Ottawa City crews are looking at long-term solutions to handle the freezing rain after the light rail transit system was partially shut down for six days in early January due to massive snow build-up.
A snowstorm damaged the system’s overhead lines on the evening of January 4, and witnesses saw sparks flying from the roof of the train.
“The contact wires basically melted,” said Richard Holder, the city’s director of engineering services.
Many trains got stuck.
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Holder explained that along with the high humidity, the snow led to a significant electric current on the trains’ pantographs _ devices located on the roofs of trains that collect energy from the lines powering them.
He told the city’s transit commission Thursday that the system has reached the limit of the freezing rain it can handle. He added that the workers had to manually dismantle about 5.6 km of the overhead wire system.
Holder said, “When I say hand, it’s really someone in a vehicle on a bucket breaking ice by hand.”
Matty Simiatki, a professor at the University of Toronto and director of its Infrastructure Institute, said it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Canada experiences winter and experiences a variety of weather conditions along with it.
He said the recent incident highlighted the need for preparedness regardless of weather conditions.
Siemiatki said the Toronto Transit Commission has a vehicle that goes up and down the streets spraying de-icer on the wires to prevent ice build-up.
“When you run a system that is the backbone of a transport network, it is essential that you are looking at all kinds of risks, and then being proactive in terms of the appropriate steps that can be taken,” he said.
“And there are going to be cases of extreme weather.”
At Thursday’s meeting, city staff outlined short- and long-term plans to address future delays that could be caused by the freezing rain, including using anti-freeze and in some areas Including heating cables, which are most needed.
There is also talk of procuring a non-electric recovery vehicle for future situations when trains do not have power. It will run on diesel similar to the equipment used for heavy rail, and crews can use it to fix stuck trains during power outages.
Transit Commission Chair County. Glenn Gower said the cost of purchasing additional equipment is not something the city will have to bear.
He said Rideau Transit Group must pay for the improvements under its 30-year maintenance agreement with the city, which requires them to maintain good service.
Country. Riley Brockington asked about construction of the next phase of the light rail system, and how crews will avoid the mistakes made during the first phase.
He said freezing rain would continue to be a problem in Ottawa.
“We want to make sure the system operates smoothly in all types of storms,” Brockington said.
“So the intent would be to make sure that the systems that we have in place can withstand and sustain those types of weather events.”
Holder said officials are looking into purchasing additional equipment called Winter Carbons, which are installed on pantographs and can break up ice more effectively.
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