I love these updates! A lot of people in this city have given up on public transit but I maintain that someday everything will be operational and effective. These videos give me hope!
Definitely lots to be excited about over the coming years. Thanks for your comments and feedback. We will have an update on the West and South coming out over the next two weeks.
Thank you for the feedback. We did visit three stations on each extension late last year. You can find them on our channel (Limebank, Jeanne d'Arc and Lincoln Fields, as well as South Keys earlier this May).
I pretty much grew up in Orleans in the 70’s, (We moved there in 69.) For those first few years there was no city bus service. we had to catch the Voyageur bus from Montreal to get a ride in to Ottawa. I’m 66 now, and live near Bayshore. I’m just hoping that in my lifetime I can ride one train from the Bayshore mall to Place d’Orleans. A section of Richmond road near me has recently been closed for railway construction. It will remain so for, not the Summer, or a year. But for three years! One can dream. Edit: Hopefully the train will be operational through there sooner than that. The extra time may be just be for other changes in the neighbourhood related to the rail service.
I saw 4 full train sets running on the Eastern Extension moving faster than 20 km/hr today - and I know there is still much to do, but it was reassuring to see
Hate hate hate highway median stations. The land closest to stations should be high density housing, shops, and offices - not lane after lane of highway.
At the very least it should have been built on the south side of the 174, following the old CNor alignment which had been set aside for the transitway (you can see the way the overpasses at 10th Line have been built for it).
Thank you for the updates. I live in Kanata and work at Tunney's. So I am kinda waiting for Stage 3 to .... "start" before I retire... (in around 20 years) 😅😂🤣
We really hope to see even a 1 or 2 stop extension to Line 3 through the Greenbelt in the coming years, hopefully sooner than later. Stage 3 will really help complete the massive O-Train network once built, as well as connect the remaining large communities without rail service. Fingers crossed! -David
Still makes no sense for the LRT to go along the highway & have these overly grown massive stations you see just but yet the city wonders partly why they needed funding from the provincial & federal government. Had they ran the eastern line 1 extension south of the highway where 80-85% of the population lives, ran tunnels using a smaller TBM which actually takes way less people to operate compared to the cut & cover method you see on the line 1 extension going out west which takes actually longer, costs more to build when it comes to manpower, the city & OC Transpo would have saved money.
Really enjoying your updates! Good choice of music too. I still have yet to ride the O train as every time I’ve visited, the line has been out of service. Have they been testing trains on the new section?
Yes they have done some testing heading East past Blair and trains reached Trim several months ago. This will only start to ramp up as elements get completed over the coming weeks/months.
The layout of the Convent Glen and Jeanne d’Arc stations is very similar to that of the existing Cyrville station, with an entrance on either side of the road leading down to a central platform on the lower level.
I imagine that Convent Glen is gonna be a bit nicer and less chaotic than the other stations, namely because it doesn't have a highway on/off ramp next to it, and it's easier to get away with narrowing the road there
Hopefully the open air stairs will be heated. Or OC traspo will need to have people with shovels there constantly whenever it snows. Not enclosing the stairs is an interesting decision.
On trim station, there are two extra pillars that they built that are just standing there. Right beside the station, direction to the West. Does anyone know if those are meant for some future pedestrian cycling Crossing? I really hope so. The deviation they created for pedestrians and cyclists is not convenient at all.
They are! Unfortunately, there is no timeline or funding for its construction as of now. Stage 2 construction wanted them to be in place as to reduce the requirement for closures / deviations of the highway in the future. -David
@@RailFansCanada That's great news. How did you find out? Even though there is no timeline for completion, at the very least they planned it. Hopefully funding will be announced soon.
From a construction point of view, would you say construction is finished with only finishing touches to station and from now on, it is more a question of making sure trains don't derail and the CBTS system is properly tested and working?
The south extension, more than 2 years late, they refuse to announce an official opening. My guess is it will be November at the earliest. Which will make it almost 2.5 years late. After paying billions of dollars its somewhat of an outrage that thing is 2-3 years late. Who the hell sells signs these contracts. There should substantial penalties for being late.
No there is currently only going to be the one between the train and the park and ride. They did install pillars for a possible future crossing to the North side (located just west of the station itself), however, there is no official plans for it at this time. Should that crossing ever be built, it would cross over the train and highway, to reach near the park and ride. People would then loop around and cross back over to the train station. This is the info we received when we inquired.
The existing pedestrian bridge from the Park and Ride to the actual bus station to the mall will still be usable, there will be fare gates at both the train entrance over the highway, and seemingly at the bus station entrance in the walkway near the mall. But you can pass through end to end without paying as well if you don't use bus or train.
@@RailFansCanada In early June they said, "eight to ten weeks" but clearly that hasn't happened. At least they finally opened the pedestrian bridge over the Rideau river. It allows people to go between Mooney's Bay and the arboretum through Hog's Back park and Vincent Massey park.
Is there a provision/possibility to have walkway from the north side of 174 where there are now residential developments to get to the poorly placed station? Or is the north side of the station "fare paid" area and impossible to connect the two side. Since the Trim road was cut off because they didn't want to build interchange, there is no no way for pedestrians/cyclists to cross (axcept for the dtour to the east of station and back, not ok for pedestrians). They should have buiot the station further east to allow one day the consruction of a bridge over the tracks for Trim rd to reconnect.
There is some concrete pillars already in place at the station to permit a future pedestrian crossing but there are currently no active plans for one. It is very likely one will get built but when and by whom is the big question. Definitely agree that a crossing would be important as people living on the other side will have a longer distance to go to get to the station as it is now.
@@RailFansCanada Thanks. am very curious on the decision for station location for Trim. But I just got a satellite image look and street view that is more recent, and I think it might be possible to reconnect Trim with an overpass directly over the western part of station (and if smart, would create new entrance from the overpass to station). But until these images were available with almost finished station, it looked like station had been built to forever prevent a Trim overpass to reconnect the 2 sides. The current arrangement forever prevents the line from being extended towards Rockland. (which is out of Ottawa so lots of financial/political issues to get a non-ottawa city to participate).
@@jfmezei I had inquired and I was told that the most likely scenario would be a free pedestrian crossing from one side of the highway to the other, but people would have to fully cross, then re-enter the station via the Park and Ride entrance, as any overpass would likely not connect directly to the station, but just pass along side it. But yes, the concrete pillars just to the west of the platforms.
It would be better to have any new pedestrian crossing be in line with the existing station crossing bridge (ie. Be able to pass through in a straight line right to the park and ride), but I was told that would not happen and it would be located a bit west of the station.
I would say very likely in 2025, hopefully around mid-year, as many things are nearing completion and they are already sending trains down that line at low speeds for early testing.
Let's talk about the St-Laurent station newly constructed and the ceiling falling down. Someone installed the membrane backwards causing water to flow into the station. Now the Ottawa public will have absorb the cost with an added transportation tax, not that we don't pay enough Transpo tax on city taxes already. No accountability and no follow up during construction.
The tunnel was built in the 1980s, and was left mostly as is when the bus transitway was converted to LRT. In an ideal world, the tunnel should have had more work done but it was and still is the property of the City of Ottawa, and not actually OC Transpo. Sure the train infrastructure and other related assets are OC Transpo, but the tunnel itself is not OC Transpo or part of the original LRT project.
that tunnel has been falling apart since the 90's, kinda the problem when you put a bus station, highway onramp and a shopping center loading dock all on top of it
@RailFansCanada the bottom line, who ends up paying for this, whether it's OC Transpo or the City of Ottawa. It's not fixed, and the issue continues. OC Transpo has been part of the City of Ottawa since 2001. This project has become a white elephant, taking passengers longer to get home than with the buses. Why does the 417 have traffic issues, but OC trains are under utilities. Why are Uber taxis waiting at Tunneys Pasture because we are not receiving the OC Transpo service. We should have stuck with the buses. We could have bought a lot of buses and gas with the money invested in the O Train.
Ottawa Fun Fact: The O-Train trillium line, despite appearing to be a fully operational train line does not actually carry any passengers, this is because it is just for show to make Ottawa appear more modern than it actually is, think of it like those fake apartments in North Korea along the South Korean border.
The station at Jeanne Darc is very poorly designed. The street buses do not have a lay by on the bridge and so they will stop and interfere with road traffic when loading/ unloading causing traffic to back up. Terrible. Also, the drop off has triggered the city to construct a traffic circle in front of a school. Traffic circles are dangerous for pedestrians.
yup i avoid the line 1 trains like the plague, worst decision city has made in regards to transit the old transitway was alot faster with more stops and did not reek of raw sewage everytime downtown was the easiest to get to before 1 bus maybe the off transfer here or there on a cruddy day, now its bus, train, bus to get to some of the same spot with ensured 1 of them no showing, OC is really living up to its old nickname, OC No Show
@lagia5 raw sewage, you hit the nail on the head. They punched a sewage line near the UOttawa station. Don't know if it was fixed or if they just covered it over.
I can't believe the stairways leading down to the tracks are actually going to be left open to the elements. We all know snow and rain doesn't fall straight down. Not to mention the mist/splash that comes off the ground on really wet days. Those stairs will be a hazard.
The train is not a french train. It is a custom built train to cater to the impossible desired of mayor Watson (100kmh in no time, carry lots of passengers, and fit in short platforms which was never achieved anywhere). As with most north american projects, this ia a one off custom design that will likely never be ordered again after this and this Toronto order. Requiring that the train be assembled in Ottawa where there were no trained people made things harder. Consider how much more reliable if Ottawa had purchased off-the shelf Citadis trains that were already in production and no requirements for "made in canada".
What a waste of money ....could of used that for affordable housing so I'm definitely not using o line I'll just drive my car downtown or not go at all to all the ppl in city hall running this city needs their heads checked
I love these updates! A lot of people in this city have given up on public transit but I maintain that someday everything will be operational and effective. These videos give me hope!
Definitely lots to be excited about over the coming years. Thanks for your comments and feedback.
We will have an update on the West and South coming out over the next two weeks.
I've got my fingers crossed!
This is a great update - thanks for your dedication. Looking forward to a time when you will given an opportunity to tour the stations
Thank you for the feedback. We did visit three stations on each extension late last year. You can find them on our channel (Limebank, Jeanne d'Arc and Lincoln Fields, as well as South Keys earlier this May).
I pretty much grew up in Orleans in the 70’s, (We moved there in 69.) For those first few years there was no city bus service. we had to catch the Voyageur bus from Montreal to get a ride in to Ottawa. I’m 66 now, and live near Bayshore. I’m just hoping that in my lifetime I can ride one train from the Bayshore mall to Place d’Orleans.
A section of Richmond road near me has recently been closed for railway construction. It will remain so for, not the Summer, or a year. But for three years! One can dream.
Edit: Hopefully the train will be operational through there sooner than that. The extra time may be just be for other changes in the neighbourhood related to the rail service.
I saw 4 full train sets running on the Eastern Extension moving faster than 20 km/hr today - and I know there is still much to do, but it was reassuring to see
Hate hate hate highway median stations. The land closest to stations should be high density housing, shops, and offices - not lane after lane of highway.
It's why CancerMan88 righteously complains still, because car centrism still exists. I hope the trains are properly maintained.
Yeah It would have been much better if the train line followed St.Joseph or Innes!!!
At the very least it should have been built on the south side of the 174, following the old CNor alignment which had been set aside for the transitway (you can see the way the overpasses at 10th Line have been built for it).
It makes sense for that highway rail stretch
Station looks like an RBC Bank I wish they could have used the signature Ottawa transitway red trim somehow.
i really agree it they could have kept a bit of the signature red stations in the new stations, it would have really popped
Thank you for the updates. I live in Kanata and work at Tunney's. So I am kinda waiting for Stage 3 to .... "start" before I retire... (in around 20 years) 😅😂🤣
We really hope to see even a 1 or 2 stop extension to Line 3 through the Greenbelt in the coming years, hopefully sooner than later. Stage 3 will really help complete the massive O-Train network once built, as well as connect the remaining large communities without rail service. Fingers crossed! -David
Still makes no sense for the LRT to go along the highway & have these overly grown massive stations you see just but yet the city wonders partly why they needed funding from the provincial & federal government. Had they ran the eastern line 1 extension south of the highway where 80-85% of the population lives, ran tunnels using a smaller TBM which actually takes way less people to operate compared to the cut & cover method you see on the line 1 extension going out west which takes actually longer, costs more to build when it comes to manpower, the city & OC Transpo would have saved money.
Really enjoying your updates! Good choice of music too. I still have yet to ride the O train as every time I’ve visited, the line has been out of service. Have they been testing trains on the new section?
Yes they have done some testing heading East past Blair and trains reached Trim several months ago. This will only start to ramp up as elements get completed over the coming weeks/months.
The layout of the Convent Glen and Jeanne d’Arc stations is very similar to that of the existing Cyrville station, with an entrance on either side of the road leading down to a central platform on the lower level.
Yes very true, they will have a similar layout to Cyrville.
I imagine that Convent Glen is gonna be a bit nicer and less chaotic than the other stations, namely because it doesn't have a highway on/off ramp next to it, and it's easier to get away with narrowing the road there
Hopefully the open air stairs will be heated. Or OC traspo will need to have people with shovels there constantly whenever it snows. Not enclosing the stairs is an interesting decision.
On trim station, there are two extra pillars that they built that are just standing there. Right beside the station, direction to the West. Does anyone know if those are meant for some future pedestrian cycling Crossing? I really hope so.
The deviation they created for pedestrians and cyclists is not convenient at all.
They are! Unfortunately, there is no timeline or funding for its construction as of now. Stage 2 construction wanted them to be in place as to reduce the requirement for closures / deviations of the highway in the future. -David
@@RailFansCanada That's great news. How did you find out? Even though there is no timeline for completion, at the very least they planned it. Hopefully funding will be announced soon.
We asked and they confirmed it was for a pedestrian crossing in the future. To avoid impacts to service later, they built the pillars now. -Shane
From a construction point of view, would you say construction is finished with only finishing touches to station and from now on, it is more a question of making sure trains don't derail and the CBTS system is properly tested and working?
In my opinion, Yes
The south extension, more than 2 years late, they refuse to announce an official opening. My guess is it will be November at the earliest. Which will make it almost 2.5 years late. After paying billions of dollars its somewhat of an outrage that thing is 2-3 years late. Who the hell sells signs these contracts. There should substantial penalties for being late.
I ask the Transit Riders, Which route will you completely or mostly not be regularly using when Line 2 is in operation? The 75,74,99,198 ?
@@BlubbyO 99 for me
Will there be another pedestrian bridge at trim connecting the other side of the highway?
No there is currently only going to be the one between the train and the park and ride. They did install pillars for a possible future crossing to the North side (located just west of the station itself), however, there is no official plans for it at this time. Should that crossing ever be built, it would cross over the train and highway, to reach near the park and ride. People would then loop around and cross back over to the train station. This is the info we received when we inquired.
How will the non fpz tunnel interact with the rest of the station in fpz for Place d'Orleans? Will the current elevator over the bus loop be disabled?
The existing pedestrian bridge from the Park and Ride to the actual bus station to the mall will still be usable, there will be fare gates at both the train entrance over the highway, and seemingly at the bus station entrance in the walkway near the mall. But you can pass through end to end without paying as well if you don't use bus or train.
When is the north south line to airport & limebank expected to open?
No date has been set yet but we will be getting an official update this Thursday by the city. If all is going well, potentially in October.
@@RailFansCanada In early June they said, "eight to ten weeks" but clearly that hasn't happened. At least they finally opened the pedestrian bridge over the Rideau river. It allows people to go between Mooney's Bay and the arboretum through Hog's Back park and Vincent Massey park.
Is there a provision/possibility to have walkway from the north side of 174 where there are now residential developments to get to the poorly placed station? Or is the north side of the station "fare paid" area and impossible to connect the two side. Since the Trim road was cut off because they didn't want to build interchange, there is no no way for pedestrians/cyclists to cross (axcept for the dtour to the east of station and back, not ok for pedestrians).
They should have buiot the station further east to allow one day the consruction of a bridge over the tracks for Trim rd to reconnect.
There is some concrete pillars already in place at the station to permit a future pedestrian crossing but there are currently no active plans for one. It is very likely one will get built but when and by whom is the big question. Definitely agree that a crossing would be important as people living on the other side will have a longer distance to go to get to the station as it is now.
@@RailFansCanada Thanks. am very curious on the decision for station location for Trim. But I just got a satellite image look and street view that is more recent, and I think it might be possible to reconnect Trim with an overpass directly over the western part of station (and if smart, would create new entrance from the overpass to station). But until these images were available with almost finished station, it looked like station had been built to forever prevent a Trim overpass to reconnect the 2 sides. The current arrangement forever prevents the line from being extended towards Rockland. (which is out of Ottawa so lots of financial/political issues to get a non-ottawa city to participate).
@@jfmezei I had inquired and I was told that the most likely scenario would be a free pedestrian crossing from one side of the highway to the other, but people would have to fully cross, then re-enter the station via the Park and Ride entrance, as any overpass would likely not connect directly to the station, but just pass along side it. But yes, the concrete pillars just to the west of the platforms.
It would be better to have any new pedestrian crossing be in line with the existing station crossing bridge (ie. Be able to pass through in a straight line right to the park and ride), but I was told that would not happen and it would be located a bit west of the station.
I heard the East end stations will open January 2025, but the West end stations will open in late 2026...
The east is now projected to open around Q3/Q4 2025. West will hopefully be end of 2026 but wouldn’t be surprised to see it go to 2027
What is guestimate for when line opens?
I would say very likely in 2025, hopefully around mid-year, as many things are nearing completion and they are already sending trains down that line at low speeds for early testing.
@@RailFansCanadaHaven't they been testing these lines since Fall of 2023?
Let's talk about the St-Laurent station newly constructed and the ceiling falling down. Someone installed the membrane backwards causing water to flow into the station. Now the Ottawa public will have absorb the cost with an added transportation tax, not that we don't pay enough Transpo tax on city taxes already. No accountability and no follow up during construction.
The tunnel was built in the 1980s, and was left mostly as is when the bus transitway was converted to LRT. In an ideal world, the tunnel should have had more work done but it was and still is the property of the City of Ottawa, and not actually OC Transpo. Sure the train infrastructure and other related assets are OC Transpo, but the tunnel itself is not OC Transpo or part of the original LRT project.
that tunnel has been falling apart since the 90's, kinda the problem when you put a bus station, highway onramp and a shopping center loading dock all on top of it
@RailFansCanada the bottom line, who ends up paying for this, whether it's OC Transpo or the City of Ottawa. It's not fixed, and the issue continues. OC Transpo has been part of the City of Ottawa since 2001. This project has become a white elephant, taking passengers longer to get home than with the buses. Why does the 417 have traffic issues, but OC trains are under utilities. Why are Uber taxis waiting at Tunneys Pasture because we are not receiving the OC Transpo service. We should have stuck with the buses. We could have bought a lot of buses and gas with the money invested in the O Train.
When will it be made? 2025 yes
Why West extension in 2027? Too long
East is now planned to open in 2026 and west in 2027
@@RailFansCanada
East is planning in 2025
West is planning in 2026 or 2027
Sorry yes I mistyped East 2025 and West 2026
Ottawa Fun Fact: The O-Train trillium line, despite appearing to be a fully operational train line does not actually carry any passengers, this is because it is just for show to make Ottawa appear more modern than it actually is, think of it like those fake apartments in North Korea along the South Korean border.
The station at Jeanne Darc is very poorly designed. The street buses do not have a lay by on the bridge and so they will stop and interfere with road traffic when loading/ unloading causing traffic to back up. Terrible. Also, the drop off has triggered the city to construct a traffic circle in front of a school. Traffic circles are dangerous for pedestrians.
yup i avoid the line 1 trains like the plague, worst decision city has made in regards to transit the old transitway was alot faster with more stops and did not reek of raw sewage everytime downtown was the easiest to get to before 1 bus maybe the off transfer here or there on a cruddy day, now its bus, train, bus to get to some of the same spot with ensured 1 of them no showing, OC is really living up to its old nickname, OC No Show
@lagia5 raw sewage, you hit the nail on the head. They punched a sewage line near the UOttawa station. Don't know if it was fixed or if they just covered it over.
I can't believe the stairways leading down to the tracks are actually going to be left open to the elements. We all know snow and rain doesn't fall straight down. Not to mention the mist/splash that comes off the ground on really wet days. Those stairs will be a hazard.
The French train is garbage.
The train is not a french train. It is a custom built train to cater to the impossible desired of mayor Watson (100kmh in no time, carry lots of passengers, and fit in short platforms which was never achieved anywhere). As with most north american projects, this ia a one off custom design that will likely never be ordered again after this and this Toronto order. Requiring that the train be assembled in Ottawa where there were no trained people made things harder. Consider how much more reliable if Ottawa had purchased off-the shelf Citadis trains that were already in production and no requirements for "made in canada".
What a waste of money ....could of used that for affordable housing so I'm definitely not using o line I'll just drive my car downtown or not go at all to all the ppl in city hall running this city needs their heads checked