O-Train Line 1/3 [Stage 2 | West Extension | Tunney's to Baseline/Moodie] | U/C

[AuxTown]

That looks awesome! Amazing to think this project is (slowly) getting towards completion.

[Uhuniau]

It is gonna be so much fun taking the subway to the beach.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Catenary

In earlier plans, the station was Kichi Sibi, so this seems to be a change to align with the parkway name.

Oh yeah. Somehow missed that. Good move.

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

It is gonna be so much fun taking the subway to the beach.

I have a feeling ridership at that station from the old glorified bus stop to this new full on rail station will skyrocket (though fairly low compared to most stations).

[Richard Eade]

I have been away for a bit, so I am just catching up on this thread. There seems to be some confusion about the Citadis SPIRIT verses other Citadis trams. In particular, I am reading comments like this one, which is in regards to the design of the bogies of the SPIRIT: “Hard to call the design faulty when it has been used without issues for many years on other trainsets.”

This shows that there is still a lack of understanding about how much of the SPIRIT is different from previous Citadis models. Here is a table from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada letter to the City of Ottawa, dated February 3, 2023:



Note the various differences – particularly that the bogies ARE NOT the same ones used on the other Citadis trams. In fact, the SPIRIT is the only Alstom vehicle, that I can find, that uses this new design, the IPONAM bogie. (If you find another tram using this bogie, please let me know. Look for the tell-tale ‘fender flares’, which are necessary to house the large outboard motors on the IPONAM.)

So, you might ask, why does the SPIRIT use a different bogie from other Citadis models? Because Ottawa specified a Light Rail Vehicle that didn’t exist. (And even with the unique bogie, the City had to reduce its specified requirements.)

Anyone who tells you that there is no design flaw because the bogies work fine on other vehicles, is missing the information that the SPIRIT bogies are a new design, introduced on Ottawa’s version of the Citadis SPIRIT.

[J.OT13]

Stage 2 West progress. This would have been before Kitchissippi's picture, but yes, full fencing around Kitchi Zibi Station.

I'm most excited for the west extension. It offers the best chance of cohesive urban TOD with subway stations well integrated into the urban fabric.
• Video Link

[sseguin]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Stage 2 West progress. This would have been before Kitchissippi's picture...

Yes that's correct, this video was filmed in the morning of December 27th.

[AuxTown]

Great update, as always!

I keep forgetting to ask, why are those 3 vehicles at Moodie parked outside rather than under the shelter of the storage facility or even in one of the maintenance buildings? Is it not hard on them to sit out in the rain/snow/ice/sun all day long?

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by AuxTown

Great update, as always!

I keep forgetting to ask, why are those 3 vehicles at Moodie parked outside rather than under the shelter of the storage facility or even in one of the maintenance buildings? Is it not hard on them to sit out in the rain/snow/ice/sun all day long?

Maybe they are testing out their rustproofing treatment

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I wish the City/NCC would talk and decide on a consistent spelling for everything named with a variation of Kitchissppi.

I think the City of Ottawa mainly consults with the (non-reserve) Ontario Algonquins in Golden Lake while the NCC has more contact with Kitigan Zibi in Maniwaki which is a reserve. This might be where the spelling discrepancy comes from as there is no consensus. If the city were to follow the NCC consistently, Pimisi really should be changed to "Pimizi".

The other thing that has no convention or sense is the use of accents, it's unclear how Kichi Zibi, Kìchì Zìbì (O-Train station spelling) or Kichi Zībī (NCC parkway spelling) have any difference whatsoever aside from being harder to type. Someone stop the insanity please

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

I have been away for a bit, so I am just catching up on this thread. There seems to be some confusion about the Citadis SPIRIT verses other Citadis trams. In particular, I am reading comments like this one, which is in regards to the design of the bogies of the SPIRIT: “Hard to call the design faulty when it has been used without issues for many years on other trainsets.”

This shows that there is still a lack of understanding about how much of the SPIRIT is different from previous Citadis models. Here is a table from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada letter to the City of Ottawa, dated February 3, 2023:



Note the various differences – particularly that the bogies ARE NOT the same ones used on the other Citadis trams. In fact, the SPIRIT is the only Alstom vehicle, that I can find, that uses this new design, the IPONAM bogie. (If you find another tram using this bogie, please let me know. Look for the tell-tale ‘fender flares’, which are necessary to house the large outboard motors on the IPONAM.)

So, you might ask, why does the SPIRIT use a different bogie from other Citadis models? Because Ottawa specified a Light Rail Vehicle that didn’t exist. (And even with the unique bogie, the City had to reduce its specified requirements.)

Anyone who tells you that there is no design flaw because the bogies work fine on other vehicles, is missing the information that the SPIRIT bogies are a new design, introduced on Ottawa’s version of the Citadis SPIRIT.

Thank you for the details.

If you go back to the original post (#3286), you will see that it was a comment about a faulty bearing assembly (not bogie). I would have to look back, but I a pretty sure that I had read that this bearing assembly has been used in other bogies. It is quite possible that it wasn't appropriate to use this bearing assembly in the Iponam bogie (I don't have access to all of the technical documentation to know for sure), but that isn't the same as being a faulty bearing design (a nit pick I know).

As for why the city is paying, we don't know all that happened behind the scenes at the time. For all we know, it could be that the risk of this type of failure was brought to the city, and they signed off on it, as they didn't want delays in vehicle design and were insistent on using LRT vehicles that didn't exist, even if the experts said that they weren't appropriate.

[Richard Eade]

I take your point, and agree that it is a nit-pick. Just because, for example, SKF makes all manner of excellent, well-designed, bearings, it doesn’t mean that all of them are applicable to every situation. To argue semantics, that a particular Bearing Assembly does not have a design flaw – even though it has perhaps been used in an application for which it is unsuitable – does not make a machine’s overall design more reliable; particularly when it is that Bearing Assembly that is repeatedly failing in that machine.

The City of Ottawa asked for a 100% low-floor Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) which could carry more people at a higher speed than any LRV in existence. And it had to do so with high rates of acceleration and deceleration. This necessitated a vehicle that is larger and heavier than the existing Citadis trams that Alstom offered. The low-floor requirement could be met by the existing Ixege bogies but not the other requirements. Thus, Alstom set about creating the Ixege POur North AMerica (IPONAM) bogie.

The IPONAM is kind of the heavy-duty version of the Ixege bogie. They share some traits and components, but differ in others so that the IPONAM can handle heavier loads and faster speeds. Unfortunately, one of the components that was carried over was the Axle-to-Wheel’s Bearing Assembly. Just as no-one would expect a rear axle from an F150 to survive in an F350 (being used for actual work, not just driving back and forth to the office on city streets), no-one should expect the Bearing Assembly of the Ixege to survive the increased forces that the IPONAM must endure.

This is a design error by Alstom. In the Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s letter, it was stated that the Bearing Assembly did not show a single point of excessive wear, but undue wear globally. This supports the claim that there was not a flaw in the design of the original Bearing Assembly – but reinforces that the Bearing Assembly installed is not up to the task.

[Hybrid247]

Originally Posted by AuxTown

Great update, as always!

I keep forgetting to ask, why are those 3 vehicles at Moodie parked outside rather than under the shelter of the storage facility or even in one of the maintenance buildings? Is it not hard on them to sit out in the rain/snow/ice/sun all day long?

I vaguely recall hearing they ran into issues with the overhead catenary system a few weeks back. If there's been no power this whole time, that could explain why they haven't moved.

[golfguy9]

The glacial pace of construction, specifically, between Tunney's and the beach is quite concerning. They haven't even begun the overhead catenary wiring and that section has been the same state for 8 months at least.

It's like they're not even trying to finish.

[AuxTown]

Happy to report that the vehicles are nicely tucked into their shed again. I don't know why they were sitting stationary outside for so long but it was starting to cause me anxiety. I'm guessing 2 years from now there will be some kind of defect noted on 3 of our LRT trainsets linked to excessive exposure to the elements....

[Catenary]

Originally Posted by AuxTown

Happy to report that the vehicles are nicely tucked into their shed again. I don't know why they were sitting stationary outside for so long but it was starting to cause me anxiety. I'm guessing 2 years from now there will be some kind of defect noted on 3 of our LRT trainsets linked to excessive exposure to the elements....

I doubt it is a concern. Many places story vehicles outside - Finch, Eglinton and Kitchener-Waterloo all have outdoor storage tracks, as does much of the TTC Streetcar system.

[sseguin]

Rail Fans Canada takes you trackside for an in-depth update on Ottawa’s expanding LRT system. In this February 2026 video, we show the latest progress on the O-Train Stage 2 West Extension, stretching from Tunney's to Algonquin on Line 1 and Moodie on Line 3.

• Video Link

[OTSkyline]

Am I the only one who has barely seen any workers or progress on the western extension in months?

With the disappointing delay of the east extension, I was hopeful for the west extensions to ramp up and stay on its new delayed launch of 2027, but I'm becoming more and more skeptical...

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Am I the only one who has barely seen any workers or progress on the western extension in months?

With the disappointing delay of the east extension, I was hopeful for the west extensions to ramp up and stay on its new delayed launch of 2027, but I'm becoming more and more skeptical...

I think the work is smaller in scale and finer in detail that it's harder to notice the progress. There's likely a lot of work inside the tunnels as well. I walk by Kichi Zibi quite often and in the last months they've installed signage and ticket machines. They seem to be on the verge of stringing the catenary on the last section to Tunney's, I just saw some wiring on the poles today.

I'm really looking forward to the landscaping on the Byron linear park and the reopening of an improved Richmond Road. It's been a long ordeal for the residents and especially the businesses on that corridor.

[Kitchissippi]

I wonder how they would do replacement buses when things go awry on this extension. There isn't a straightforward route that gets to every station on the line past Lincoln Fields.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

I wonder how they would do replacement buses when things go awry on this extension. There isn't a straightforward route that gets to every station on the line past Lincoln Fields.

Probably just what west-end buses do whenever there’s a closure on the parkway: via Croydon Avenue, Richmond Road, Churchill Avenue, Scott Street