OC Transpo acknowledges slow going in O-Train axle repairs

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OC Transpo acknowledged the painstakingly slow progress in returning its O-Train fleet to full service with numbers of available trains that were largely unchanged from previous weekly updates.

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The transit authority removed 41 train cars from service on Jan. 21 after the Rideau Transit Group identified “spalling” issues with the cartridge bearing assembly in the train cars’ axles.

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At that time, OC Transpo said it had only 18 train cars available. In an update on Feb. 27, OC Transpo said it had 21 train cars available and 38 remained out of service for inspection and repairs.

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Those numbers have remained unchanged for several weeks, according to updates shared in weekly memos to council.

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O-Train Line 1 service continues to operate with trains every three to four minutes during peak periods, while Lines 2 and 4 are not affected by the spalling issue.

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OC Transpo interim general manager Troy Charter has explained spalling as flakes breaking away from the metal surface inside the bearing, which can result in further degradation and “can ultimately lead to a failure.”

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On Friday, Charter once again thanked frustrated customers for their patience as OC Transpo, Rideau Transit Group and train manufacturer Alstom continued to repair bearings on train cars that had exceeded 100,000 kilometres.

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“The focus remains on ensuring that the proposed measures that need to be put in place ensure the ongoing safety and reliability of the system,” Charter said. “The work is complex and, unfortunately, cannot be rushed.”

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Charter said OC Transpo had also been making “incremental” progress with its rapidly aging bus fleet.

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Two more zero-emission electric hybrid buses have joined the fleet, which now includes 55 electric buses.

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Charter said OC Transpo was continuing to work through a maintenance backlog with diesel buses that had exceeded their 15-year useful lifespans.

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“We need to continue with our recruitment of mechanics and we need to onboard the zero-emission electric buses so that we can retire some of the oldest buses in our fleet that are unreliable. When we have issues, they tend to be out (for maintenance) for longer periods of time,” Charter said.

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“So, as we onboard more buses, as we bring on more mechanics, we will see incremental improvements in our bus service. And then, when we get into better weather, it’s easier to manage a fleet of vehicles with the better weather.”

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OC Transpo continues to fall short of reliability targets with its bus fleet with three per cent of trips that were not delivered last week. That was an improvement from the six per cent of trips that were cancelled the previous week.

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OC Transpo had an average of 492 buses available every weekday, which was short of the required 500 buses to meet service demands.

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