Ottawa Transit Developments

[Kyle Campbell]

If they had gone high floor, it wouldn't have changed the capacity of the system, they would have scaled down the platforms to 80m and shortened the trains. The confed line is very comparable to Skytrain in terms of capacity.

In hindsight it still probably would have been a better choice, but as mentioned many pages back they were originally considering more traditional lrt like running without full grade seperation for phase 2 when phase 1 was originally designed.

Now we join the very small ranks of low floor grade seperated systems (note my deft avoidence of launching another "what's a metro" debate ). Other examples are Sevilla Spain (which even has platform screen doors) and U6 in Vienna

All being said though, it's definitely the heaviest "light" rail system around, considering it'll be carrying almost 2.5 times the ridership of the Sheppard Subway on day 1, it's a real stretch that it should have been LRT at all in any incarceration

The counter point is our Line 1 will have less than 20% of the TTCs Line 1 ridership, and even the most optimistic population growth estimates for Ottawa don't see us exceeding the confed lines max capacity within this century. We're big enough for rail transit, but not that big.

 

[robmausser]

I think they made a good choice. The Alstoms are huge in terms of a low floor LRT.

It gives them flexibility later on in terms of wanting to possibly elevate (lighter than a subway train, less expensive for supports) and ROW street running etc if they want to.

Look around the world people, the days of heavy rail subway trains is over. Its antiquated and unnecessarily heavy tech, and its time we stop our lust of it here in Toronto. Unless an extension of existing lines, almost every city in the world is building with High Floor or Low Floor Light Rail, or skipping heavy rail subway tech all the way to EMU traditional train tech aka regional rail.

 

[Kyle Campbell]

I think they made a good choice. The Alstoms are huge in terms of a low floor LRT.

It gives them flexibility later on in terms of wanting to possibly elevate (lighter than a subway train, less expensive for supports) and ROW street running etc if they want to.

Look around the world people, the days of heavy rail subway trains is over. Its antiquated and unnecessarily heavy tech, and its time we stop our lust of it here in Toronto. Unless an extension of existing lines, almost every city in the world is building with High Floor or Low Floor Light Rail, or skipping heavy rail subway tech all the way to EMU traditional train tech aka regional rail.

At the moment, 2 stations are elevated (Bayview and Hurdman), 4 are on the surface but grade seperated (Cyrville, Blair, Pimisi and Tremblay), 4 are underground (St Laurent, Rideau, Lyon, Pimisi) and one is trenched (Tunney's Pasture).

Stage 2 has 3 additional underground stations (Cleary, New Orchard, and Baseline), 4 trenched stations (Dominion, Westboro, Pinecrest and Queensview) and 4 at surface (grade separated) stations (Bayshore, Moodie, Iris, and Lincoln Fields)

Stage 3 actually features a long elevated section in Kanata with 4 elevated stations in a row:

http://app05.ottawa.ca/sirepub/cache/2/jc1ow5aohfhke4e2q022y2h5/52541908262019064958938.PDF

 

[jamincan]

Stage 3 actually features a long elevated section in Kanata with 4 elevated stations in a row:

http://app05.ottawa.ca/sirepub/cache/2/jc1ow5aohfhke4e2q022y2h5/52541908262019064958938.PDF

Do you have another link, or information about how to access the file? This link seems to give a 404. (I'm guessing it's linked to your session somehow and now expired.)

 

[Kyle Campbell]

Try this one, has links to all the docs

Ottawa LRT Stage 3 maps

As the Stage 3 plan is neither complete nor funded, there isn’t a lot of definitive detail. UPDATE 2023-07-20: I wouldn’t be too optimistic about getting funding any time soon. CTV News…

manifestomultilinko2.wordpress.com

 

[kEiThZ]

Stage 3 actually features a long elevated section in Kanata with 4 elevated stations in a row:
http://app05.ottawa.ca/sirepub/cache/2/jc1ow5aohfhke4e2q022y2h5/52541908262019064958938.PDF

I am going to guess they'll find a way to reduce the amount of grade separation in this phase. There's no way the city can afford to spend that much on grade separation in Kanata and Stittsville, two suburbs with some of the lowest transit ridership in the city.

 

[Kyle Campbell]

I am going to guess they'll find a way to reduce the amount of grade separation in this phase. There's no way the city can afford to spend that much on grade separation in Kanata and Stittsville, two suburbs with some of the lowest transit ridership in the city.

It's at least 10 years out. The sensible thing would to simply go at grade out there like Ion, but I'm sure the queue of "second class citizens" would start up, and Ottawa has no political appetite for railway crossings of any kind. They even plan on spending the money to grade seperate a few dusty, barely used dirt roads in the south end in Stage 2.

 

[Sandpit]

I mean, Ottawa did go through this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Ottawa_bus–train_crash

 

[lrt's friend]

Just build a deck over it?

That will cost a fortune.

 

[kEiThZ]

Ottawa has no political appetite for railway crossings of any kind. They even plan on spending the money to grade seperate a few dusty, barely used dirt roads in the south end in Stage 2.

A lot of this is contractually obligated, to enable certain levels of service, as per my understanding. In any event, crossings are less of an issue that elevating the line for entire stretches through suburbia.

It's at least 10 years out. The sensible thing would to simply go at grade out there like Ion, but I'm sure the queue of "second class citizens" would start up

Ottawa just doesn't have this problem. There's no history of operating a certain type of rail service. And there's no linear transfer points, except from existing Transitway bus services. If you're a Kanata or Stittsville resident, I would assume that you might care far, fare more about having to transfer at Moodie or Baseline than the level of grade separation beyond.

 

[Kyle Campbell]

I mean, Ottawa did go through this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Ottawa_bus–train_crash

That does seem to be why everything must be grade seperated now, even this spot right here in the middle of nowhere

45°17'49.8"N 75°37'39.3"W · Osgoode Link Pathway, Gloucester, ON, Canada

Osgoode Link Pathway, Gloucester, ON, Canada

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[drum118]

That will cost a fortune.

Not if you can build something on it

 

[drum118]

That will cost a fortune.

Not if you can build something on it

 

[Kyle Campbell]

A lot of this is contractually obligated, to enable certain levels of service, as per my understanding. In any event, crossings are less of an issue that elevating the line for entire stretches through suburbia.



Ottawa just doesn't have this problem. There's no history of operating a certain type of rail service. And there's no linear transfer points, except from existing Transitway bus services. If you're a Kanata or Stittsville resident, I would assume that you might care far, fare more about having to transfer at Moodie or Baseline than the level of grade separation beyond.

There would be a history by the time this started, and an Ottawa pastime is to compare and contrast what each of the 3 big suburbs (Kanata, Barrhaven and Orleans) gets from City Hall in relation to each other. It wouldn't reach Scarborough levels of complaining, but somebody will definitely whine that Kanata isn't getting what the others are.

 

[drum118]

That will cost a fortune.

Not if you can build something on it