(Ottawa) The new year did not bring a fresh start to Ottawa’s ill-fated light rail system, after concrete debris found on the tunnel tracks of a Hurontario Light Rail Transit (LRT) station forced a partial system shutdown.
Train service was interrupted for more than six hours at four of 13 stations along the city’s main east-west line, while municipal infrastructure workers conducted a safety inspection in the Saint-Laurent station tunnel .
Renée Amilcar, general manager of Ottawa transit services, said in a memo to the mayor and city councilors at noon Tuesday that train service was not operating while the inspection was being conducted.
Replacement buses were put into circulation to provide shuttle service between the affected stations.
Shortly after 5 p.m., Mme Amilcar said service has been restored to the entire system.
Carina Duclos, interim general manager of the city’s water infrastructure and services department, said in a separate memo to the mayor and councilors Tuesday that the inspection revealed delamination, which involves the separation of the layer of paste to the surface, creating an unbonded layer with the main concrete slab.
She said the tunnel was built in the mid-1980s and it’s not uncommon to see this type of problem in an older structure.
The capital’s LRT system, which includes existing infrastructure, is not even five years old and has been plagued by repeated problems and constant service interruptions.
Blocked doors, damaged wheels and freezing weather that shorted electrical wires repeatedly affected service, and serious safety concerns related to the construction of the train’s tracks led to a month-long shutdown last summer.
A public inquiry in 2022 revealed myriad problems stemming from political and business decisions intended to rush the system into service despite significant known problems with testing, particularly in Ottawa’s winter climate.
OC Transpo clarified to users via social media Tuesday morning that this time, the stations had been closed “out of an abundance of caution.”
No further information was provided on where the concrete debris came from or whether any serious problems were discovered.
Most of the major problems encountered so far with the LRT have been related to the railway tracks and railcars.
But the tunnels and stations have also had their share of problems, including a leak in sewer pipes early in the system that filled two downtown stations with an unpleasant odor.
And last spring, the tunnel under downtown was briefly closed to repair water leaking through the walls.