‘The train kind of lurched forward and came to an abrupt stop’: Riders describe experience aboard stalled LRT train

OC Transpo users had to disembark and walk through the snow after a train stalled during rush hour. CTV’s Leah Larocque reports on the latest transit incident.

Passengers on an OC Transpo train were forced to evacuate and walk along snow-covered tracks after the train abruptly stalled near Pimisi Station, raising renewed concerns about the reliability of Ottawa’s public transit system.

“As soon as we hit the outdoor section, the train kind of lurched forward and came to an abrupt stop,” said Beth Leonard, who was on the train when it stalled. “It felt unsafe, and it was.”

Passengers immediately reacted with confusion and concern, waiting for transit staff to provide updates. The initial announcement informed riders that the train was fully stalled and that crews would attempt to restore service as quickly as possible.

Despite those efforts, the train remained immobilized, and officials decided to evacuate passengers.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Leonard said. “We’ve been having so many issues for a long time. LRT, buses—transit service has been in the news constantly. It just feels like another nail in the coffin of a really terrible service that our mayor should honestly be embarrassed about and taking much faster action on.”

When the evacuation was announced, passengers were instructed to leave the train and walk along the tracks.

“They did a good job identifying people with mobility issues and anyone who needed assistance,” Leonard noted. “There were a lot of staff on hand. But it was still a matter of getting ready to tromp through the snow.”

Passengers walked directly on the tracks before stepping up onto the platform.

The incident highlights ongoing frustrations with OC Transpo’s reliability, particularly during winter months.

Robyn Farrow was also on the train.

“It just halted to a stop, like, really fast. Kind of like if someone were to slam on the brakes on the highway, it was crowded because the down to one train car full of people,” she said.

It ultimately took Farrow more than three hours to get home Tuesday night.

“I think we were really frustrated. I was relieved to get out of the car because it was quite claustrophobic to be stuck in there with all the people. I was more frustrated with the fact that they got us to disembark and evacuate, and there’s probably a couple hundred of us, and then there was no bus or train to pick us up, so we all had to figure out how to get home from there.”

When asked whether riders deserve compensation, the response was clear.

“Absolutely,” Leonard said. “Transit should be free until they sort this out. It’s not fair for riders to pay for a very expensive mistake we didn’t choose. Fares are over $4, and people are paying for a service that doesn’t work.”

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The incident adds to mounting pressure on city officials to address persistent transit disruptions as Ottawa residents continue to rely on a system many say is failing them.

However, Coun. Riley Brockington says the transit service is already financially strapped.

“I think that’s a conversation and council is going to have this winter if there are savings.”

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“The challenge is OC Transpo really has no money. There’s no surplus funds. They’ve ran deficit budgets for many years, particularly at the beginning of COVID,” Brockington says. “So, while there’s probably, unanimous agreement around the council table that our passengers have been impacted and should not be impacted and should be owed something, there isn’t the financial capacity to provide service that will cost millions.”

Brockington says he wants more information about whether the city will be paying the rail maintainer Rideau Transit Group the full cost of the contract because full service is not being delivered.

“If there are savings from not paying RTG the full bill, every month, then I think that’s where there might be some wiggle room to provide some relief to passengers,” he said.