Carleton University students will have to wait until at least September 2023 to ride the rails of Ottawa’s O-Train Line 2 (Trillium Line), according to a constructor’s update at a recent Finance and Economic Development Committee meeting.
The Trillium line runs between the South Keys and Bayview stations and through Carleton’s campus. It has been under construction since May 2020 and is currently replaced by Line 2 bus service.
When the Trillium Line resumes service, the original track that previously ended at Greenboro Station will extend to Limebank Road in Riverside South. There will also be a four-kilometre link to Ottawa’s airport.
Michael Morgan, director of Ottawa’s Rail Construction Program, told the committee Oct. 31 the aim is still for the constructor, SNC-Lavalin subsidiary TransitNEXT, to transfer the project to the City of Ottawa in August 2023 and have the Trillium Line in service by September.
However, Morgan also expressed uncertainty in this timeline, saying it is a “stretch target” and “will require a lot of effort.” He added his confidence will grow if most or all of the track bed is completed this fall.
As of now, 65 per cent of the Trillium Line has been laid, though track has yet to be installed through Carleton’s campus. Construction on the university’s station is largely complete and electrical work is in its final stages, though Morgan said the pedestrian bridge that will connect Carleton to Vincent Massey Park won’t open until next calendar year.
The expansion project was initially planned to conclude this August, but the city learned last December that it would be delayed until May 2023. Council was later notified in April that the delay would extend until August 2023. Morgan attributed delays across the O-Train network to a lack of cement and specialized labour, worker strikes and May’s derecho storm.
The line’s closure impacts Carleton commuters. Shuvo Halder, a third-year electrical engineering student at Carleton, said he finds the bus service satisfactory and fairly reliable except for the odd delay, but he looks forward to having the train running through campus again.
“It will definitely help because compared to a bus, I think a train will run much faster,” Halder said. “I won’t have to look at my watch every time to go out and stand in line in the cold. I think that, especially in the winter, it’s going to help me a lot.”
“I would always hesitate as a city councillor to accept anything that is of a subpar quality,” Dudas said. “I am very eager to see that handover as soon as possible, but I also want [TransitNEXT] to take the time it takes to get us the quality product we require.”
Besides Trillium Line delays, West Ottawa residents may be disappointed to learn the western expansion of O-Train Line 1 (Confederation Line) has been delayed 17 months and is set to conclude in late 2026. The eastern expansion project, however, is delayed by only 36 days and on track for TransitNEXT to transfer it to the city on New Year’s Day 2025.
“It is such a significant project for not only our city, but for all of the residents, whether they use transit or not.”
Dudas said the transfer of the “nuanced” Trillium Line expansion project from TransitNEXT to Ottawa could prove a success for the city as a whole.
“It is such a significant project for not only our city, but for all of the residents, whether they use transit or not,” she said. “It’s going to have implications for those who drive and really encourage some of our residents to use transit—[residents] who may never have used it before.”
Featured image by Matthew Robertson.
