Extra bus service continues while Ottawa LRT train shortage persists

OC Transpo is continuing with extended special bus service on Friday as Ottawa’s LRT system continues running with fewer trains than are needed.

A series of separate infrastructure and power issues on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning left the Confederation Line with a serious train shortage for all of Thursday, as a heavy snowfall blanketed the national capital.

As few as six trains were in service midday on Thursday. There are supposed to be 13 trains on the tracks to meet rider demand during peak travel periods on weekdays, although OC Transpo has a total fleet of 17 trains in the LRT system.

On Friday, the head of OC Transpo reported that eight trains were launched for Friday’s morning rush hour. In an update shortly before 7:30 a.m., John Manconi said a ninth train had been deployed.

To compensate for the shortage, OC Transpo has once again extended the hours of supplemental bus service that has been running every morning and afternoon rush hour since the five-month-old LRT system suffered another major train shortage in January.

In the morning, those supplemental buses (S1 buses) take riders directly into downtown from three major transfer stations: Tunney’s Pasture in the west; and Hurdman and Blair stations in the east.

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