What’s really bothered me is that OC Transpo hasn’t been transparent, or accountable at all. During the last two years they kept gong “oopsie looks like another delay, we need to fix a few kinks” then not tell us what needs to be fixed. Now that trial running is done they’re saying “oh we just need to do a few more things before we open” without providing any information, or even a timeline.
This is wonderful! I got to take some photos of the Stadlers when I made a brief visit to Ottawa back in February (I'm from Vancouver). The biggest unanswered question about Line 2/4 itself, is why does OC Transpo consider it as an "LRT", when it is clear that the Stadlers and LINTs are considered mainline commuter trains? Shouldn't it be classified as commuter rail instead? Also, I feel that with the level boarding and frequent service, Line 2 should be considered as a new standard for commuter rail in North America (many systems on the continent still lack all-day service and level boarding). The other glaring issue is the double transfer when traveling from the airport to downtown, once at South Keys (same platform), and then at Bayview (up one level). Will this kind of inconvenient arrangement discourage people to use transit to the airport, making the car congestion to the airport worse? What about existing bus services like the 97, will they be maintained to compensate for the tiny LINT trains that would be inadequate for the passenger traffic to the airport? Having lived in Toronto and Vancouver myself (both cities having frequent direct trains between airport and downtown), this peculiar arrangement on Line 2/4 seems very inferior in comparison.
From what I've seen, OC Transpo doesn't use the term "LRT" at all. OC Transpo refers to the entire network by its proprietary name, "O-Train". In my opinion, this is a good practice to avoid any confusion around the different types of rail technology used between the various lines. It seems to be the local media that continues to use the term "LRT" in its reporting, which is very annoying. It leads to a lot of confusion, with some people who are unfamiliar with the system thinking that Line 1 (and future Line 3) are "the LRT" while Lines 2 and 4 are "the O-Train". To me, simply using the numbered line designations (e.g. "Line 2") is the best practice when referring to a single line, or using the term "O-Train" when referring to the system in general.
The two transfers seem like the easiest transit transfers on can take - minimal wait outside and minimal walking (take the elevators at Bayview). Ottawa has Vancouver beat in one area as the main universities have rail transit stations.
@@spinladen1774 Yeah, but when you consider the recent unnecessary service cuts (10 mins off peak on Line 1, and 15 mins all times at best on Line 2), if you miss your train on either or both lines, you're gonna be waiting for a very long time.
@@naturallyherb that's if you just miss your train by seconds. Odds are you'll fall somewhere in that ten min or less range for line 1. Lines 2&4 intervals is 12 min, actually, with up to half of that wait sitting in the trains (when they leave Bayview or Limebank stations). Airport station will be the best waiting spot of all the stations Best bet for this line is to check the schedules ahead of time like you would for a bus.
There's much to not like, but at least both of these transfers (as well as some subsequent transfers to buses) are within fare-paid zones. I arrived in Istanbul once and had to walk a block and a half through random streets to get from one metro station to a connection. Even the connections within stations in Istanbul required paying a separate fare.
🤦♂️ Yup, take a bus to a train, wait, board train wait, switch trains, wait, switch trains again, wait some more, switch to bus again. Destination on time? Not in this city! I live in Kanata, It used to take 35-40 mins on bus to get downtown. That time has doubled now, and to go to the east end it's almost 2 hours. You could almost drive to Montreal in that time. Everyday I use line 1, in my head plays Adam's Sandlers - Ode to my car, but I sub car for train. "POS train, We gotta POS train" 😆
Hi, I am a big fan of rail travel and a bigger fan of public transit. Having said that, the entire Ottawa LRT system is a debacle, a scandalous abuse of our hard-earned tax dollars and a huge step backwards for commuters. Residents of many southern suburbs formerly enjoyed a single express bus to take them directly downtown. Now we will have to use a minimum of two trains. In many cases, we will need to take a local bus to get to the LRT station and then two additional trains to take us downtown. The official policy of Ottawa City Council is to deflect responsibility by scapegoating other levels of government for the sorry state of transit in this city. Not a single councillor will accept the plain truth that city hall crippled transit in this city. To cap it all off, we have a new Diesel rail line in an age when fully electric buses are coming into widespread use. The very idea of replacing a single and direct bus with THREE trains for a 13 km journey from a downtown hotel to the the airport is emblematic of a project that was never about improved commuting or helping the environment. Ottawa's LRT project is nothing but a scam to transfer taxpayer dollars to big, well-connected construction and engineering firms via the hands of greasy consultants and venal politicians. For a fraction of the cost and without disruption, we could have simply extended the dependable bus-based rapid transit further out into the suburbs. Ottawa LRT is a disgrace.
I think at about 8:00, you put captions in the wrong spot. The Captions for that last questions scroll through really quickly before you address the 9th question, and then when you get to the 10th question the captions aren't there.
Great video as always. Except when you say the transfer between Line 2 and Line 4 at South Keys is designed to be "as smooth as possible". Designed to be that way, maybe, but not in reality. Checking the schedule on OC Transpo's website, it looks like it will be a 6-7 min wait for a transfer between the lines. What happened to the original plan to use the pocket track, which would've enabled a 1-2 min transfer as planned? Two transfers to go between downtown and the airport was already a stretch, and I can't see myself using Line 4 if now it's going to be an even longer wait at South Keys station. Huge disappointment, and OC Transpo + the City seem to have tried to sweep that change under the rug.
The 1-2 minute transfer would have been to wait for the train to arrive (only in 1 specific direction), but beyond that, it would still dwell at the station before departing. In either scenario, you still wait at South Keys for a few minutes, the difference is whether most of that wait is standing on the platform or inside the train waiting to depart.
Ugh, whose idea was it to have a transfer from Line 2 to Line 4 at South Keys instead of running both the 2 and 4 Trains all the way to the junction with the Confederation Line? 😖😣😩😫
@@EdwardM-t8p It is single track for the most part so to run both Line 2 and Line 4 to Bayview would have meant 24 minute wait for each line instead of 12 minute wait for Line 2. It would need to be double tracked for that to be at all viable, or for the city to decide to prioritize the airport over the stations south of South Keys.
How much dwell time would there be for the northbound line 2 train at South keys? Is it still about one min? I thought I saw a line 4 train arrive about four min before the line 2 train and then that line 2 train had a dwell time for I think a couple of min but maybe you can confirm? Thank you for your informative videos, btw !
@@RailFansCanada One thing I struggle with in this city is that it don't really have a long term vision. Sure, double track is more expensive, but it would provide much better service from the start. For example, Montreal had only 1.6 million people in the 60s when they started building the metro, and they built it to be sustainable. Look at it now, it's the second most used system after New York, even though Montreal's population is less than Toronto's. Edit: fixed a few typos.
@@Quince828There's no need to double track the tunnel, it's only a minute long. If they double tracked everything except the tunnel and the Rideau bridge they could run every 7.5 minutes which would allow lines 2 and 4 to both run through to Bayview every 15 min each. Plus they would have the full range of headways to choose from instead of exactly 12 or exactly 24 which are the only options currently. And average speeds would be higher because there's less need to carefully time train meets.
Interesting, don't you all enjoy railroad trams, trains etc are just so cool take a ride in my ''transportation'' folder, (folder 2 in my playlists) :)
If they are still aiming for mid-November, then maybe Nov 16. Just a guess but fits the 3 weeks they said were necessary after trial running concluded. We should know a bit more later today on next steps.
The stupidiest transit from the airport to downtown: board 3 trains instead of only one?! This can happen only in Ottawa, the capital of Canada where the Mayor and City management and OC Transpo management have no clue how to run the city transportation and transit.
No, Line 1 to Algonquin and Line 3 to Moodie are part of Stage 2 West. The current timeline for opening is end of 2026 / early 2027. The project is progressing well, but the major determinant will be progress and testing along the Kichi Zibi tunnel!
We are still awaiting an opening date, hopefully in the coming weeks. We are hopeful for it to open by the end of the year, but for now, fingers crossed!
Any info on if there will be a park and ride at limebank? I'm debating on taking line 2 from there to carleton to avoid the awful traffic in the mornings
Have they made any plans for extending line 4 in the future? A lot of people talk about bayview, but why not double track walkey station and then diverge line 4 towards billings bridge/hurdman?
Currently no plans or real discussions on any extensions of Line 4 at this time. I'm sure something will happen down the road but as to what and when, no idea.
What is the expected dwell time at south keys for a person travelling from airport towards bayview? Are the two lines coordinated? Thanks so much for the videos, I'm soooo excited.
Expected wait/dwell will likely be around 5-6 minutes. Depending on the direction you are heading on Line 2 will affect how much the wait is ultimately. We don't know yet what it will be in actual practice, but you can get an idea from OC Transpo's New Ways to Bus Trip Planner. Those times it will quote will be refined as they get a better idea of the exact timing.
Stage 3 is mostly planned, but not funded or confirmed to happen. The Kanata extension environmental assessment is complete while the Barrhaven one is currently open for comments. We don’t expect to see commitments on this until Stage 2 is completed. -David
Short answer no, but there will still be a route 197., According to OC Transpo's "New ways to bus" website, Route 97: "Will be removed and replaced by: • Route 98 between Hurdman and South Keys Stations, and Route N98 between Hurdman and Rideau during the overnight period when Line 1 is not running. • Line 4 between South Keys and Airport stations."
Thanks for the great video! While I am excited for the opening of line 2, I cant help but be disappointed at its limitations, and at imagining what it could be. 12 minute headways for urban rail are really underwhelming, and as someone who will be using Carleton station, I have no doubts there will be trains too full to board there during rush hour.
How fast do these trains go? Also given one line connects directly to an airport that would sound super convenient to travel within Ottawa boundaries without needing to drive over.😂
The entire public transport system in Ottawa is disappointing and LTR is a prime example. Can someone explain why the western terminus stops 1km before reaching a community of 140,000 people? Why is there no direct airport connection to downtown? Patching, patching and more patching. Doesn't the capital of a G7 country deserve better planning?
What concerns me is the decision to have diesel trains. Just because it's cheaper, doesn't mean it's better. We have one of the new ones already electric, so why not have all of them fully electric?
Cost. The capital funding for the project was limited and there was no interest, at the time, by the city and its partners to invest more. We hope to see a viable approach to electrification in the future, ideally OCS or battery operated trains (both can be done with the Stadler FLIRT), though Michael Morgan previously mentioned hydrogen too at some point...
It's not even cheaper. Electric trains are cheaper to operate in the long term, it's just a one-time capital investment. The whole project is underwhelming between the shortage of double track, the speed limit of only 80 km/h even on the dead-straight line through the greenbelt, and lack of electrification.
Not to mention that diesel needs to be refilled and requires a fair bit of space. This will decommission the entire train for refill, no? Also, why not consider an extra pass-by track for goods trains vs leaving them go through the passenger station?
@@Richard-xu7kz additional track isn't required, this happens a handful of times in a year, sometimes only once. It would usually happen outside of service hours.
@@paulbadics3500 definatly still is an airport link. Although I understand your point, taking one bus to hurdman is easy. However, I’d rather 3 trains over a bus any day
I dislike the new livery. When they go along Scott up the hill to Bayview, or through LeBreton Flats when there's snow buildup alongside, all you can see is the white tops. They look like white elephants.
That Ottawa - the nation's capital - has no direct train service from the airport to downtown is an embarrassment of the highest order. You have to transfer twice to get to and from downtown. Given everything else that has gone wrong with this system, and continues to fail, why has no one at OCTranspo or city hall been fired over this. A truly pathetic joke.
Really wish these trains were electric and not diesel powered. Sure it saves money in the short term not electrifying the tracks and getting electric trains, but its not good for the air quality in the long term and ottawa already uses hydroelectricity, a far less environmentally harmful way to generate electricity than say, burning coal. At least if they electrified the tracks, they could potentially use the electric versions of these trains on line 1 and standardize the fleet, removing the honestly shameful trains they currently run on line 1.
To use these trains on Line 1, all the platforms would have to be raised in height, or the track lowered, which would be a massive undertaking at this point, and as such, not something likely to be done. Likely Line 1/3 will use low floor trains while Line 2/4 will use high floor for the foreseeable future if not indefinitely.
@@RailFansCanada I know its definitely not something to think of for the short term or even mid-term probably, but it would make it so that in the long term it would be something possible to do and would save money by standardizing the maintenance costs on all the trains going forward, rather than having to cater to two different train types.
Tens of thousands of daily commuters in the south and west ends would strongly disagree with you and the few hundred people taking the train from the airport.
Whose idea was it to build an LRT station in the middle of a farm? How is this supposed to relieve traffic on the road? People who designed Ottawa transit are not competent.
Unless you know of another way to reach Riverside South, no choice to go through the Greenbelt. I should also point out that Limebank station will see massive development over the coming years with a planned district and (hopefully) what will be a 15 minute neighborhood. Holistically, the goal of transit is not just to "relieve traffic", it is to give people options for mobility that are flexible and allows them to get where they need, when they need. Line 2 is a North-South Corridor that was a former Canadian Pacific alignment for most of its length. Various communities and numerous developments are being built along it's entire length, with some questions about its capacity to support the number of riders in 15-20 years timeline. This line has been a real net-positive for the city since the early 2001 "trial" and a backbone for transit users. -David
Thank you for all the information!
Line 2 and 4 will definitely be put to the test during the Christmas Holidays in December
Assuming they will be open
I can't wait to ride this!
Thanks so much for these updates! Excited to see both lines open up. You video footage is fantastic
Glad you enjoyed it!
A well done video my friend!
Line 2 looks fun!
Gonna ride line 2 all day long opening day.
What’s really bothered me is that OC Transpo hasn’t been transparent, or accountable at all. During the last two years they kept gong “oopsie looks like another delay, we need to fix a few kinks” then not tell us what needs to be fixed. Now that trial running is done they’re saying “oh we just need to do a few more things before we open” without providing any information, or even a timeline.
This is wonderful! I got to take some photos of the Stadlers when I made a brief visit to Ottawa back in February (I'm from Vancouver).
The biggest unanswered question about Line 2/4 itself, is why does OC Transpo consider it as an "LRT", when it is clear that the Stadlers and LINTs are considered mainline commuter trains? Shouldn't it be classified as commuter rail instead? Also, I feel that with the level boarding and frequent service, Line 2 should be considered as a new standard for commuter rail in North America (many systems on the continent still lack all-day service and level boarding).
The other glaring issue is the double transfer when traveling from the airport to downtown, once at South Keys (same platform), and then at Bayview (up one level). Will this kind of inconvenient arrangement discourage people to use transit to the airport, making the car congestion to the airport worse? What about existing bus services like the 97, will they be maintained to compensate for the tiny LINT trains that would be inadequate for the passenger traffic to the airport? Having lived in Toronto and Vancouver myself (both cities having frequent direct trains between airport and downtown), this peculiar arrangement on Line 2/4 seems very inferior in comparison.
From what I've seen, OC Transpo doesn't use the term "LRT" at all. OC Transpo refers to the entire network by its proprietary name, "O-Train". In my opinion, this is a good practice to avoid any confusion around the different types of rail technology used between the various lines. It seems to be the local media that continues to use the term "LRT" in its reporting, which is very annoying. It leads to a lot of confusion, with some people who are unfamiliar with the system thinking that Line 1 (and future Line 3) are "the LRT" while Lines 2 and 4 are "the O-Train".
To me, simply using the numbered line designations (e.g. "Line 2") is the best practice when referring to a single line, or using the term "O-Train" when referring to the system in general.
The two transfers seem like the easiest transit transfers on can take - minimal wait outside and minimal walking (take the elevators at Bayview).
Ottawa has Vancouver beat in one area as the main universities have rail transit stations.
@@spinladen1774 Yeah, but when you consider the recent unnecessary service cuts (10 mins off peak on Line 1, and 15 mins all times at best on Line 2), if you miss your train on either or both lines, you're gonna be waiting for a very long time.
@@naturallyherb that's if you just miss your train by seconds. Odds are you'll fall somewhere in that ten min or less range for line 1.
Lines 2&4 intervals is 12 min, actually, with up to half of that wait sitting in the trains (when they leave Bayview or Limebank stations). Airport station will be the best waiting spot of all the stations
Best bet for this line is to check the schedules ahead of time like you would for a bus.
There's much to not like, but at least both of these transfers (as well as some subsequent transfers to buses) are within fare-paid zones.
I arrived in Istanbul once and had to walk a block and a half through random streets to get from one metro station to a connection. Even the connections within stations in Istanbul required paying a separate fare.
🤦♂️ Yup, take a bus to a train, wait, board train wait, switch trains, wait, switch trains again, wait some more, switch to bus again. Destination on time? Not in this city!
I live in Kanata, It used to take 35-40 mins on bus to get downtown. That time has doubled now, and to go to the east end it's almost 2 hours. You could almost drive to Montreal in that time.
Everyday I use line 1, in my head plays Adam's Sandlers - Ode to my car, but I sub car for train.
"POS train, We gotta POS train" 😆
3 trains to get downtown from the airport is wild
yup but between 2 and 4 is a short enclosed wait very short
Infact you guys are doing fantastic job keeps it up❤my greetings to you guys Hayford Adusei Ghana West Africa❤
Hi, I am a big fan of rail travel and a bigger fan of public transit. Having said that, the entire Ottawa LRT system is a debacle, a scandalous abuse of our hard-earned tax dollars and a huge step backwards for commuters. Residents of many southern suburbs formerly enjoyed a single express bus to take them directly downtown. Now we will have to use a minimum of two trains. In many cases, we will need to take a local bus to get to the LRT station and then two additional trains to take us downtown. The official policy of Ottawa City Council is to deflect responsibility by scapegoating other levels of government for the sorry state of transit in this city. Not a single councillor will accept the plain truth that city hall crippled transit in this city. To cap it all off, we have a new Diesel rail line in an age when fully electric buses are coming into widespread use. The very idea of replacing a single and direct bus with THREE trains for a 13 km journey from a downtown hotel to the the airport is emblematic of a project that was never about improved commuting or helping the environment. Ottawa's LRT project is nothing but a scam to transfer taxpayer dollars to big, well-connected construction and engineering firms via the hands of greasy consultants and venal politicians. For a fraction of the cost and without disruption, we could have simply extended the dependable bus-based rapid transit further out into the suburbs. Ottawa LRT is a disgrace.
I think at about 8:00, you put captions in the wrong spot. The Captions for that last questions scroll through really quickly before you address the 9th question, and then when you get to the 10th question the captions aren't there.
Great video as always. Except when you say the transfer between Line 2 and Line 4 at South Keys is designed to be "as smooth as possible". Designed to be that way, maybe, but not in reality. Checking the schedule on OC Transpo's website, it looks like it will be a 6-7 min wait for a transfer between the lines. What happened to the original plan to use the pocket track, which would've enabled a 1-2 min transfer as planned? Two transfers to go between downtown and the airport was already a stretch, and I can't see myself using Line 4 if now it's going to be an even longer wait at South Keys station. Huge disappointment, and OC Transpo + the City seem to have tried to sweep that change under the rug.
The 1-2 minute transfer would have been to wait for the train to arrive (only in 1 specific direction), but beyond that, it would still dwell at the station before departing. In either scenario, you still wait at South Keys for a few minutes, the difference is whether most of that wait is standing on the platform or inside the train waiting to depart.
Ugh, whose idea was it to have a transfer from Line 2 to Line 4 at South Keys instead of running both the 2 and 4 Trains all the way to the junction with the Confederation Line? 😖😣😩😫
@@EdwardM-t8p It is single track for the most part so to run both Line 2 and Line 4 to Bayview would have meant 24 minute wait for each line instead of 12 minute wait for Line 2. It would need to be double tracked for that to be at all viable, or for the city to decide to prioritize the airport over the stations south of South Keys.
@@EdwardM-t8p Ultimately it was a decision by city council to prioritize the main line over the airport link.
@RailFansCanada but what's the purpose of a dwell time at South Keys Station? Shouldn't the dwell time only exist at Bayview and Limebank?
CN didn't dispatch it before. Railterm (now Siemens) dispatched it from Dorval.
I heard the dwell times before each train departure is three min?
At the terminus it can be 6-8 minutes from when it arrives to when it leaves but at all the other stations, it’s 1 minute or usually less.
How much dwell time would there be for the northbound line 2 train at South keys? Is it still about one min? I thought I saw a line 4 train arrive about four min before the line 2 train and then that line 2 train had a dwell time for I think a couple of min but maybe you can confirm?
Thank you for your informative videos, btw !
What we have seen is 1 minute or less at all stations except Bayview and Limebank terminuses.
@@RailFansCanada that is great then as the South Keys- Airport connection will be fluid then. Cheers 🙏
Why is the South Keys platform wide open to the elements? Do they want the airport line to go unused during the cold winter months?
Why didn't they double track the whole way?
Cost. That's the main reason.
@@RailFansCanadaisn’t the use of the old rail tunnel under the Rideau also a consideration? I understand it’s not wide enough for double track.
@@RailFansCanada One thing I struggle with in this city is that it don't really have a long term vision. Sure, double track is more expensive, but it would provide much better service from the start. For example, Montreal had only 1.6 million people in the 60s when they started building the metro, and they built it to be sustainable. Look at it now, it's the second most used system after New York, even though Montreal's population is less than Toronto's.
Edit: fixed a few typos.
@@Quince828There's no need to double track the tunnel, it's only a minute long. If they double tracked everything except the tunnel and the Rideau bridge they could run every 7.5 minutes which would allow lines 2 and 4 to both run through to Bayview every 15 min each. Plus they would have the full range of headways to choose from instead of exactly 12 or exactly 24 which are the only options currently. And average speeds would be higher because there's less need to carefully time train meets.
@@Mereo110Unfortunately Ottawa has never been forward thinking. We should have had a subway or light rail years and years ago.
Interesting,
don't you all enjoy railroad
trams, trains etc are just so cool
take a ride in my ''transportation'' folder, (folder 2 in my playlists) :)
When do you think the opening date will be?
If they are still aiming for mid-November, then maybe Nov 16. Just a guess but fits the 3 weeks they said were necessary after trial running concluded. We should know a bit more later today on next steps.
8:08 what was a VIA train doing on it?
The Siemens Venture set was being tested at the NRC facility, and is shown in the video departing.
The stupidiest transit from the airport to downtown: board 3 trains instead of only one?! This can happen only in Ottawa, the capital of Canada where the Mayor and City management and OC Transpo management have no clue how to run the city transportation and transit.
Hi, is the Line 1 algonquin too ready to be opened with the other lines or will it take more time?
No, Line 1 to Algonquin and Line 3 to Moodie are part of Stage 2 West. The current timeline for opening is end of 2026 / early 2027. The project is progressing well, but the major determinant will be progress and testing along the Kichi Zibi tunnel!
@@RailFansCanada😢Then i wont be able to use this
impressive to have a train to such a small airport. Looks like a decent system but i am surprised that these trains are diesel.
I'd like to see those platform extenders in use between the O-Train servicing and when VIA, CN, etc. does its thing passing through
It still isn't open? It looked basically ready when I left town in July...
We are still awaiting an opening date, hopefully in the coming weeks. We are hopeful for it to open by the end of the year, but for now, fingers crossed!
@@RailFansCanada I was thinking it would easily be open for my flight back at the start of December...
Any info on if there will be a park and ride at limebank? I'm debating on taking line 2 from there to carleton to avoid the awful traffic in the mornings
There is no Park and Ride at Limebank, but there is a considerably sized one at Bowesville nearby (about 2.5km east).
Is it possible to upgrade the lines to electric in the future without needing to replace tracks?
What???? Why????? Diesel always is more reliable than electric. Especially during the winter!!!! It’s also less maintenance.
Have they made any plans for extending line 4 in the future? A lot of people talk about bayview, but why not double track walkey station and then diverge line 4 towards billings bridge/hurdman?
Currently no plans or real discussions on any extensions of Line 4 at this time. I'm sure something will happen down the road but as to what and when, no idea.
What is the expected dwell time at south keys for a person travelling from airport towards bayview? Are the two lines coordinated? Thanks so much for the videos, I'm soooo excited.
Expected wait/dwell will likely be around 5-6 minutes. Depending on the direction you are heading on Line 2 will affect how much the wait is ultimately. We don't know yet what it will be in actual practice, but you can get an idea from OC Transpo's New Ways to Bus Trip Planner. Those times it will quote will be refined as they get a better idea of the exact timing.
Any update on Stage 3 or is that dead in the water for now.
Stage 3 is mostly planned, but not funded or confirmed to happen. The Kanata extension environmental assessment is complete while the Barrhaven one is currently open for comments. We don’t expect to see commitments on this until Stage 2 is completed. -David
Are you planning on digging into Phase 3 at some point?
Possibly. It would likely be more on various scenarios or phases that could be done since nothing is really moving ahead on it at this time.
Will OC Transpo still run the 97 bus to YOW once line 4 is operational?
Short answer no, but there will still be a route 197.,
According to OC Transpo's "New ways to bus" website, Route 97:
"Will be removed and replaced by:
• Route 98 between Hurdman and South Keys Stations, and Route N98 between Hurdman and Rideau during the overnight period when Line 1 is not running.
• Line 4 between South Keys and Airport stations."
So no more night bus from the airport to rideau street when the new trains aren't running?
@@spinladen1774 technically that’s the N97 not the 97 so maybe it’s future is different.
When all the new lines open entirely?
South likely in the next few weeks. East likely mid-2025 and West 2026.
Thanks for the great video! While I am excited for the opening of line 2, I cant help but be disappointed at its limitations, and at imagining what it could be. 12 minute headways for urban rail are really underwhelming, and as someone who will be using Carleton station, I have no doubts there will be trains too full to board there during rush hour.
How fast do these trains go? Also given one line connects directly to an airport that would sound super convenient to travel within Ottawa boundaries without needing to drive over.😂
The entire public transport system in Ottawa is disappointing and LTR is a prime example. Can someone explain why the western terminus stops 1km before reaching a community of 140,000 people? Why is there no direct airport connection to downtown? Patching, patching and more patching. Doesn't the capital of a G7 country deserve better planning?
Why didnt they run line 2 from Skeys into airport then onto limebank instead of separate line..not as convenient & more costly?
Because more people will be commuting regularly from the south end than going to and from the airport.
Great except for one point... in one shot you show a departures board that shows FOURTEEN MINUTES to an airport train. That is abhorrent.
When that video was shot, it wasn't during the trial running so it wasn't running the regular service pattern.
A 2-minute delay is abhorrent?
12 & 24 minutes between trains isn't good at all lol. Here in Toronto we have trains every 1 to 3 minutes & every 4 to 7 minutes in off peak times.
I just saw people on Ottawa's subreddit defending a 12 man frequency. Have to wonder how low people's expectations are.
What concerns me is the decision to have diesel trains. Just because it's cheaper, doesn't mean it's better. We have one of the new ones already electric, so why not have all of them fully electric?
Cost. The capital funding for the project was limited and there was no interest, at the time, by the city and its partners to invest more.
We hope to see a viable approach to electrification in the future, ideally OCS or battery operated trains (both can be done with the Stadler FLIRT), though Michael Morgan previously mentioned hydrogen too at some point...
It's not even cheaper. Electric trains are cheaper to operate in the long term, it's just a one-time capital investment. The whole project is underwhelming between the shortage of double track, the speed limit of only 80 km/h even on the dead-straight line through the greenbelt, and lack of electrification.
Not to mention that diesel needs to be refilled and requires a fair bit of space. This will decommission the entire train for refill, no? Also, why not consider an extra pass-by track for goods trains vs leaving them go through the passenger station?
@@Richard-xu7kz additional track isn't required, this happens a handful of times in a year, sometimes only once. It would usually happen outside of service hours.
Wanted an alternative to what was previously delivered. I think that makes sense. 🛤️
Bayview is a strange place for transit hub..should be downtown
@@paulbadics3500 not just that. It's been an interchange station for years now and then you look around it and where is the density.
The only question I have is "When is the line supposed to open?" And don't say sometime this fall. People are looking for a specific date.
Not much of an "airport link" if you have to change twice with your bags to get downtown
Exactly!
@@paulbadics3500 definatly still is an airport link. Although I understand your point, taking one bus to hurdman is easy. However, I’d rather 3 trains over a bus any day
you walk less to transfer between these trains than you do walking to the front entrance of a big box store from a big parking lot
Still pissed off they didn't paint/wrap the LINTs in the new livery!!
I dislike the new livery. When they go along Scott up the hill to Bayview, or through LeBreton Flats when there's snow buildup alongside, all you can see is the white tops. They look like white elephants.
That Ottawa - the nation's capital - has no direct train service from the airport to downtown is an embarrassment of the highest order. You have to transfer twice to get to and from downtown. Given everything else that has gone wrong with this system, and continues to fail, why has no one at OCTranspo or city hall been fired over this. A truly pathetic joke.
Finally.
Really wish these trains were electric and not diesel powered. Sure it saves money in the short term not electrifying the tracks and getting electric trains, but its not good for the air quality in the long term and ottawa already uses hydroelectricity, a far less environmentally harmful way to generate electricity than say, burning coal. At least if they electrified the tracks, they could potentially use the electric versions of these trains on line 1 and standardize the fleet, removing the honestly shameful trains they currently run on line 1.
To use these trains on Line 1, all the platforms would have to be raised in height, or the track lowered, which would be a massive undertaking at this point, and as such, not something likely to be done. Likely Line 1/3 will use low floor trains while Line 2/4 will use high floor for the foreseeable future if not indefinitely.
@@RailFansCanada I know its definitely not something to think of for the short term or even mid-term probably, but it would make it so that in the long term it would be something possible to do and would save money by standardizing the maintenance costs on all the trains going forward, rather than having to cater to two different train types.
Pasanger should pas without trsnsfer from aeroport to Orlean and aeroport to Kanata also from aeroport to Gatineau.
Very confusing lines with different names
o train line 4 should go to downtown ottowa.
Tens of thousands of daily commuters in the south and west ends would strongly disagree with you and the few hundred people taking the train from the airport.
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Whose idea was it to build an LRT station in the middle of a farm? How is this supposed to relieve traffic on the road? People who designed Ottawa transit are not competent.
Unless you know of another way to reach Riverside South, no choice to go through the Greenbelt. I should also point out that Limebank station will see massive development over the coming years with a planned district and (hopefully) what will be a 15 minute neighborhood. Holistically, the goal of transit is not just to "relieve traffic", it is to give people options for mobility that are flexible and allows them to get where they need, when they need.
Line 2 is a North-South Corridor that was a former Canadian Pacific alignment for most of its length. Various communities and numerous developments are being built along it's entire length, with some questions about its capacity to support the number of riders in 15-20 years timeline. This line has been a real net-positive for the city since the early 2001 "trial" and a backbone for transit users. -David