After the last month of hearings in the public inquiry into the Ottawa Confederation line offered a number of shocking details, it’s nice to have good news about the railroad: the Swiss-made Stadler FLIRT trains bound for the Trillium line are in town, ready to go. , with enough time for many tests.
Mayor Jim Watson, other city and city officials and project workers welcomed the media to Walkley’s maintenance and storage facilities Friday afternoon to showcase one of the city’s seven new trains. bought for a total of $ 106 million in 2019 for north-south expansion. .
The Stadlers should not be confused with the somewhat problematic Alstom Citadis Spirit trains: they are not the same technology, not even the same railway line.
Here are five things you should know about our new trains.
Stadlers have nothing to do with the Confederacy Line
When it comes to these trains, forget everything you’ve heard over the last month, or never, really, about the Confederation Line’s light rail system or the electric vehicles that run on it.
The Trillium line is actually a heavy rail line, and the Stadlers are diesel trains.
Stage 2 of the Trillium line, which is part of the $ 4.66 billion giant expansion of both rail lines, will cost $ 1.6 billion (including trains and a 27-year maintenance contract) and will feature the addition of eight new stations. The system, which is supposed to run trains every 12 minutes, will extend to the Riverside South community and include a spur that connects to the airport.
The Trillium line project is being carried out by TNext, a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin. There was some controversy surrounding the award of this contract after it was revealed that the company’s proposal twice failed to achieve the 70 per cent technical score, but this had nothing to do with the trains.
Mayor Jim Watson and other officials, including, from left to right, Coun. Allan Hubley, Ms. Marie-France Lalonde, Stadler’s U.S. Director of Operations Stefan Baer, and TNext Project Director Janos Fulde welcomed the media to the maintenance facility. and Walkley storage to see the new Stadler FLIRT train that will operate on the Trillium line when finished. (Reno Patry / CBC)
Bigger trains, more space
The new Stadlers are decorated in OC Transpo colors: bright red on the outside, with blue seats on the inside. But due to the fact that these are heavy rail vehicles, they actually feel more like Via Rail or other commuter trains.
They are 80 meters long and can accommodate 200 passengers, but can carry up to 420.
The FLIRT (meaning Fast Light Innovative Regional Train) consists of four railroad cars and passengers can walk from one to another through doors that open at the push of a button.
FLIRTs are diesel, with electrical options
Although the Stadler FLIRT is a diesel train, it also includes electrical components, and could possibly be converted to electric, battery, or hydrogen in the future.
This is how it works.
Trains are propelled forward by traction motors that run electricity from an “energy package,” which actually occupies one of the train’s four wagons. (This car has no seats.) There are four diesel generators in the power pack that provide the electricity that runs the train.
In the future, if the city wanted to stop using diesel, the car could be removed from the power plant and a pantograph system could be installed, such as the one used on the Confederation Line.
The city could also opt for a battery pack, in which Stadler says his train can run 224 miles before requiring recharging. (Germany ordered 44 of these versions of the FLIRT battery pack last year).
The city of Ottawa bought seven trains from Swiss company Stadler for the expansion of the Trillium line for $ 106 million in 2019. They are now all in Ottawa and are being tested on four miles of track. (Reno Patry / CBC)
And Stadler also has a developing hydrogen version. The San Bernadino, Texas traffic authority has already commissioned one, although the new train is not expected to be ready until 2024.
FLIRT is in operation in 21 countries around the world, including places that live in the winter, such as Norway. Ottawa trains even have a plow in front to help with snow conditions.
They are not the only trains on the Trillium line
The Stadler FLIRT will be used for the main north-south service of the Trillium line. But the system must also incorporate the trains that used to run on the line: six Alstom LINT trains.
If you ever took one of the old O trains north-south, you probably went on one of these. They are about half the size of the Stadlers and will be used on the spur of the four-mile airport that will connect the main line with the two new stations at Ottawa International Airport.
Airport service is expected to run every 14 minutes.
Lots of time to test
Unfortunately for many travelers, the revamped Trillium line is at least a year behind schedule. It was originally scheduled to be completed next month, not to be completed until August 2023 at the earliest. The timetable must be updated at the City Council in September.
But that extra time will probably be taken advantage of by people testing the trains. There are already about four miles of track south of Hunt Club where FLIRTs are being tested, although people taking these tests will probably want to access the full system soon.
And the delayed schedule means that trains should be able to live a full winter before they enter public service.