Here we go again

To say that Ottawa’s light rail transit system has been plagued by mechanical issues is the understatement of the year.

In August 2021, a train derailment near the Tunney’s Pasture Station shut the system down for several days. A month later, there was a second derailment, this time near the Tremblay Station.

Both incidents were caused by failures of the cartridge assembly connecting the train’s wheels and axle to the drive train.

And just last July, a third possible derailment was averted when an LRT operator reported an unusual vibration. Upon further inspection it was discovered that the axle hub was on the verge of catastrophic failure.

And those are just mechanical issues. The LRT has been forced to shut down for weather-related issues at least four or five times.

The latest failure which closed the LRT down for nearly two weeks from July 17-30 was caused when excess grease was found on the axle of one of the trains, presumably from the cartridge assembly.

During the shutdown the axle bearings on all 44 LRT vehicles were inspected, with seven needing to be replaced.

It doesn’t exactly instill a whole lot of confidence in a system that is already the butt of numerous jokes.

The only positive news is that the train’s manufacturer Alstom – and not the taxpayer – will shoulder the brunt of the cost of a more permanent fix, although “permanent” in this context is a purely relative term.

In the meantime, Ottawa taxpayers will bear the brunt of the cost of a white elephant that faces a drastic reduction in ridership projections due to the federal government’s decision to let federal government employees work from home.

If you look up the word “boondoggle”, you will see a picture of an empty LRT train rattling down the track.

And now Premier Doug Ford says that there will be no funding for Phase 3 of LRT (which would take riders out to Kanata, Stittsville and Barrhaven) to get built until all the existing problems are fixed, which makes perfect sense if you think that there won’t be any more problems down the road.

Part of me is not sure whether to laugh or cry. I’m beginning to think Ottawa’s LRT system is not only plagued, but cursed. Remember the sink hole that formed as they were building the Rideau Centre Station?

Some witch has placed a curse on the LRT and Ottawa transit users are being forced to pay the price.

While Alstom and the Rideau Transit Group are absorbing the costs of repairing the trains, they should think about spending a few bucks to lift whatever the curse has been placed on them.

– Fred Sherwin, editor