Ottawa changes format, allows public access to consultant reviewing plan for embattled Confederation Line

Ottawa light rail.

City of Ottawa

Transportation Resource Associates (TRA) is looking over Rideau Transit Maintenance’s (RTM) return-to-service plan on Ottawa’s Confederation Line following a pair of derailments.

TRA has actually been on-site since Oct. 1 after the line was closed following the second accident on Sept. 19. Ottawa officials will be looking to Rideau Transit Group to handle the costs of TRA’s safety review.

Three TRA representatives were on hand to answer questions from councillors and transit commissioners during a meeting last week. City Manager Steve Kanellakos also is requiring TRA to lead a briefing before the Confederation Line starts back up. However, a date for the reopening has not yet been set.

A pressing question is if other light-rail systems have had similar problems getting off the ground. During the meeting, TRA’s Daniel Hauber said new rail systems do have hiccups at the start, and problems range from infrastructure to rail vehicles.

The open forum with the consultant is a new approach by the city. Back when JBA Corp. assessed the LRT maintenance program in early 2020 the findings were not made available to the public.

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