Starting Monday September 27
- All R1 buses will bypass Cyrville Station in both directions to make travel times faster for most customers.
- A special shuttle bus will run frequently between Cyrville Station and St-Laurent Station.
- The special shuttle bus will operate using Para Transpo minibuses, but there will be no impact on Para Transpo service levels, and we continue to accommodate all Para Transpo trip requests.
Starting on Friday September 24
- Direct trips from downtown to Blair Station in the afternoon peak period will operate every 10 minutes
- New schedules for R1 bus service will be in place based on observed operating conditions. These will increase reliability of service.
- Additional trips will be cancelled on other routes as buses are reassigned to R1 bus service.
September 22, 2022
- More direct trips added from Blair Station to downtown in the morning peak period, now operating every 10 minutes, with schedules available in customer information systems.
- Planned bus service reduced for RedBlacks game based on expected attendance and buses reallocated to R1 bus service.
- Work to move the train to the maintenance facility has commenced this morning . The TSB has authorized moving the train to the MSF.
Transportation Safety Board (TSB) released the following document on September 22, 2021
September 21 2021
While train service on O-Train Line 1 is scheduled to be suspended for 3 weeks to allow for investigation and repairs following Sunday, September 19th’s derailment west of Tremblay Station, customers who normally ride trains will continue to use R1 buses.
An update was presented to the Transit Commission on Monday, September 20.
To provide more capacity and to reduce travel time for some customers, OC Transpo are making improvements on R1 replacement bus service, that will begin Tuesday, September 21st:
- The replacement buses serve all O-Train stations between Blair and Tunney’s Pasture stations, and additional direct buses from Blair and Hurdman stations to downtown will run during the morning peak period.
- Over 80 percent of the buses assigned to the R1 replacement bus service will be high-capacity articulated or double-decker buses.
- With the assignment of more high-capacity buses, the capacity of the service tomorrow will be approximately double what it was today.
Result of changes to R1 Buses
With the changes introduced on Tuesday, September 21st, bus capacity was doubled from that of Monday, September 20th. The direct to downtown routes from Blair Station worked well over the peak period and OC Transpo continues to adjust where there are heavy customer volumes.
To continue to adjust and respond to customer needs, OC Transpo has established a taskforce with dedicated staff from across the department focused on R1 bus service. This dedicated team will continue to make adjustments as necessary and respond to issues raised by councillors and transit customers.
Transit customers can get the most recent information on schedules and travel times by using the online travel planner at octranspo.com.
Note from Transit Commission: Motion Approved
On Monday, September 20th, the Transit Commission approved a motion calling for the City Manager to consult with the Regulatory Monitor and Compliance Officer to identify and retain an independent expert or experts to confirm the safety of the plan for return to service and report back to City Council and Transit Commission with a work plan and timelines for this independent safety review.
Timeline of September 19th incident
At approximately 12:15pm on Sunday, September 19th, a westbound light rail train came to a stop between Tremblay and Hurdman stations.
It appeared that 2 axles on the second car of the train had de-railed.
There were approximately 12 customers on board. There were no injuries to customers or staff.
At 12:45pm, the decision was made to stop Line 1 service out of an abundance of caution.
The Transportation Safety Board, Transport Canada and the City’s Regulatory Monitor were notified and TSB were on site. They and the OC Transpo team investigated to determine where the derailment started, extent of the damage, and the root cause investigation has begun.
The vehicle involved in the incident had recently returned to service after undergoing repairs to an axle. It was not known if the same axle was involved in this incident.
Police were on scene and reviewing to ensure that there were no outside factors that contributed to the incident. The train will be returned to Belfast Yard once it has been cleared to do so by investigators and safety certifiers.
OC Transpo ran 20 R1 buses to handle volumes.
Note that when service was suspended, all trains were stopped at the nearest station. All vehicles were returned to Belfast Yard. The train involved in the incident will be returned to Belfast Yard once it has been cleared to do so by investigators and safety certifiers.
