Ottawa finally has all 17 LRT trains available well, sort of

All of Ottawa's17light rail trains are available in working order for the first time since the Confederation Line opened to the public nearly 11 months ago, but the line won't run at full capacity just yet.

The city paid for 17 two-car trainsand planned to run 15 during morning and afternoon rush hours, with two trains as backups.

A range of problems since the line'smid-September 2019 launch, however, has meant that hasn't happened.

In a Tuesday memo, OC Transpogeneral manager John Manconi said as of that day, the rail line's builder and maintenance group RTG had suppliedthem with 17 working trains.

Fewer trains have been running recently because ofcracked wheels and the resulting increased inspections which brought the number of trains in service down to seven at times or one train roughlyevery eight minutes.

• TSB launches formal investigation of LRT train wheel cracks

The need for extra daily wheel inspections meansthe LRTnetwork will have 13 trains on the line at most for the foreseeable future, Manconi said, with trains arriving every four minutes or so during peak service.

If 15 trains ran during peak hours, passengers would have to wait at most just over three minutes for one to arrive.

Manconialso said Tuesday the ongoing ridership drop during the COVID-19 pandemic means there are enough trains to allow riders to physically distance.

"RTG is making progress with the investigation and resolution of the wheel issue and as they make further progress, additional vehicles may be added to the morning peak service if required," he said.