Ottawa’s Trillium Line re-opens

Ottawa’s Trillium Line light rail re-opened on December 6, 2024. Transport Action Atlantic president Tim Hayman was in Ottawa and provided this report on the first trip.

By rather happy coincidence, I found myself in Ottawa during the week of the O-Train Line 2/4 opening. January 6th marked the official start of revenue service on the expanded O-Train Line 2 (Trillium Line) and the new Line 4 to the airport. Given that I also happened to be staying within easy walking distance of Tunney’s Pasture station (on the Confederation Line), it was a relatively easy call to decide to go out and catch one of the first trains of the day. It appears that the very first departure would have been the northbound short-run from South Keys at 6:02am, followed by the short-run from Mooney’s Bay at 6:06am, but the Bayview departure at 6:07am would be the first to traverse the entire line (with the first northbound from Limebank at 6:13am).

I made my way to Tunney’s to catch the 5:41am eastbound train, which got me to Bayview at 5:43am. Heading down to the lower Line 2 platform – now finally open! – I found there was a pretty sizeable crowd already milling about, including a mix of railfans, some media, and quite a few OC Transpo employees. I gather there were some Ottawa politicians and senior transit staff in the mix, but I don’t know who everyone is well enough to recognize them. Railfans Canada livestreamed this inaugural run, and you can find their video here: RFC YouTube Playlist for Ottawa

The train for this inaugural departure, Stadler FLIRT C12, arrived in the station at 5:56am. The doors open for boarding at 5:59am, and the train filled up quickly (there was still room, but it was quite full). We departed right on the scheduled time at 6:07am, and there was a cheer throughout the train. 

My initial impressions of the FLIRT trains are very positive. The seating is quite good for this type of train, perfectly comfortable for the length of trip and well spaced. There is also ample space for wheelchairs and mobility devices. The trains are well lit, and have plenty of screens for information throughout, though these weren’t working properly on the southbound trip, and seemed to have some issues during the first few days of operation. The ride is very smooth and remarkably quiet, certainly comparable with what one would expect from an intercity or heavy commuter train. These trains employ a “power pack” unit in the middle of the train, housing the diesel engines. Even riding right next to this mid-train segment, the noise of the engines is remarkably muted.

The southbound trip was fairly smooth, aside from the screens not showing destination information. Announcements were not being reliably made for the various stops. We were stopped for a short while before Walkley, and an announcement briefly came on stating that we were delayed “due to a technical issue”; but it appeared we were just waiting for two oncoming trains to pass. It was interesting to see the added stations at Corso Italia, South Keys and Walkley, as well as the new southern stations at Leitrim, Bowesville, and Limebank. Other highlights of the new line include the added flyover across the VIA Rail line, and nice views of the NRC rail test facility. The long stretches toward Bowesville and Limebank are really neat, because they feel much more like a rural mainline – though a lot of that area will eventually fill in with new development. 

We arrived at Limebank, the south end of the line, at 6:45am, a 38 minute travel time – slightly slower than the advertised 35min. Much of the crowd detrained and seemed to be waiting around for a subsequent train, but I decided to just hop right back on the train we arrived on and head back north. At South Keys, I detrained and waited about 5 minutes for the next Line 4 train to arrive for the airport. This is of course running with the single LINT trains, which are quite familiar from plenty of times I rode them on the previous incarnation of line 2. Compared to the FLIRT, the LINT is definitely noisier (with its underfloor diesel engines) and a bit rougher riding, and the seats aren’t quite as good, but it is still a comfortable train – and better on both of those fronts than the Line 1 Citadis trains. 

The ride to and from the airport was pretty smooth, with a reasonable group of passengers both ways. Most seemed to be railfans, but I did see at least two people with suitcases who were clearly using the train to go to the airport. On a subsequent trip the following day, I would get off at the airport station, and was impressed with the sizeable indoor waiting room next to the airport Departures area.

Back at South Keys, it was a relatively short wait for the next train headed for Bayview. This time I was on FLIRT C10. There was a decent crowd on this train, and by that time (7:39am departing South Keys), there were clearly quite a few people commuting rather than joyriding, so it certainly looked like the train was already being used for functional purposes. On this train, the stop announcements were all being made backwards – clearly, the Limebank direction was programmed in, rather than the Bayview direction. The operator was making announcements after each of these to clarify which stop we were actually approaching. Aside from that issue, the ride was smooth, and I made a quite seamless connection to a train for Tunney’s once arriving at Bayview. 

All in all, the new operation seems pretty smooth. The additional stations make the existing line feel a bit slower than it used to be, given the more frequent stops, but the stretches on the south end of the line start to feel like you’re out on a mainline in the countryside, given the current absence of development near those stations (of course that won’t be the case long-term). The transfers between trains were rather efficient, but the lack of any heated space on the platform at South Keys was especially noticeable on such a frigid day (-17 with a -23C windchill this morning). The enclosed waiting area with limited heat is at least a bit of help. One major drawback in the cold is the insistence of having all train doors open at every station, which lets in a lot of cold air. At least at Bayview and Limebank, the doors are left closed during the layover with the green push buttons active for passengers to board.

I rode the entire line end to end again each of the following two days, allowing for more photos in daylight and more of a feel for the system. I was impressed to see that the trains are already being well used by commuters, with large crowds boarding and detraining at Carleton, and a remarkable number of cars filling the park and ride at Bowesville station. The announcements and screens seem to continue to have some problems, as they were not functioning properly when I rode on day 2 (crew were making manual announcements), but they were functioning properly on day 3. Public washrooms at both Limebank and Bayview are a nice addition to those stations. I also had the chance to ride the one double LINT set that is running on Line 2, with trains C8 and C9 coupled together. The train is noisier than the FLIRT, but still made for a comfortable ride, with the only slight drawback being the inability to move between the two units. 

All in all, the new lines are a welcome addition, and it’s wonderful to be able to ride the existing and extended lines, especially after such a long delay!