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Floobydust
RAILROAD SIGNALS HOME
Location / Name:
Ottawa ON Canada
What's Here:
new Light Rail System, to be opened in 2020?
the O-Train Trillium Line (the original O-Train)
Data:
GPS Coordinates: 45.408926, -75.721703 (Bayview station)
ZIP/Postal code: K1R 1C7
Area code: 613
Access by train/transit:
Via service at the Tremblay station
Via service 5.55km (3.43 miles) from Bayview station
O-Train Trillium Line Service at the Bayview station
The Scoop:
From Wikipedia: The Confederation Line, also called O-Train Line 1, is a light rail line operated by OC Transpo in Ottawa ON, as part of the city's O-Train light rail system. The Confederation Line opened on September 14, 2019 - it is the second O-Train line to be opened. It operates on an east to west route to complement the north to south Trillium Line (which is the original, or first O-Train line). Using light rail rolling stock and technology (e.g. pantograph electrical pickup from overhead catenary rather than a third rail), the Confederation Line is completely grade separated. At a cost of just over $2.1 billion, it was the largest infrastructure project awarded in the history of the city before being surpassed by the Stage 2 extension of the line which will cost $4.66 billion.
Travel time from one end to the other is less than 25 minutes. Train frequency is every 5 minutes or better during peak hours and every 15 minutes or better after 11PM (except Sunday). There is no synchronization in the schedule for the last Confederation and Trillium line trains at Bayview station. As of 2019, Trillium Line trains stop running just after midnight Monday through Saturday, and at 11:30pm on Sundays.) Thus, it is possible for a passenger to be stranded at Bayview if trains on one line arrive after the last train on the other has departed.
There are 13 stations in Stage 1 of the project. The three downtown subway stations have 120-metre (390 ft) platforms; the remainder are 90 metres (300 ft) with provisions for future expansion. The Confederation Line runs from Tunney's Pasture station in the west to Blair station in the east, a distance of 12.5 kilometres (7.8 mi) including a 2.5-kilometre (1.6 mi) tunnel running under Queen Street in the central business district, including under the Rideau Canal. The line connects to the existing Transitway at both ends, and to the O-Train Trillium Line at Bayview station.
Alstom was awarded a contract to provide 34 Citadis Spirit LRVs. It was the company's first order for modern light rail vehicles in North America, competing directly with similar models such as the Siemens S70 (which was originally ordered for the original extension plan for the Trillium Line but was later cancelled). Derived from the earlier Citadis Dualis tram-train used in Europe, they were manufactured in Alstom's plant in Hornell NY, with final assembly taking place at Belfast Yard in Ottawa. An additional 38 Citadis Spirit vehicles were ordered by the city as part of the Stage 2 extension project with assembly beginning in early 2019.
All cars are stored at the Belfast Yard at 805 Belfast Road, with connecting track to the Confederation Line. Part of the 6.5-hectare (16-acre) site was an existing OC Transpo facility. The yard site was created by combining this facility with the properties of a number of private business. All existing structures were demolished in 2013, and the new facilities were completed in 2016. The facility has a storage shed, maintenance facilities and an administration office. Final assembly for many of the LRVs was completed here.
A good majority of the Confederation Line is built on what used to be a bus Transitway, so most of the road/highway is either gone, or has been moved. Personally, I think they should have made the Confederation right-of-way a dual purpose line, so busses could still use the route, thereby making better use of the land - they should have just run a track down the existing transitway highway :-) If you look at Bing's map before it gets updated, you can still see the Transitway as it used to exist.
Another criticism I have of the system, is the designers decision to use catenary support poles on the "outside" of the two tracks, instead of running the pole line down the middle of the them. It only serves to drive up the construction cost, and for what? And in certain places, the extra required footprint of the R-O-W may be an issue (at least it was for the Baltimore Light Rail system in a few places, and then they placed one pole to the side and had a LONG hanger.
Signaling on the line is handled by Thales' SelTrac semi-automatic communication-based train control (CBTC) technology.
I originally had the extension information on this page, but it made the page HUGE, so it has been moved to:
https://railfanguides.us/on/confederationnew/index.htm
Projected Stage 2 construction is detailed below:
Note: As of Septemebr 2020 when I did an update, Bing's Birds-Eye view of the area are not up to date, and most, if not all, are from before construction of the line was started.
Acknowledgements:
Youngjin
Wikipedia
Open Railway Map
Bing Maps
Websites and other additional information sources of interest for the area:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederation_Line
http://www.ligneconfederationline.ca/page/4/ construction info
http://www.stage2lrt.ca/ stage 2 info pages
https://ottawa.ca/en/planning-development-and-construction/major-projects/stage-2-light-rail-transit-project/confederation-line-west-extension
coming later
Map
I hope the above map is correct, because there are oodles of maps out there,
and few agree with each other....
Ever since Google did whatever they did years ago to their aerial views, and the views look like an old money for nothing video, I try to stay away from using them in my guides for the aerial views - the views are just too course to provide you with any sort of accurate detail, but at least for now, between them and Bing, they are the only ones who have aerial views of the Confederation line with tracks instead of the older Bus Transitways (SEP2020).
Tunney's Pasture
Bayview
This is where the Confederation Line and the Trillium Line come together, although they do not share a common platform, so a little walking is needed. The Confederation Line runs where the bus Transitway used to run.
Pimisi
The tunnel begins just east of this station, and takes the line under the CBD (Central Business District).
Bing does not currently (2020) have an up-to-date Birds-Eye view of this area, it is from before construction of the line began.
Lyon
This station is below ground.
Parlement / Parliament
This station is below ground.
Rideau
This station is below ground.
East Tunnel Portal
Just outside of the tunnel portal is a double crossover... wonder why they didn't opt for the more traditional way of "doing it" with two separate crossovers the way most light rail systems do, thereby eliminating a diamond, which is a maintenance headache. It's not like they don't have the room.
uOttawa
Lees
Hurdman
Tremblay
St Laurent
The line goes under the Trans Canada highway in a tunnel, of which the station is part of. I see at least 3 hotels, and a Perkins and Lone Star restaurant nearby. Between here and Cyrville it is only 3100 feet, making it the shortest hop between stations?
Cyrville
Blair
photo by Youngjin, 14SEP19, near Bayview
And speaking of the Lyon station..... Lyon, France, is one of my favorite cities I never got to visit while in France.... they have a lot of trains, a subway/Metro system, and a really cool circular roadway junction!!! :-)
Disclaimers:
I love trains, and I love signals. I am not an expert. My webpages reflect what I find on the topic of the page. This is something I have fun with while trying to help others.
Please Note: Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them. For those of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, my indexa page has a list of almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you with at least a few pictures to help you detail your pike.
If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made to make sure that the information contained on this map and in this railfan guide is correct. Once in a while, an error may creep in :-)
My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a thousand words, especially for railfanning. Text descriptions only get you so far, especially if you get lost or disoriented. Take along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps are still better if you get lost! I belong to AAA, which allows you to get local maps for free when you visit the local branches. ADC puts out a nice series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their state maps do not have the railroads on them. If you can find em, I like the National Geographic map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and concise graphics, and they do a really good job of showing you where tourist type attractions are, although they too lack the railroads. Other notes about specific areas will show up on that page if known.
Aerial shots were taken from either Google or Bing Maps as noted. Screen captures are made with Snagit, a Techsmith product... a great tool if you have never used it!
By the way, floobydust is a term I picked up 30-40 years ago from a National Semiconductor data book, and means miscellaneous and/or other stuff.
Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add or correct.... credit is always given! Please be NICE!!! Contact info is here
Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated as being possibly inaccurate, wrong, or not true.
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NEW 12/24/2016, SEP21/2020, SEP23/2020
Last Modified 24-Sep-2020