Final Trillium Line testing to start Oct. 7 | CBC News

The City of Ottawa says final testing of the north-south Trillium light rail line will begin Monday, Oct. 7.

Transit services general manager Renée Amilcar told a technical briefing on Thursday the earliest the line could open to riders is mid-November.

“We will not open the system until we are absolutely confident of its readiness and safety,” she said.

Amilcar said the testing will ensure TransitNext, the contractor that built the system and will continue maintaining it, is up to the task.

“This is TransitNext’s final exam, and it will be a rigorous one,” she said.

Diesel trains, tracks and other infrastructure will be put through their paces between Bayview and Limebank stations (Line 2) and between South Keys and Airport stations (Line 4). Bayview connects to the east-west Confederation Line.

Richard Holder, director of the city’s rail construction program, said system performance has improved since the previous briefing when he discussed software “bugs” stalling progress. He said all conditions are now in place to begin trial running, which is expected to take at least 21 days. 

Testing ‘failure scenarios’

Holder said the two-step trial run will involve a 14-day reliability testing period plus a seven-day phase simulating various “failure scenarios” such as an immobilized train, a failed rail switch or a medical emergency on board.

The trial running period is contractually required and will mean greater monitoring and reporting than testing done in the past, officials said.

OC Transpo’s goal is an average of 98.5 per cent reliability, defined by on-time departures, during the initial 14-day testing period. Holder said the system is currently exceeding that threshold, and if everything goes smoothly, the initial testing phase could wrap up as early as Oct. 21. 

But Holder said extra days will be added if reliability dips below 78 per cent on any given day, and the phase won’t end until the 98.5 per cent average is met.

“We will not be rushing trial running,” he said.

Major issue means starting over

Amilcar said a major issue on day 14 would mean starting all over again.

“It’s tough,” she said. “We’re going to suffer, but this is the way it is…. We have committed to do so and we will do so.”

OC Transpo plans to provide regular updates on its progress to council and media five days a week.

The failure scenario testing could end as early as Oct. 29. After that, OC Transpo must still get regulatory approval from Transport Canada to operate the Trillium Line. Then, Holder said, there would be “final readiness phase” that will take a minimum of three to four weeks.

Troy Charter, director of transit service delivery and rail operations, said that final phase will include two emergency response simulations, as well as a “dress rehearsal” involving hundreds of volunteers.

The previous, shorter version of the north-south rail line closed in the spring of 2020. The plan was to reopen with expanded service in August 2022, but there have been several delays getting it built and ready.

The nearly $5-billion rail transit expansion will also extend tracks east to Trim Road and west to Algonquin College and Moodie Drive. 

The most recent target for opening the eastern expansion was the summer of 2025. The western extension could open in late 2026 or early 2027.

Amilcaralso  said a major change to OC Transpo’s bus network intended to mesh with the Trillium line won’t happen until April at the earliest, since it will be difficult to implement during winter weather.