The O-Train is only operating on the westbound platform at St. Laurent Station on Tuesday, as crews address “an area of concern” on the south side of the tunnel at the busy light rail transit station in Ottawa’s east end.
Line 1 is operating on the westbound platform, and transit riders will need to change trains at St. Laurent Station to travel between St. Laurent and Blair and St. Laurent and Tunney’s Pasture stations. Trains will run every five to six minutes between Tunney’s Pasture and St. Laurent stations during the morning and afternoon peak periods.
Transit Services general manager Renee Amilcar says an inspection of the aging tunnel identified an issue over a section of the track on the south side of the tunnel.
“OC Transpo and (Infrastructure and Water Services Department) are working in an agile mode to respond to new information as it is received through the inspection,” Amilcar said in a memo to Council early Tuesday morning.
“Engineering teams have identified an area of concern over a section of the track on the south side of the tunnel. IWSD needs to finalize and implement a mitigation measure in this location to ensure ongoing, safe operation of the O-Train.”
Amilcar says the O-Train will operate on one track at St. Laurent Station, “out of an abundance of caution.”
Some areas of “concrete delamination” were found in the St. Laurent tunnel and in the ceiling above the station platform in January and May.
In May, the station was closed for five days after water infiltration into the tunnel caused some damage to ceiling tunnels over the LRT station platforms. The city removed the ceiling tiles from the tunnel, and some mesh nets were placed in select areas above the platforms.
“Areas had been identified where the underside of that roof slab had some very thin slices of the concrete below the reinforcement steel that has become loose,” Richard Holder, former director of engineering services, told reporters on May 22. “Through the investigation of the ceiling panels, we discovered some of the supporting elements that are attached to the concrete slab were corroded.”
In January, pieces of concrete were found along the LRT track inside the tunnel after chipping off the main slab of concrete.
Here’s what O-Train riders in the east end can expect today:
- Line 1 will continue to only service the St-Laurent Station westbound platform
- Line 1 will operate approximately every 15 minutes between Blair and St-Laurent stations
- Customers travelling to Cyrville Station from Blair Station should use Line 1
- Customers will need to change trains at St-Laurent Station to continue their trip
- Trains will operate approximately every five to six minutes between Tunney’s Pasture and St-Laurent stations during the morning and evening peak period
- Starting at 6 a.m., R1 bus service will operate between Blair and St-Laurent stations to provide additional capacity for customers
- Shuttle Express buses (E1) will continue to operate between Blair Station and downtown