On the O-Train

A train arrives at Rideau station

At last, we have a functioning light rail network in Ottawa. The Confederation Line, with 2.5 km of tunnel, has been opened and connects with the existing Trillium Line at Bayview. Only consisting of 17 stations so far, it is nothing like as complex as the networks of other capital cities in the world of a similar size, such as Copenhagen, but at least it's a start in the right direction. The airport will be connected to downtown Ottawa three years from now (allegedly) as part of the Stage 2 enhancements that will eventually give us 24 more stations. There are vaguer plans for a Stage 3 in the distant future, probably well beyond the time when Chris stops going to work in the mornings and coming home in the evenings from Kanata. Let's hope someone else will benefit, though. If only a rail bridge could take these trains across the Ottawa River into Gatineau too, wouldn't that be wonderful?

Waiting for my first ride

It remains to be seen how well the new transportation system will function during the winter. We're hopeful that it'll be an improvement on what we've had till now.

Ottawa citizens seem excited by the new trains (although commuters are frustrated about the time it takes to connect to a bus ride home, once they have disembarked from the train, at the Tunney's Pasture terminal in particular). There ought to be larger parking lots at the end stations, in my opinion, to encourage people to park and ride. When the lines get extended, that is more likely to be the case.

On the train

On impulse, Chris and I decided to go for a ride on the new line on its opening day. We didn't go until the evening, when the crowds had diminished a little, but it was still standing room only on the eastbound train we took from Rideau to Tremblay, the stop we'd need if we were hoping to catch a ViaRail train bound for Montreal or Toronto or places in between. We used our local Presto cards which work at the gates just like London's Oyster cards* or Tokyo's PASMO cards. The mood on board was positively jubilant, everyone talking at once, joking and celebrating. Most passengers were just riding the new train for fun, some of them buying drinks at each end of the line! In a few months' time it will doubtless be a more routine and less exhilarating experience.

Tremblay station

The station at Rideau is deep underground, requiring a series of escalators to reach its platforms. A little further west the tunnel is as much as 40m from the surface. I thought the escalators at Rideau juddered and wobbled a bit, which shouldn't happen; the managers need to make this part of the journey smoother or people will feel too anxious to repeat the experience. Teething troubles only, I hope. At Tremblay where we got off, there were no escalators at all, just stair cases and elevators, which surprised me, since people with luggage are going to be using this station.

It was already dark when we rode the train so we couldn't really see the views from its windows and most people, Chris for instance, hadn't a clue where we were. I knew though. I have studied the map!


* The Oyster card is fairly redundant these days since London Transport's card readers were modified to allow passengers to tap a credit card, instead.