Ottawa-Carleton Regional Transit Commission 1101-1134
OC Transpo 1101-1134 are Alstom Citadis Spirit light rail vehicles that are used on the Confederation Line.
History
Alstom is part of the consortium that was awarded the contract to design, build, finance, and maintain the new Confederation Line. They joined the consortium after the initial rolling stock supplier, CAF, was disqualified by the city.[1] The City of Ottawa is the first to operate the Citadis Spirit LRV, which has been designed by Alstom for the North American environment, especially colder parts of the continent.
The LRVs began construction in Hornell, New York. Final assembly took place in Ottawa at the newly constructed Belfast Yard, which is the Confederation Line's maintenance and storage facility. By the summer of 2016, construction of the first vehicle was well underway. On November 16, 2016, the nearly-completed LRV was delivered to the Belfast Yard. By the end of the month, OC Transpo had begun low speed testing of the LRV between Blair and Cyrville stations.[2] Delivery of the remaining LRVs, as well as extensive testing, continued through 2018 and 2019.
By February 2019, it was reported that issues with the LRVs played a part in delaying the opening of the Confederation Line. Only 14 vehicles were complete or ready for testing along the entire 12.5-kilometre line. Most of the LRVs had been fitted with the Thales SelTrac Communications Based Train Control system, however some were not ready for testing. Ten LRVs also did not have the system installed yet.[3] By early March 2019, progress on the vehicles had been made. Twenty-four LRVs were certified for use. However, Rideau Transit Group advised the City that it would not be able to meet the handover deadline of March 31, 2019.[4] Problems with doors and brakes continued to delay the project.[5] Mayor Jim Watson advised that as of July 7, 2019, Alstom delivered all 34 LRVs and that a new handover date was set for August 16.[6]
On July 2, 2020, cracks were found on two wheels of a LRV during routine maintenance. Cracks were later discovered on more vehicles. Ottawa and lstom determined that an improperly aligned screw caused undue stress on a part of the wheel producing the small cracks. Alstom replaced all wheels on the 34 LRVs.[7]
On August 8, 2021, an out-of-service train partially derailed over a switch when an axle failed. Another derailment occurred on September 19, 2021, this time with an in-service train. Rideau Transit Group believed that a fault in the axle assembly was to blame. Alstom claimed that "non-compliant" track was actually what contributed to the derailment.[1] In August 2023, OC Transpo General Manager Renée Amilcar told City Council that the Citadis Spirit was designed for European tracks where restraining rails are not used. Wear and tear on the LRV's hub assemblies caused when the wheels rub against the restraining rails was cited as one reason for the past derailments. The restraining rails would have to be adjusted by millimetres to ensure there is no contact with the train. Alstom would redesign the bearing hub assembly which would be replaced every 65,000 kilometres.[8]
Details
All 34 trains were assigned names selected by a public naming contest.[9] The names are displayed alongside each train's fleet number.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Alstom was 'pushing the limit' of what a light rail car can do, inquiry hears." CBC, 17 June 2022
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ [4]
- ↑ [5]
- ↑ "Improperly aligned screw to blame for cracked wheels on Ottawa's light rail trains." CityNews, 16 September 2020
- ↑ "Ottawa Euro-designed LRT vehicles not built for city's U.S. style tracks." Ottawa Citzen, 09 August 2023
- ↑ Name the Trains Contest Winners retrieved on 2019-03-02