O-Train Line 1
Globally, public transit systems are an indispensable mode of travel.
OC Transpo operates the public transit system in Ottawa. Rideau Transit Group (RTG) maintains the Confederation Line in good repair to provide efficient, reliable, and safe service for locals and visitors.
O-Train Line, 1 (OTL1) of the Confederation Line, is wholly grade-separated and uses light rail rolling stock and technology. It is Ottawa’s second light rail transit (LRT) line, complementing the existing north-south Trillium Line that operates west of the downtown core.
Currently, OTL1 is a 12.5-kilometre, 13-station electric-light rail system running east to west of Ottawa. The light rail vehicles (LRVs) travel underground in a 2.5-kilometre tunnel stretching from LeBreton Flats to Waller Street, and four of its stations are underground.
Your LRT system’s routine seasonal and rehabilitative maintenance ensures a safe, reliable, and accessible transit service for passengers and employees, especially in demanding operating environments like Ottawa.
LRT maintenance includes many functions, such as sustaining transit assets like tracks, signal and communications systems, facilities and infrastructure like bridges, tunnels, stations, office buildings, stations, and light rail vehicles.
We work carefully to ensure that every maintenance operation on OTL1 infrastructure and vehicles is executed with the highest regard for safety. By keeping risks and potential disruptions to a minimum, we safeguard OTL1’s reliability and the trust and satisfaction of its riders.
OTL1 service runs 20 hours daily, 365 days a year, using 34 light rail vehicles in either two-car or single-unit configurations, depending on service demands and rehabilitative activities—maintenance of OTL1 is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, 365-day-a-year operation, including various maintenance and rehabilitation duties.
Trains arrive at stations every five minutes during rush hour, frequently during the day and every 15 minutes after midnight on evenings and weekends. End-to-end travel time is less than 25 minutes, depending on operating conditions. The line has a service reliability of 99.2% as of January 2024. More than 100 bus routes connect to the OTL1 stations. The line connects to the north-south Trillium Line at Bayview Station. The two LRT lines are the backbone of the Ottawa transit service network.
Each two-car train, called an O-Train, is 100% electrified for a quiet ride with zero emissions and can comfortably move up to 600 riders. OTL1 can carry up to 10,700 riders per hour each way and is 100% accessible.
OTL1 creates significant economic benefits to the Ottawa area, with jobs regularly offered and increased indirect stimulus to local parts and services suppliers.
Stage 2 of O-Train Line 1
RTG is also responsible for maintaining Stage 2 of the Ottawa transit project, including supplying 38 additional light rail vehicles (LRVs).
Stage 2 of the Light Rail Transit Project in Ottawa includes three extensions of the O-Train Line 1 to the south, east and west. When completed, it will consist of 44 kilometres of railway track and add 24 new stations to the existing system.
The south extension will continue transit service from Bayview to Limebank stations (Riverside South) and include a connection to the Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International Airport. The east extension will continue revenue service from Blair to Place d’Orléans stations. The west extension will continue transit service from Tunney’s Pasture to Moodie and Baseline stations.
These extensions will allow Ottawa’s light rail transit system to carry up to 24,000 riders per hour, per direction to and from downtown Ottawa during peak periods.
Stage 2 extensions will change how residents and visitors move around Ottawa and, when complete, will bring 77% of residents within five kilometres of the light rail transit system.
