Dirty train roofs caused New Year's Eve LRT delays

The electrical problem that halted two light rail trainsNew Year's Eve was caused by a buildup of dirt or grit on their roofs, according to the head of Ottawa's transit commission.

• Plans to ring in the new year thrown into chaos by LRT delays

Rideau Transit Maintenance, the city's contractor, now has proper cleaning procedures in place for the accordion-like apparatus on the roofs of LRT trains, said Coun. Allan Hubley.

The apparatus connects the train to the electrical wires overhead that providepower.

'A little frustrating'

"[It's] alittle frustrating that those procedures weren't in place ahead of time, but they're there now," said Hubley.

The first of the two trains lost power at Cyrville station at5:02 p.m. Tuesday, just minutes after OC Transpo began offering free transit service for New Year's Eve.

A second train was immobilized at uOttawa station that same hour.

Hubley had no time to celebrate that evening as he, othercity executives and Mayor Jim Watson dealt with the two troubled trains and figured out how to getpeople moving.The trainswere stuck for hours while OC Transpo focused on getting riders onto backup buses.

No revellers should have been delayed by more than half an hour, Hubleyadded.

New problem

The dirty rooftop apparatusand its electrical connectionis a new problem for Ottawa's LRT.

The LRT's on-board computer system, doors and track switches have been the problems most closely tracked in the months since the train's September launch.

During an update at transit commission onDec. 18, transit staffreported fewer instances of each type of problem and said OC Transpo operators and Rideau Transit Groupwere getting quicker at resolving them.

"It's how fast we can deal with [problems] and fix them is what's important to me right now.We've got toget that system to a dependable state," said Hubley on Thursday.

The train has also been delayed in the past by cracks in the welding of the tracks.

In a statement, Rideau Transit Maintenance said it was investigating whether the presence of "salt mix mist and copper dust from the overhead wire" contributed to the train delays.

A team of engineers is investigating, they said.