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Ottawa Transit Developments

lrt's friend said:
At this point, the media sometimes is under reporting the problems. I am sorry but this is not normal delays. When they have not been able to run the originally planned 15 trains on even one day since the system opened on September 14th, there are problems.

I did a survey on the Ottawa board, and when the Confederation LIne is running with enough trains to meet demand, most have been very pleased with the service. However, in the last two weeks, we have been short on the minimum number of trains every day requiring downtown bus service to operate. Users during peak periods are getting fed up with substandard service and trains that cannot be kept in service.
Click to expand...

While I do agree some of the earlier complaints were a bit overblown, missing more than 40% of the fleet is way more than normal problems every system hits. The only thing comparable is that Edmonton once lost a similar number of trains due to a damaged pole hitting every train that past it.
 
Kyle Campbell said:
While I do agree some of the earlier complaints were a bit overblown, missing more than 40% of the fleet is way more than normal problems every system hits. The only thing comparable is that Edmonton once lost a similar number of trains due to a damaged pole hitting every train that past it.
Click to expand...
But there's nothing similarly wrong (as far as we know) with the Ottawa LRT. Why are these problems happening?
I know about the brake problem. Why do these things happen here?
I want to ask questions to OC and the city. Why did we go for a train that's untested in winter weather? Why are the switches faulty? Why are the steel on the wheels so weak? Why are the doors broken? Who agreed to the 30 year deal, instead of a renew-based contract? Why are so many trains out of service? Why didn't we order more trains?
I know I'm gripping, but I think these are legitimate questions that should be asked.
 
Tuscani01 said:
It's interesting that the train itself seems to be the common issue between Ottawa and Kitchener-Waterloo. It's not like Bombardier and Alstom are new to building trains. Why do these seem to be issues for both companies?

www.therecord.com

Ion train defects delay higher-frequency LRT service in Waterloo, Kitchener

'We need those trains in for repair,' transit director says.
www.therecord.com www.therecord.com
Click to expand...

There are differences in regulations between trams, streetcars, light rail vehicles, and tram trains between Europe, North America, Asia, etc.. Some are collision requirements, passenger safety, manufacturing requirements, etc..
 
Tuscani01 said:
It's interesting that the train itself seems to be the common issue between Ottawa and Kitchener-Waterloo. It's not like Bombardier and Alstom are new to building trains. Why do these seem to be issues for both companies?

www.therecord.com

Ion train defects delay higher-frequency LRT service in Waterloo, Kitchener

'We need those trains in for repair,' transit director says.
www.therecord.com www.therecord.com
Click to expand...

Both the ION and Ottawa are launch partners for these specific train models. Ottawa is the first for the Citadis and Kitchener the first for the Flexity Freedom.

Just like new car models, there are teething issues, even for a car maker like GM, who has been making cars for decades.

We just by chance have had a lot of new vehicles launch in Ontario, including the Flexity Outlook streetcar.

Hopefully the teething issues will be worked out with both of the vehicles make their way to Toronto.

Its also why I think we should order more streetcars from Bombardier and not another manufacturer.
 
W. K. Lis said:
There are differences in regulations between trams, streetcars, light rail vehicles, and tram trains between Europe, North America, Asia, etc.. Some are collision requirements, passenger safety, manufacturing requirements, etc..
Click to expand...

In particular, huge differences in the exterior cladding and materials used in the undercarriages to compensate for the insane amount of road salt used in North America.
 
tmlittle said:
In particular, huge differences in the exterior cladding and materials used in the undercarriages to compensate for the insane amount of road salt used in North America.
Click to expand...

The biggest difference between the Flexities and Spirit and their European counterparts is apparently wiring. The standards are quite different, so while they look similar to European models they are a major redesign in both cases.

Ottawa's other trains are actual European spec models, that was fine because they were diesel and running under a transport Canada exemption.

The stadler trains we're getting at least won't be a launch model, they are already used in Texas
 
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Kyle Campbell said:
The stadtler trains we're getting at least won't be a launch model, they are already used in Texas
Click to expand...
If I'm not mistaken, the only difference between your typical European FLIRT and the ones that debuted in Texas are structural to comply with the FRA alternative-compliance regulations, and that they were built in Stadler's US plant.

Ottawa's will have different a interior layout (we don't need on-board washrooms after all) and will be manufactured in Switzerland with final assembly in Ottawa, so... I would hope we don't run into serious problems.
 
Twitter posts.jpg


I just wanted to let members know, that some of us read this forum at work and some workplaces block certain social media sites. Posts from twitter, Facebook and others will just show as screen captured above and therefore without context, some will have no idea what has been posted. I present this as more of an FYI, than a complaint of how members post on this forum. My apologies to @Allandale25 for using his posts as my examples.
 
^ Thanks for the feedback. I was mostly doing it because it's so much faster that way. I can certainly try to do a screenshot in addition to the embedded media link for future posts. Thanks for letting me know.
 
The trains seem so roomy this week now that they are back to to full fleet. Now that we've been subjected to "Tokyo Subway" levels of crowding, it really does prove some of the earlier launch complaints about crowding were over blown.

They're still running the S1 express busses to Hurdman, Tunney's and Blair. I think that service should just keep going for a few months, especially since those busses were the dedicated R1 fleet that had been busy sitting around on standby. Might as well get some use out of them.
 
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