As the city prepares to shut down Ottawa’s light rail system for the summer, some O-Train users are worried that their daily commutes may take longer than usual.
The O-Train will shut down for 18 weeks starting April 27 for a $59-million expansion until Sept. 2, to prepare for six new trains that will increase light rail service frequency from every 15 minutes to every eight minutes, according to Troy Charter, OC Transpo manager of transit operations.
Charter says the summer expansion will include two new passing tracks to accommodate the higher frequency train service, as well as signal upgrades and station improvements.
Work will also be done in the Dow’s Lake tunnel and the Carleton University pedestrian underpass.
Still, riders won’t reap the benefits of the expansion until next year and will have to make do without the O-Train for the next four months.
“We specifically have chosen the shut-down period during the summer because that’s when our ridership is at its lowest,” Charter says.
He says the O-Train carries about 40 per cent of its passengers in the fall or winter. While the O-Train usually carries 12,000 passengers, it only carries 5,000 in the summer.
But for Mark Stobert, who relies on the O-Train twice a day to get to work on Rochester Street, the O-Train shut-down will prolong his daily commute by 25 minutes each way.
“I think it’s probably the right time (to shut down the O-Train) because most people riding the O-Train go to Carleton so it makes sense for them but for everybody else it’s a little difficult,” he says. “I don’t think any time during the year is the perfect time . . . it’s hard.”
For riders worried about getting around during the summer, Charter says the 107 bus will replace the O-Train while service is shut down. The 107 will run parallel to the O-Train line from the LeBreton station to the South Keys station between 6:30 a.m. and midnight every day.
On weekdays, the 107 will run every eight minutes during peak hours, every 15 minutes during normal hours, and every 30 minutes after 9 p.m. On Saturdays, the 107 will run every 15 minutes and every 30 minutes after 9 p.m. and on Sundays every 30 minutes all day.
Stobert says he isn’t convinced the 107 will work the way it’s supposed to.
“It’s still not perfect. This is much more convenient,” he says, pointing to the O-Train track.
Carleton University student Keira MacDonald says she was taken aback when she realized the O-Train would be shut down for the next four months.
MacDonald lives in Little Italy and says she was looking forward to taking the O-Train from the Carling station to the Carleton station, where most of her friends live.
“I’ve been applying for jobs by Sunnyside and Bank and to get there I would take the O-Train from Little Italy but now I don’t know what to do,” she says. “I think it’s really inconvenient. It’s going to be ridiculous and the 107 will get stuck in traffic.”
Charter says since the 107 will run on city streets as part of the regular bus service, OC Transpo will actively monitor its service to keep customers happy.
“If adjustments need to be made in regards to frequency or bus type we can make those adjustments,” he says.
Regular O-Train service will begin again on Sept. 3, but the faster frequency O-Train service will not begin until sometime in 2014.