OC Transpo cancels ~500 trips
OC Transpo cancelled nearly 500 regular bus trips last week to support R1 rail-replacement service after freezing rain disrupted operations, illustrating the depth of contingency strain during extreme weather. The disruption underscores operational-flexibility and fleet-resilience challenges for agencies in winter climates. (ctvnews.ca)
An intense freezing-rain event on March 11, 2026 dumped about 22.7 mm of precipitation across Ottawa, coating wires and triggering the initial Line 1 failures. (ottawa.citynews.ca) OC Transpo staff reported electrical “arcing” on trains between Hurdman and Lees at roughly 12:30 p.m., and two trains became stuck near Lees while overhead wires sparked and ultimately snapped. (ottawa.citynews.ca) A subsequent memo from interim GM Troy Charter noted separate power outages and damage near Tremblay and Blair, including a fallen piece of the Overhead Catenary System at Blair that extended east-end disruptions into the following days. (ottawa.citynews.ca) OC Transpo deployed R1 replacement buses—designed to serve all Line 1 stations with limited stops—running along the closed portions of Line 1 while crews removed ice and worked on repairs. (octranspo.com) Rideau Transit Maintenance completed repairs at Blair overnight and ran out‑of‑service trains to verify the system before reopening segments, according to agency updates from later in the week. (ca.news.yahoo.com) Service adjustments included R1 shuttles between Rideau and Blair and a separate shuttle between St‑Laurent and Cyrville while replacement buses also operated between Lyon and Blair as needed during the multi‑day response. (octranspo.com) The string of fresh wire faults and stalling incidents prompted councillors to call for an independent review of Line 1 reliability after the March 11 storm, per local reporting on the follow‑up political response. (ca.news.yahoo.com)
