Ottawa O-Train

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The O-Train was introduced in 2001 as a pilot project for light-rail service in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, which had long depended exclusively on busways for its high-grade transit service (see Ottawa Rapid Transit). The present line runs north-south on a railway line purchased by the city, from Bayview to Greenboro, a distance of approximately 8 km. It is entirely isolated from road traffic and not shared with other trains, though the trains must occasionally stop for VIA Rail Ottawa–Toronto passenger trains or Ottawa Central Railway freight trains to pass along intersecting tracks.

Various explanations for the system’s name have been suggested, however, it was first put forth by copywriter Tom Gerylo, formerly of Acart Communications, an Ottawa advertising agency that boasts OC Transpo as one of their clients. The name O-Train was based on the classic Duke Ellington signature tune Take the A-Train. It survived an internal OC-Transpo naming competition and was adopted soon after.

1 Pilot project
2 Future plans
3 Criticism
4 See also
5 External links

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Pilot project

Image:OttawaO-TrainMap.jpgThe present system uses three diesel-powered Bombardier Talent BR643 low-floor diesel multiple unit trains. It is legally considered a mainline railway despite being used for local public transport purposes, and the service it provides at present is, in terms of its route and service frequency, more like that of an urban railway than a metro or tramway. OC Transpo operates it under the official name of ‘Capital Railway’, which appears on the trains along with their regular logo. It is, however, described as ‘light rail’, partly because future plans call for it to be extended into Ottawa’s downtown as a tramway-like service, and partly because the Talents, though designed for mainline railways in Europe, are much smaller and lighter than most mainline trains in North America, and do not meet the continent’s standards for buffer strength. Ottawa is also authorised to run trains with only a single operator and no other crew, something quite rare on mainline railways.

As a pilot project, the O-Train system was built at the cost of $21 million, relatively low compared with the hundreds of millions of dollars usually required to build a new transit line. It runs on a pre-existing Canadian Pacific Railway track, so the only construction work necessary was to build the stations themselves and the passing tracks necessary to allow trains to operate in both directions. The downside to this, however, is that much ground pollution remains from the track’s previous use. This will become a liability one day when the city has to pay to clean it up, but they have avoided doing so thus far by not digging into the ground under the tracks (which would require them to clean it up).

The current service frequency of a train every fifteen minutes makes it possible to run the line with a fleet of only three trains (of which only two are in service at any given time) and a single track apart from passing sidings at Carleton station; if service is to be increased significantly in future, double tracks and more trains will be needed.

Ottawa’s three Talent units were built by Bombardier Transportation as part of a larger order for Deutsche Bahn’s regional network, and the only significant difference between them and the German units is that their on-board toilets have been decommissioned. Deutsche Bahn’s red-and-white colour scheme was deemed similar enough to OC Transpo’s livery that the trains did not need to be repainted. The trains were purchased under an agreement under which they could be sold back to Bombardier if they were replaced or retired, but the agreement has since expired.

As of October 2004, the O-Train carried an average of approximately 9000 riders each weekday.

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Route

Image:Carletonstation.jpg

Bayview provides an interchange with the Transitway and is the closest station to downtown Ottawa. It is located on a stub-end track branching off from the railway line, immediately under the Wellington Street and Transitway overpasses.
Carling is located at Carling Avenue and Preston Street. South of Carling, the train enters a tunnel to pass under the Rideau Canal.
Carleton serves Carleton University, and is the only station with separate tracks and platforms for each direction. The schedule is timed such that the southbound train arrives first and moves onto the platform siding, and then proceeds once the northbound train has entered the station. South of Carleton, the train crosses over the Rideau River on a bridge.
Confederation is located at Heron Road and Bronson Avenue, and primarily serves Government of Canada offices in the Confederation Heights area.
Greenboro provides an interchange with a large Transitway station, which has a large park-and-ride lot and is located next to the South Keys Shopping Centre. The O-Train platform is level with the pedestrian overpass crossing the Transitway.

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At the station

Carleton is the only O-Train station with separate platforms for both directions; at Carling and Confederation one can tell where a train is headed by the direction from which it enters the station and by its electronic destination sign.

Ticketing on the O-Train works entirely on a proof-of-payment basis; there are no ticket barriers or turnstiles, and the driver does not check fares. Tickets can be purchased from a vending machine on the platform, and certain bus passes are also valid for the O-Train.

There are no electronic signs giving real-time departure information at the stations, though paper schedules are posted. At Carling and Confederation stations, signs are posted indicating the direction of travel for northbound and southbound trains; Carleton has separate platforms, and from Bayview and Greenboro trains travel in only one direction.

The O-Train stations offer covered waiting areas for passengers, but except at Greenboro, which is also a major Transitway bus station, these are little more than large bus-style shelters beside the tracks. All stations have level boarding platforms to allow for wheelchair access and easier boarding for all passengers.

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On board the train

Image:OttawaO-TrainInterior.jpg At present, the trains stop at every station and all trains run directly from one end of the line to the other (with only five stations, short-turns would be of questionable value). The Talent units can be coupled together to form longer trains, but current ridership levels do not require this extended service, which in any case would require more trains and longer platforms at the stations. Each of the three carriages has a plug-type doorway for each side of the train. Rather than all doors opening at each station, as is common with Canadian metro trains, passengers must individually open the door by which they intend to board or disembark by pressing a button.

Despite their diesel engines, the trains are quite comfortable; even for passengers sitting directly above the motors, the ride is far quieter and smoother than even the above-ground sections of the Toronto subway. Seats are arranged with two on each side of the carriage, and the rows alternate facing directions, such that half the seats are facing forward in either direction of travel.

The interior is clearly one designed for a mainline train; there are only a few poles for standing passengers, mostly located around the doors and closely integrated into the train’s overall design. There are no advertisements on board the trains. Although the trains consist of three carriages, they are connected such that it is possible to walk from one end to the other; the only noticeable divisions between the carriages are a short articulated section in the walls and a slight ramp over the dividing line. The trains have low floors, but the half-carriages at the ends of the trains have high floors with several steps up, to provide room for under-floor motors. The doors into the cabs are clear, allowing passengers to see in, but some drivers prefer to pull curtains across.

There are no maps posted on the trains, but electronic screens in each carriage and recorded voice messages (which are easy to hear and understand, unlike when Toronto drivers call out the stations) announce the stations as they come up. The station announcements and all signs are bilingual in English and French; a few features of the trains are also marked in German as a result of their design heritage.

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Future plans

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North-south line

The local government has announced plans to extend the O-Train. The line is to be extended east from its current northern terminus to run through LeBreton Flats and downtown Ottawa as far as the Rideau Centre (the location of the current Mackenzie King Transitway station), and south-west from Greenboro Station to the growing Riverside South community and South Nepean (and eventually Barrhaven), and possibly also to Ottawa International Airport. Construction of the extension is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2006 and be completed in autumn 2009.

The diesel-powered Talents will be replaced with electric trams suitable for on-street operation in the downtown area, though the exact model has not yet been selected. With the use of electric power, greater frequency, and street-level running in downtown Ottawa, the expanded system will bear much more resemblance to the urban tramways usually referred to by the phrase ‘light rail’ than does the pilot project, though the use of the Capital Railway track and additional existing tracks which have been acquired along its route may cause it to remain a mainline railway for legal purposes.

The federal and provincial governments have each promised $200 million for the expansion, which the City of Ottawa will match. On July 13, 2005, the City of Ottawa approved the Environmental Assessment for the north-south line. The city has also requested studies on an extension of the railway to the University of Ottawa campus.

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East-west line

The city has also committed funds to perform an environmental assessment for an east-west route, running between Kanata and Orleans mainly via an existing railway right-of-way bypassing downtown. Planners have explored the possibility of using the current system’s three Talents for an east-west pilot project after they are replaced by electric trams on the north-south line, but it seems unlikely that Transport Canada would approve their use on the existing tracks, since they would have to be shared with other mainline trains.

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Other possibilities

Image:Bayview train.jpg Long-term plans include lines on Carling Avenue from the existing Carling station westward to Bayshore and Bells Corners, and from the Rideau Centre south-east to the area of Innes Road and Blair Road via Rideau Street, Montreal Road, and Blair Road.

Service to Gatineau would also be possible (and desirable, considering the potential base of commuters), as there is a railway bridge over the Ottawa River nearby, but the government of Gatineau is opposed to extending the O-Train into their territory. As well, the track north of the Bayview station would need to be re-built to meet the O-Train’s standards. A line running into Gatineau is not included in the current plans for expansion up to 2021, but the city is keeping this option open through its track acquisitions.

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Criticism

The main complaints about the O-Train have revolved around its placement and ridership levels. Some say that as the O-Train’s route was determined by pre-existing railway tracks in order to reduce costs, it serves areas there was little need for a new transit connection, instead of building a line to parts of the city which are hard to reach by public transport. Carleton University students would probably disagree, since they are the main group to have benefitted from the O-Train pilot project, and no longer have to ride buses through traffic to get to the University campus.

The other criticism is that the trains receive very low ridership compared to some very crowded bus lines such as Route 95, and some believe that the money should be spent accommodating the most people possible on the current network, instead of paying for expensive side projects.

The current system is unquestionably limited, but as a pilot project many of these limitations are intentional; the O-Train as it currently stands was built as much to demonstrate the potential for railway alternatives to Ottawa’s bus-only network, and has done so successfully enough to obtain funding for a larger system which will reach both busy and underserved areas.

In terms of the planned expansion, business groups have lobbied for the downtown portion of the line to run in a tunnel rather than above ground, where it would have to negotiate city streets already carrying heavy car and bus traffic, which are presently a bottleneck for the existing Transitway system. City of Ottawa officials do not currently favour constructing a tunnel, but they intend to study the possibility of removing buses from Albert and Slater Streets to make way for the trains.

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