The STRANGEST Transit Line in North America | The Ottawa O-Train 

The O-Train is great and it's sort of been dragged through the mud! I am excited to see where it goes in the future! Edit: Someone made a great comment about how these type of videos about North American transit systems and plans are quite negative: The first step is acknowledging you have a problem!

One problem you didn't mention was that a large number of Ottawa commuters don't seem able to figure out that you have to let people off the train before you get on, and that you should move away from the doors when you're far from your destination and toward them as you approach it.

Reece: "Subways can't have grade crossings." The CTA: *laughs maniacally while crossing the tracks in a residential neighbourhood*

As an Ottawa resident, this is a beautifully explained and thorough video. Good stuff bro

While I think that the fully built system will be a lot better, what’s frustrating about the first year is how the issues (cramped platform design, low floor configurations, poor weather proofing, and horrific transfers) compounded on each other to make the passenger experience truly miserable. When everything is build out and more reliable I doubt these will be issues, but stage 2 can’t come quickly enough :P

The fatal OC Transpo bus-Via train collision in south Ottawa in 2013, also at a level crossing, may have added to the push for grade separation.

In my view, Ottawa's only real mistake in building this system was not adopting Alstom Metropolis Light Metro rolling stock with platform screen doors in the vein of the Montreal REM, which would allow for much higher capacity and more safety for commuters. Furthermore, I wish they had followed the lead of Edmonton in building out their stations for much higher capacity at the outset. Nonetheless, I love my city's Transit system and believe it will be a phenomenal long term development for the city! Thanks again for the excellent content you both, keep it coming - hope to see you in Ottawa again soon to follow the Stage 2 development of Ottawa's O-Train!

The tracks between Lees and Hurdman are so loud lol

I'm in Ottawa commuter I work downtown I live near Blair and I will say that taking the train is way better than what the bus used to be

Wow this channel is great. My partner and I are applying for express entry and we're car adverse, so getting overviews of different transit systems throughout Canada is a fantastic resource. Finland has full low car street cars :)

Weirder than the Norristown High Speed Line? It runs a half-hourly interurban service through philly suburbs using 1-2 car tram sized vehicles with on board fare collection, except they’re high platform, powered by third rail, and run a fully grade separated route. Pretty bizarre IMO, but I kinda love just how weird it is.

Line 2 is actually a bigger problem because it has been under-designed. Phase 2, which makes it more of a regional train, actually maintains the idea that a large portion of the bus riders are directed away from it. The planners knew that because they can't increase train frequency. So most bus riders pass by Line 2 stations to go to Line 1 at Hurdman. Line 2 is confined by its one track design, which limits frequency and capacity. We spend $600M for Phase 2 without addressing the one track issue, which also creates the awkward airport connection. Also, because it doesn't run downtown, it creates this double transfer situation that is far from ideal for riders, and in the long-run it will cause problems at the Bayview transfer, when Line 1 trains will eventually exceed capacity to deal with the less frequent Line 2 passengers. In the past, this was not a problem because few used Line 2 to go downtown. This changes with Phase 2 when many riders from the south end will have no choice but to go downtown via the Bayview transfer and since we have a growing city of 100,000+ out there, it will become a bigger and bigger problem in the future. There will be lots of ribbon cutting in 2022 on Line 2 but the end result will be underwhelming.

It would be really nice to see a video discussing the transit model of the Trillium Line; using abandoned rail lines or branch lines with DMUs to create an affordable "regional/urbanish" transit line. Some other examples that could be looked at are the San Diego Sprinter, Capital MetroRail, S.M.A.R.T. The Trillium Line was built for a measly $59 Million dollars, its certainly an interesting model to discuss the advantages/disadvantages.

Amazing to me that LRVs hitting vehicles and pedestrians pressured Ottawa into fully grade separating the O-Train. Living in Melbourne (and using the tram system pretty frequently) one of the biggest killers of service reliability is cars hitting trams - but that seems to be regarded as an acceptable state of affairs, as grade separations are *very* few and far between. Even Route 96 (which runs in its own dedicated lane separated by concrete dividers for most of its length) has to wait at traffic lights and is occasionally hit by right-turning cars. Would really love to see the conversion of some of Melbourne’s high patronage tram routes converted to a proper, fully grade separated light rail system like the O-Train. Despite the criticisms you’ve pointed out, it looks like a system with a great deal of potential.

It has gotten, alot better then. 2019 and 2020, I have to admit.

Thanks for this interesting, outsiders view. We get caught in echo chambers, and sometimes lose sight of certain positives/negatives and historical contexts for our own decisions.

This content is EXTREMELY good. Very informative, clear and concise, and cut with great footage. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Great video! Love to see Ottawa get some coverage :) I would argue unless you're a Carleton Student, Line 2 (the OG o train) isn't really that great. Kind of annoying that for the longest time our only train system didn't really go near downtown, and stopped before the airport. Glad they are finally extending it

If the O Train is "strange," the Green Line in Los Angeles is bonkers. It runs from Norwalk to Redondo Beach with no grade crossings, mostly in a freeway median, but still uses overhead power and standard LRVs.

Great video, I like learning about the lines even as an Ottawa resident! I’m likely going to be building the entirety of Ottawa in Minecraft for a video series, so this helps a lot :)

Thank-you Reece. Another informative Vlog. I think most or all cities in Canada would kill for an O-Train. A real learning experience in rapid transit design. It can only get better. Cheers.

Definitely could use another video detailing all the issues that have emerged about the original contract, and the more recent derailments etc. I love the convenience of Line 1 when it works, and I'm eager for more light rail, but not the mismanagement around it. I would also like to add that the O-Train inherits a lot of Ottawa's baked-in transit design oddities by following the Transitway. The Transitway has always bent OC Transpo around it, despite a meandering route that often doesn't really serve the main axes of population or commerce (outside Ottawa U-Rideau and the Via Rail-Orleans corridor, which was better planned). Examples: Hurdman as a hub in the middle of sfa, the big empty of Lebreton Flats, the Scott St. leg which neither intersects nor gets close to major centres, and the Billings Bridge to Hurdman runaround before you can take the train downtown if you live in the southeast. The O-Train has been saddled with two odd routes because they were seen as low-hanging fruit. If serious rail transit planning had started decades earlier, I'd like to think many of these issues could have been addressed. Maybe a main subway/elevated line following the Queensway, a Bank Street line turning east to Ottawa U and looping back south to the Queensway at the northern end and turning west to the airport at the southern terminus, surface light rail north-south along Woodroffe, Riverside and St-Laurent (with a Carleton U spur on the Riverside line), and east-west lines along Baseline-Heron-Walkley and Hunt Club. Something like that would have solved not only the transit routing problems, but the major traffic congestion bottlenecks of the city. Just my crayon plan, but one can dream.

Hey, I loved this Video! I´m not from Canada nor I live in Canada, but I´ve visited Ottawa some years ago when only Line 2 was operating and I loved it and felt like home... (Maybe, because the Lint Trains have the same design like here in Germany ^^ ). And when I saw the videos about Line 1, I really liked it and still do! It is a wonderful system, which just need time. It is the same here in Düsseldorf, my hometown. New lines need time to fully be accepted. And I think, I can compare our system to the Ottawa system. Not in length or so, but we also have two different Train systems for our Light Rail. One, which is very similar to Line 1, but with Street interactions (^^) and an high-floor system which is going more out the system but also can be used on some low floor areas. Very interesting! But as I said, new things needs time to get accepted!

Line 2 actually shutdown a year ago for a complete overhaul. I think the plan was 2+ years and would extend to the airport.

Hannover, in Germany has the same sytem where the light rail goes underground in certain areas and become subway.

In seville, spain there is a similar system. A metro/ full separated train using trams

My solution to the O-Train problem is quite simple. First step is to build a tramway that compliments the Trillium and Confederation line - have it become a radial line so people can travel to different neighborhoods without going downtown. Next take the Citidas Spirit trains, and use them on the tramway - the Citidas is a tram and must be treated as such. Next, retrofit all stations to accept high-floor trains. Next, use a fleet of Alstom Metropolis trains for the confederation line, and call it a day.

Having stations open to the weather is absolutely insane. Might work in Vancouver but not in Ottawa when its -30 degrees with wind chills of -40 deg C.

Thank you for this really well researched video

As someone who takes the Line 1 often, I like that I can get from St Laurent station to Tunneys Pasture in under 20 minutes, while pre-LRT it would take 45 minutes to a hour assuming you have quick loading and unloading and you dont hit a lot of red lights along the route

The transit way stations probably also looked super impressive and modern with their bubbly red piping. Today they look dated and the glass has yellowed. I wish they made more timeless and simple outdoor stations for the LRT. Ones with roofs so that a heated floor was not necessary for the winter to melt snow.

Well done - you hit the proverbial nail on the head. It will be most interesting to see the system as it matures and the "hardware" problems are sorted-out.

Very interesting video by someone who knows the subject. I’ve been railfanning for 60 years, but not a former. I like “big trains”, but my first love, from age 12 in Montreal (1947), has always been streetcars and electric transit in general. I am due to visit Ottawa in the fall of 2021 (COVID permitting) for a conference and this helped a lot. Thanks.

Your videos are fantastic and really help people (like myself) who have no idea what these transit systems are to understand their pros and cons, why they're like that, and where there going?

On vacation in Ottawa and I like the system a lot. About a 800m walk to Lees and a km or two from the stations to where we want to go but speeds life up, clean, easy to use and fast. The bonus is the integrated bike, hiking trails near or even inside the O stations

In the Netherlands, quite a lot of trams, metro's and some trains have equal floors to the platforms

They should have kept it an all bus system with a bus tunnel to get through downtown. This would have gotten rid of the problem of railhead transfers, avoided train equipment and operational issues and massively reduced costs. They could have built out rail at the periphery to bring commuters into the bus system, maybe using the same kind of DMUs as Line 2.

Drove past the eastern extension today...once Phase 2 is complete it will be very useful

Thank you so much for explaining all of this. Excellent!

You know who really needs more time? London’s Crossrail...

I remember when the trillium line was the "O-train". Now its not even worth mentioning lol. I always liked taking that from Bayview to Carleton. :D

You’re correct about the 70% low floor trams. But otherwise, this line is no different than the D branch of The Green line in Boston, which has been operating since 1959. A former rail line that was repurposed as LRT rapid transit and hooked into the existing subway system. Fully grade separated, running through (or past) a golf course, numerous back yards, and a town square. I take it for granted, but worth the $2 for the sightseeing alone.

Great video except most stations aren’t nice in terms of usability. I was shocked when I found out none of them had enclosed shelters (except in the tunnel).

i’m glad that line 1 is finally going to orleans and wayyyyyy later into kanata and barhaven

I really like all the nerdy detail about transit vehicle trade offs and issues. Never seen that before. We added a couple of Swiss model regional type trains in the Dallas Fort Worth area. They’re only regional because of our low population density and massive car culture, but that’s the story of American transit away from a few big cities. Our DART light rail spent a bunch of money on station modifications for partial low floor cars a while ago.

Chicago has one non grade separated "subway" crossing on the Brown Line near Kimball.

One thing I've long wondered is why not have stations (at least busy interchange ones) with a central platform and side platforms as well, so you can open all the doors. People would enter from the side and exit through the centre. Another idea is to have three sets of tracks at busy stations, so trains going in the busy direction at given time of day would get the central track, allowing two trains at a time.

I live not too far from the O-Train and it makes me so warm inside seeing the beautiful city I lived and grew up in :')

I’m gonna be honest, I’ve lived in Ottawa since September, and use the train on a relatively weekly bases, I am yet to experience a single problem with it. And I honestly prefer it to the busses because I actually know when the trains come (and I have never waited more than 5 minutes for one).

That's nice... In Athens we have a suburban railway with double track throughout but we may even have to wait 40 minutes on the busiest line, the airport line

I have always thought it should have shared rolling stock with the TTC Subway. I am an Ottawa resident who has lived in Toronto. I consider that Union Station to Eglinton opened in 1954 with 4 cars per train on a 15 minute cycle and now operates 6 car trains at crush capacity during rush hour with a 5 minute or less cycle. I do not see how the vastly smaller Ottawa LRT trains and tunnels will handle growth in ridership. Also, for political and maybe geological issues, the train runs under Queen Street, which is too far north to be convenient distance from a lot of downtown Ottawa which grew up along the Bus Rapid Transit system along Albert (Westbound) and Slater (Eastbound). Given the politics of this city - including unique issues like the NCC - I am just amazed we have anything at all.

This is the second recent video I've seen where you've mentioned the low number of doors - at 14 per side, per train, I don't think I agree at all that there aren't enough doors. They are a little oddly spaced throughout the train though which I find a tad awkward while waiting on the platform (although the new ground markings help with that issue).

Well, this aged rather poorly lol

The "O" in O-Train stands for "Occasional" as in the train provides Occasional Service.

Honestly, as of me being a citizen of downtown ottawa i have gotten used to it since i have used it for just over 2 years, yes it may be *absolutely noisy* on some districts but thats because from what i heard the project was rushed and corners were cut in the literal blueprint, which also is why there were incidents on the cut cornered places, example, if you live in ottawa you sure should know the tremblay - hurdman curve, loud, and screeching, this was one of those places where designs pushed such small of a train beyond its limits. But there is a good side to using lrt. Unlike subway, if someone falls onto the rails by accident or deliberately the gettinf back on the platform is not a high jump. Anyways thats my perspective from being a ottawa citizen and using the line 1 and 2 for atleast 2 years

Boston Green Line Type 10 LRV is planned to be fully low-floor.

Collab with Vanishing Underground please!! :D

Thank you for a very informative video.

Great video RM!

Used to commute through Tunney's (from LRT to Bus) and it was indeed very very congested. Fortunately I am small and nimble so could squeeze behind garbage cans and railings where other people couldn't to sort of shimmy my way out of the LRT platform and onto the stairs up to the busses

The reason why you can’t normally walk across subway tracks (and this includes SkyTrain tracks!) is because of the third rail, or power rail, that supplies electricity to the trains. It’s located at track level and it’s like a live wire- it’ll zap you if you touch it! But the O-Train’s electric trains use a catenary system instead, which means it’s powered by overhead wires using a pantograph, which is what Vancouver’s trolleys use

I would argue that the O train trams are just that. Trams rather than tram trains. Tram trains usually are high floor platform access with level boarding like Manchester's Metrolink or Koln-Bonn StadtBahn (U-Bahn) cars Ottawa's trams look like TTC's streetcars (German Strassebahn cars) with kerb level low platforms

It's been awhile since I have heard of any problems with the O-Train. (I lived in Ottawa in the 1990's, and love to keep informed about what's happening in the city.) I hope that things are going better with this system.

didn't it just completely derail itself a few days ago? lmao

Grade separated could also mean elevated, which is a lot quicker and cheaper to construct. It was one of the preferred options but was quickly shot down by the politicians who loved the idea of a subway.

This kinda reminds me of the D Line in Boston. It is completely grade separated, but has on board fare collection.

If you think this is weird you should look at what they are going to do with the tram trains in Karlsruhe. They currently operate as an S-Bahn outside of the city proper and as trams inside the city. However they are going to put the trams underground in the city center (they are actually almost done with construction, or at least they claim to be) to operate like a Metro there.

in montreal, they have red, orange, blue lines etc. and the trains are all the same color blue, in boston, red line trains are red, ditto for orange, blue and green lines.

Australia has low floor trams in most cities. Canada way behind...

Pretty much all streetcar lines in the US that have been built in the last 15 years use 100% low floor vehicles.

I really would like to know how you come to the conclusion that the Trillium line has „Swiss style infrastructure“. Firstly non-electrified railroads are unheard of in Switzerland, with the exception of a few Diesel Multiple Units (DMU) that penetrate Swiss territory from France and a few shunter locos the operations of the Swiss Federal Railways is 100% electric. Secondly the DMUs in use on the Trillium line are basically identical to DMUs that are in use in Germany

Maybe update this to spell out how big of a failure the system is for so many reasons. And how there is no one left accountable as they all quit or didn't run again, or that as I type this, we are building phase 2 using the same garbage as in phase one! This is a very expensive joke that we the taxpayer will be on the hook for in a similar way to The Big O.........remember that one?

So, the Province of Ontario spent more than a year and millions of dollars on a Royal Commission to find out what went wrong with the O-Train. They should have just asked you - - - you explained everything perfectly in one 10 minute video!!

People love line 2 cause it’s through it’s teething period. Since it’s daily ridership is about what line 1 can do in an hour, it’s easier for people to forget the first few months after the last upgrade went horribly... not saying it isn’t great, it was cheap and overall serves its purpose well, just that all new systems have trouble(and I guarantee it will have issues again when it relaunches after stage 2), so not really fair to compare a brand new Line 1 to a well established line 2...

Living in Ottawa, I have riden the LRT Twice, wich is twice too many.

You're absolutely right in highlighting the problems at Tunneys Pasture station as a big part of the problem with the system, and I think the planners failed to give adequate consideration to its role as the western terminus (albeit a temporary one). It's not designed to be a major terminus, so making the transfer between bus and train is poorly designed and results in really, really bad foot traffic management. This is compounded due to the delay in the western extension, which will e mean Tunneys will serve as the terminus for a couple extra years.

Keep in mind that they are expanding the whole system west, east, and south, so make sure to make a new video then.

May I add two points? First, Ottawa's Line 1 had some VERY serious teething issues. These are being/have been worked out. I am not aware of any major transit system that opened without teething issues. Many people in Ottawa were complaining without knowing all the facts. (And yes, blame can be applied to the city, to Alstom, and RTG/RTM) Second, prior to COVID, I noticed that, quite frequently, people would arrive on the platform and stay relatively close to the stairs they descended. What happened was that there were huge crowds at each end of the platform and hardly anyone in the middle section. O-Train staff had to tell people to move down the length of the platform, but I noticed that some people didn't seem to understand. As a result, the train had seven sets of doors available, but the middle three or four weren't seeing as many passengers as the door sets at each end. More teething issues, I guess.

Thankyou for the hard work you put in. Can you do a new follow up to the O train breaking down for 5+ days because of ice build up on the main power line. Ottawa receives the most freezing rain in the world.

For all it's teething problems, I think the Confederation Line will be a good line for Ottawa. I hope they can get all the issues sorted out. I think when all is said and done in a decade or two, Ottawa's system will be better than both Calgary and Edmonton. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, but I'd give the nod to Ottawa.

It's not that there are too few doors. There are 14 per trainset. The problem is more that the doors aren't spaced equally. This is partially due to the low-floor requirement which means the bogeys actually cause the floors to rise up slightly and the centre aisle to narrow between the bogies. But it's also partially due to the different lengths of the four articulating components of each of the two-train vehicles. This means that on one car, for e.g., the doors are only 5m apart but on the next car the doors are 12m apart. I noticed, before the pandemic, that riders intuitively understood this from the get go. And this meant that they don't distribute themselves very well inside the train. Because the aisles are too narrow between the bogies, many folks don't want to move too far from the door by which they entered and so a bunching effect is created near the doors which slows down entry and egress considerably. The system is designed for an additional 5th. segment for each of the two segments making up one O-Train. Perhaps when the trains are extended this next, 5th. section, which would be 14 m in length, can be designed so the doors are equally spaced. But, again, it's not that there are too few doors. It's that they're not (unlike the Sky Train in Vancouver) properly spaced

This kind of light rail/tram-train system appears to be very common in Europe - particularly in Germany. If you look at the Stadtbahn systems across the Rhein-Ruhr and also in Köln, Stuttgart, Hannover and Bielefeld even, you'll see impressive stations like those on line 1 in Ottawa as well. Köln also runs a mix of low floor and high floor trams through there, and across the Ruhr, the low floor trams (not the stadtbahn) also run underground in a few cities like Bochum.

Regarding the use of a low deck, their use remove limitations of future expansion. If a future extension or line provides grade level service, same or similar trains can be used.

"After a few incidents involving cars vs trains" Well, actually it was an OC Transpo Bus going over a crossing having an F40PH ram it at full speed, killing 7 just about 5 minutes from where I currently live, so, yeah.

Really good video. Nailed a lot of points. One thing I'd add is the negative effects of politics on the system; poor decisions made due to political convenience, rather than what is best

FYI Switzerland has no diesel passenger trains. since a long time.

It sounds a little bit like a Gordian knot: the frequency cannot be upgraded because people tend to run to the carts and bash the doors and all want to get onto the same line, because the frequency is not high enough. The solution operate at a higher frequency. The other solution: build more lines to spread out the traffic.

This seems very similar to Edmonton's Velley Line LRT expansion

Would it be possible to make a video breaking down the other systems that use low floor tram trains on a fully grade separated metro system? That would be really interesting see the other systems. So far I have only found out about 1 or 2 more in Europe.

The problem with Rideau Station is they busted a Sewer line while constructing it. So, it perpetually stinks of Hydrogen Sulfide. ...obviously not enough to kill you but, bad enough.

Wonder what he would say today after two railroad derailments and several breakdowns since this video, including the tunnel track repair; not to mention the city's choice to pursue investigation and consideration of dropping the contract?

I believe it may be the coldest LRT platform experience in the world.

In Medellin they are going to build a new light rail line on the west, has a lot of stations planed and construction has “begun” already, but, I’m quite afraid that they are going to use low floor trams for such an important line that, surely, is going to have a lot of people moving in it. Maybe this could change and use high floor trains like those on LA idk.

yeah i like line 2 and also they drive so smoothly on line 2 they don’t even need safety bars but it’s closed for the extension :/

Grade separation was established 40 years ago with the bus Transitway. Only Mayor O'Briens plan was to use the street. 10 years ago when the current mayor was elected he went back to the grade separation.

Meanwhile in Quebec city, no one can agree on the tramway and new bridge project.

Good day. I feel the need to make some corrections to some assumptions in the video as I understand them living in the city. First of all, Line 2 (the original O-Train) is not a regional service. It is nothing like the Go-Train in Toronto at all as it does not leave the city of Ottawa limits at all. It started at Greenboro (a suburb south of downtown) and ran north to Lebreton Flats and connected with the existing Transit-way at each end, which was built over many years to be a separate bus system completely separated from the rest of the city roads. Line 2 is now being extended further south to the Airport and Riverside South, another suburban area. So no, this train is not a regional line at all. They used an old train corridor which was mostly just a single track and made a passing area at Carleton University when that station was first built. That is what restricted the amount of time and number of trains. They have since doubled the tracks in more areas south of Carleton U and just South of Lebreton Flats to allow trains to pass (they were up to 4 trains if I recall correctly), but there are still limits where the train goes under the Canal and Dows Lake North of Carleton U in a tunnel and over the Rideau River just South of Carleton U. The train is also in a ditch north of Carleton U, so not a lot of space for double tracks. I am not sure if the expansion is trying to eliminate these bottle necks or not, but it would be very costly to do so. The plan for the new Line 1, was to always be built over the transit-way. There were a hand full of areas where the transit-way still used roads, like the Sir John A McDonald parkway but most of the transit-way was separated and other areas of the transit-way were still being separated, like in Barrhaven. On Sir John A, the plan was to run the train, separate from the road, but at grade. Local residents asked if the train could be placed in a ditch, like many areas of the transit-way west of Lebreton Flats. Going further West, the train will be at grade running on it's own dedicated area along the 417 into Kanata. The same is being done heading east into Orleans. The only forced areas i can think of is this ditch by Sir John A and, maybe the tunnel downtown. Another area the transit-way used city streets was the use of Slater and Albert Streets as part of the transit-way. Building the tunnel was always considered an option, just the most expensive option. The political argument to save money of the day was to keep the line above grade and run along Rideau to Queen and reconnect with the Transit-way just west of Downtown. But there was always a huge issue of bus backups in the downtown area, especially around Rideau Centre where many photos will show upwards of 30 or more busses bumper to bumper from Slater and Elgin to Rideau Centre or from Ottawa U to the Rideau Centre. Eventually, the argument for the tunnel won in order to avoid issues with the trains running through the downtown on the streets like the Transit Way. As for the system being great. It has been rife with issues from its opening day. There is currently a hearing ongoing looking into what has caused this system so much grief since it opened. From issues with trains derailing, to switches not working, wheels that are not being properly serviced to maintain their round shape, to the issue with the door sensors malfunctioning causing stalled trains at stations. They are many images of swarms of people walking from Tunney's Station to downtown because the system was shut down due to issues.

If this system is supposed to move people efficiently during peak hours and loading, why then did Ottawa shut down the main station during the Canada Day celebration when the downtown park was emptying out of people and the train was needed the most? That is opposite how the service is supposed to work. When you need the trains the most….SHUT the STATION down.

I find it quite interesting how there is no mention that most of Stage 1 and 2 are running on the existing transitway and BRT, but the alignment for the transitway is really not suited for LRT operations. Creates a lot of unecessary speed reductions and overuse of brakes.

Streetcars on a subway style line is really a bad choice...built a tram line !