the audit should be presented to the Transit Committee no later than four months after it begins. The motion originally called for the audit to be presented no later than the end of June.

With the timeline amended, the motion now says that if full service is not expected to be restored by the end of September, staff are directed to provide a report to the Auditor General and to Council that identifies the projected full service completion timeline, all known issues regarding the Line 1 technical complications, and explain the most current information.

On Friday, Transit Services general manager Troy Charter said 21 light rail vehicles were available for service on Line 1. Full service requires 26 vehicles — 13 double-car trains — during peak periods. The line has been running with single-car service since the spalling issue was identified.

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Speaking on CTV Your Morning Ottawa, Coun. Jeff Leiper said the audit is meant to provide transparency to the public.

“There’s no harm whatsoever in doing an audit. There is an ongoing investigation into what happened,” he said. “. I do want to keep in mind, though, the problem was found because the process worked. The trains were pulled off the line before there was ever any safety problem. So, the processes that they have in place for the trains are working.”

Coun. Marty Carr told CTV Your Morning Ottawa the situation with the transit system is frustrating.

“We’re able, more or less, to operate every three to four minutes with single-car trains. The problem is there’s not a really big margin for error if anything happens right now,” she said. “I think that’s our biggest challenge. Hopefully things will speed up a little bit so that by the spring, when we’ve got higher ridership, we’ve got those trains in place to get the city moving again.”

Charter said on Friday that Rideau Transit Group (RTG) has provided more technical information about the spalling issue on Line 1, that must be analyzed by OC Transpo staff and independent experts.