The Wheels on the O-Train

Normally I only post once a day, however I had a special request to post this video. Ottawa's OTrain continues to have serious problems. On 8 August a train derailed - luckily it was out-of-service and no one was injured - and the recently released Transportation Safety Board report found that it was due to a wheel severed from an axle, which likely could have been avoided if the city had purchased heat-detection equipment for the trains (The full sorry story: Ottawa LRT derailment happened after hours of problems, TSB says.)

Then on Sunday, 19 September a second derailment occurred near Tremblay station. This one was more serious. Thirteen passengers were onboard, none injured, trackside signalling equipment and switch heaters were ripped out. Long story short, the TSB is investigating this one too, and the entire system has been shutdown for at least 3 weeks. No one is commenting on when it will reopen. (Here's the long story: LRT train derailed before entering station, then travelled across a bridge, says TSB)

The last derailment was so serious even the Toronto Star picked up the story, Why the bumpy, two-year ride of Ottawa's multibillion-dollar LRT system is sparking calls for a public inquiry. The Star's coverage is the best summary I've read of the situation.

Basically, Ottawa's LRT is a lemon, and it's looking like we're all going to have our wallets squeezed to fix it.