The countdown is on for the launch of the Ottawa’s new north-south LRT line in the new year.
On Monday, CTV News Ottawa got a chance to look inside the trains and stations.
O-Train lines 2 and 4 will open to the public on January 6, with a three phased launch of the Trillium Line.
“We are very excited and we cannot wait for Jan. 6,” said OC Transpo’s general manager Renée Amilcar.
Line 2 will be running a fleet of new diesel trains and runing between Bayview and Limebank stations. Each train is 80 metres in length with a capacity of 420 passengers, connecting Carleton University and Walkley Road to downtown.
Those looking to get to the airport will take Line 4 by transferring at South Keys Station. From there, it’s an eight-minute ride to the airport station connected to the departures terminal.
Mark Laroche, president and CEO of the Ottawa Airport Authority says this will give people options when heading to and from the airport.
“It’s going to help. Downtown attracts conferences,” he said. “The fact that we’re connected to downtown is very important to outside visitors – even for business people.”
The trains on Line 4 are smaller, and there are six refurbished vehicles with enough room to sit just over 2,600 people in each.
Troy Charter, the city’s director of transit service delivery and rail operations, says there wasn’t a need for large amounts of space for the shorter route.
“It’s a brand new line we’re anticipating to for and probably lower ridership than on the mainline,” he said. “The airport spur has been configured for the smaller trains as well.”
There are washrooms at Bayview and Limebank Stations as well as public art.
While a winter launch is unusual for a system like this, officials say they are ready to handle any problems that may arise.
“One thing that I’m certain 100 per cent is we have done exactly what we had to do before to be able to say today that we’re going to launch a service on Jan. 6. and we know that people will need to deal with issues, and we are ready to do so,”
The system will run five days a week for the first two weeks of the launch.
Seats inside a Trillium Line Train. (Kimberley Johnson/CTV News Ottawa)
Stairs at South Keys station in Ottawa. (Kimberley Johnson/CTV News Ottawa)
Inside of a Trillium Line train (Kimberley Johnson/CTV News Ottawa)
South Keys station on the Trillium Line. (Kimberley Johnson/CTV News Ottawa)
The Trillium Line route. (Kimberley Johnson/CTV News Ottawa)
The Trillium Line at South Keys station. (Kimberley Johnson/CTV Ottawa)