Here's how long the Ottawa LRT has been off the rails - Action News
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Ottawa

Here's how long the Ottawa LRT has been off the rails

The Confederation Line has been out of service since a train derailed on Sept. 19, 2021 before entering Tremblay station.

Clock tells us how long the service has been shut down by a derailment

  • UPDATE: The LRT began partial service on Nov. 12, 2021, at 5 a.m. It was off the rails for one month and 23 days.

The LRT has been out of service since atrain derailed on Sept. 19 before entering Tremblay station.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said the train came off the rails before entering Tremblay stationand travelled across a rail bridge while a wheel remained off the track.

Its investigators said it seems bolts weren't properly tightened on the train's underside when servicing it afterAugust'sderailment.

The day of the derailment,Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) CEO Mario Guerra told reportersthe Confederation Line wouldlikely remain out of service for at least a week. The very next day,that answerchanged to an estimated three weeks.

Trains are being tested again as of Oct. 27 and the line could reopen Friday with seven trains on the tracks, less than half the 15 trains that make up regular service. Seven trains has meant a train about every eight minutes in the past.

Full service could be back by the end of the month.

Workers in bright orange walk along some rail tracks, with a white and red light-rail train car behind them.
An Ottawa light rail train is tested near Tremblay station Oct. 27, 2021. It was the first day of testing following the Sept. 19 derailment in that area that has shut down the rail line. (Jean Delisle/CBC)

In the meantime,the city is escalating its legal dispute with the builders. Ottawa's auditor general will examine the lead-up to the contract.

With the LRT out of service,transit riders have been frustrated with cramped shuttle buses used to fill the void. A month of free transit is coming after trains are back.