Some city councillors are shocked Ottawa taxpayers will be footing the $2 million bill to install heat tracing on the overhead catenary system on O-Train Line 1 to prevent freezing rain build up in the future because the technology is not included in the contract with Rideau Transit Group. Council approved a motion from Coun. Shawn Menard on Wednesday to spend $9 million on a series of measures to compensate transit riders Part of the plan includes two free weekends on OC Transpo in the fall. The motion recommends spending $2 million to install heat tracing on the Line 1 overhead catenary system to “avoid future multi-day LRT shutdowns caused by freezing rain episodes in the winter.” Ottawa will dip into the Transit Capital Reserve to fund the cost of installing heat tracing technology. Coun. Jeff Leiper told council it was galling taxpayers, and not Rideau Transit Group, are covering the cost of installing the heat tracing technology. “I just can’t believe we are going to spend $2 million on something that they should be putting in here to ensure that they can deliver the service that they’ve committed to,” Leiper said. Leiper asked staff, “Why are they not installing the heat tracing at their own expense? Why are we not able to compel them to?” Transit services general manager Rick Leary told councillors that installing the heat tracing technology was not included in the contract, so the city must cover the cost. Leary said Rideau Transit Maintenance has agreed to cover maintenance costs for the duration of the contract if the city would install the equipment. Coun. Riley Brockington agreed the city should not be paying for the technology. “If it’s silent in the contract, and obviously that’s an omission that we need to address going forward,” Brockington said. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe asked staff if the reason the city must cover the $2 million cost is because it’s not in the project agreement. “That’s correct,” Leary said, confirming if it was in the project agreement, the city could compel them to install it. The O-Train was out of service for more than four days after the overhead catenary system broke near Lees Station during a freezing rainstorm on March 11. A train experienced a power loss near Lees Station during a severe storm and the train line was seen sparking and snapping. A section of the line snapped at Blair Station two days later, and the system remained offline while repairs were completed. A report for the Transit Committee meeting in May looked at several options to improve reliability during extreme weather events, including the heat tracing system. Staff said a heat tracing system could be installed along the overhead catenary infrastructure between Lees and Hurdman stations, which has been affected several times by freezing rain. “Proactively mitigating ice buildup on critical power delivery components would reduce the likelihood of weather-related delays and improve overall system resilience during winter conditions,” staff said. “In addition to improving day-to-day operational reliability, such an investment would contribute to increased customer confidence and support the long-term sustainability of the transit network in the face of increasingly variable climate conditions.” The report in May said the heat tracing technology could be installed by the winter of 2027, subject to design, procurement and construction timelines.
