As much as I like the cynical tones of other transit-oriented, anti-car UA-camrs, your positive outlook on things even as maligned as the o-train (Ottawa native here) is really refreshing. I'm still holding out hope the city turns the market into a car free zone though.
Your comment comparing the new length of the O-Train system to the Montreal metro really puts into scale the amount of work and the quality of transit for the future system. Great video and a great way to keep track of work progression.
Its a really good point, although the O-train is more like a light S-bahn than light Metro in my opinion, so it should be noted coverage isn't as nice.
@@neolithictransitrevolution427 You're right about the S-Bahn comparison. It feels like Ottawa decided to prioritize s-Bahn type routes and use buses for shorter commutes which works better in suburb dominated cities instead of dense cities where creating a u-Bahn network (like the Montreal metro) and overlying on it an s-Bahn like network later (the REM) is considered a better option
I've lived in Orleans most of my life and I'm happy that one day people will be able to take the train downtown! Thanks for another great video!! I've been watching the construction for years!
@@footballfanstyleonye It's a future works project, separate from Stage 2. You have to remember the thinking... public servants asking for LRT to get them from the Park & Ride in Orléans at Trim to Tunney's Pasture, although the north side would be useful with a more direct connection, especially with developments and summer attactions... the ridership basis (to even include Trim) is on that Park & Ride.
Ottawa's urban landscape is baffling to me, coming from Montreal. With Montreal there's pockets of density, surrounded by medium density that stretches to the suburbs, gradually trailing off. Ottawa just sticks a 16 storey tower in the middle of a strip mall.
An exception to that is parts of Napean, which has to be the worst example of Density I know. Lots of medium and large residential, all car centeric with lots of parking and no transit, with absolutely no mixed use included. It's the kind of thing that gives people density PTSD, and creates one of the worst Stroads I know, Merivale. There is some better mixed density, in Glebe, Center town, Sandyhill, Lower town, and Vanier, but none has good Tranist. I think the giant buildings in suburbs is really an attempt to add some density along what is really a commuter train line.
@@neolithictransitrevolution427 I was living down on Prince of Wales, south of Baseline, so I was relatively close to Nepean. There's definitely some really nice, walkable parts of Ottawa, and we'd try and escape to the Glebe or Old Ottawa South when possible just to get out of our neighbourhood.
I whould tend to agree. I lived in Ottawa for 10yrs before moving to another city. Ottawa always felt like a bunch of small suburban bed room communities hobbled together without any real city plan of properly connecting them all together.
@@sirxavior1583 That's because that is exactly what Ottawa was. Kanata, Nepean, and Gloucester were separate entities apart from Ottawa, with a regional council composed of the mayors of the municipalities making up the area and an unelected Regional Chair hashing out decisions that affected all. It was a right royal mess. Amalgamation was done badly but it was needed.
It makes me so happy to see a transit expansion in North America actually going up in a decent time frame and for not insanely huge amounts of money. This is how it should be for ALL of North America. I think Ottawa will be pointed at as another example of transit expansion done RIGHT!
For sure, but I hope the real leason taken is from the Line 2 original build. Not many places have an existing transitway with lots of ROW, so the leasons are limited. But quick, cheap transit on existing freight lines? That can be exported to even small cities.
Ottawa LRT is not on-time. It's not on-budget. It is costing a huge amount of money. (We are in part 1B of a $10B plan). It's not working. It's not reliable. It's built by morons. For instance stations which are intolerable below 0C, when we have 4-5 months of -20C.
There's no way Ottawa's LRT built constitutes transit expansion "done right." The system has more than teething pains; some problems are inherent to or a high-probability outcome of the way it was built. It's not a complete disaster, but it's full of cautionary lessons for other projects.
Yea until the incompetent people of Ottawa ruin it like they do everything. They'll probably manage to run another one of their transit vehicles into something else, like they've done with their buses regularly.
Really appreciate the coverage of the expansion! I live near the Eastern expansion and it's been a blast watching it go up so fast. Can't wait for the day I can see trains running out my back window!
Thanks for such a positive take on all of this. I live in Ottawa and used the transit system my whole working life. Unfortunately I only got to use the LRT from fall 2019 until March 2020, when my company started working from home. I retired in 2021. I used to drive to Eagleson Park & Ride (my preferred park and ride because of number of connecting buses), bus to Tunney's and then take the LRT to Parliament station which brought me right inside my building. It really did make the trip quicker for me and I enjoyed taking the train. Once it is extended to Moodie in the west, I plan to spend a day taking the different routes that will be operational. As you mentioned, we also have an amazing amount of bike/walking paths in the City.
Can't wait until you're covering the finished product. Hope to see a review of Phase 3 and beyond plans, and what you would add or do differently (putting DMUs on the west CN line to Kanata/Arnprior seems obvious to me).
I hope to see the South portion of the line 1 expansion one day go past Algonquin to the CN line in Nepean, and then continue through the Greenbelt to Fallowfield. I'd love to see it go through Barrhaven to Riverside South and connect with Line 2, although I doubt that is in the cards in the next 30 years.
The City has already bought the right of way from QUebec border to Carling Ave (dont expect this go past Kanata North Tech Park. THey want to purchase the rest of the track to the 417 in the east end. This track goes into the Park and services 10,000s of workers.
@@pauldevey8628 I think it's possible the route will extend past Kanata, at least at peak times, the freight line is very low use and already exisiting. But even if not, it will be a very useful route if they boot strap it like line 2 and keep it cheap. They could go all out and electrify but I think there are other projects which would better use funds; better connect to Quebec, Better rapid transit through Glebe/Center Town/Lower town/Sandy Hill/Vanier, a loop through Gloucester from blair along the Hydro Corridor and back up Aviation park way to connect to NRC, Colleges, exisiting residential, Hospital, green space, and the New development on the former CFB base. )
1. That linear park was originally a streetcar right-of-way. 2. Cycling infrastructure is impressive considering that Ottawa only started building it in 2011 (though the NCC built some in the 1980s), and in 2015 the city built the first modern cycle track on Churchill Avenue. When I left Ottawa in 2019, cycling infrastructure was much more noticeable, but still a long way to go.
East of Blair Road, there's still barely any cycling infrastructure at all, save for painted gutters along the stroads, and *one* traffic light for cycles that I'm aware of. The entirety of Blackburn and Orleans are funnelled through two dangerous choke points , effectively painted, unprotected lanes along fast-moving roads if you want to head toward the downtown. We've been told we might be getting a MUP to avoid that, but it'll be the better part of a decade before we see it.
This video is awesome! I’m an exchange student from Germany and at the beginning i thought it would be similar to my experiences in the us (which were awful), but the expansions are awesome and I think when i’m gonna come back in a couple years, it’s hopefully gonna be even better. ❤️
I can't say how many times I've flipped off on the lack of coverage on Ottawa transit development on UA-cam. But sir you have proved me wrong and I can't thank u enough for the amazing video! Please keep talking about Ottawa!
You mentioned the culverts and such, but as one of the many sub trades on the project, from my side the shocking number is the elevators and escalators! I am working on the contract for both sections and we have 97 units going in total, 89 elevators and 8 escalators!
I'm looking forward to seeing the completion of line two. Things were off to a shaky start in 2019 when they launched this, hopefully things will go better the second time around. There has certainly been mismanagement, including the fact they have intentionally disabled the only rail bridge between Ottawa and Gatineau...
Beautiful project! And I’m so jealous. Because meanwhile here in Montreal, as you undoubtedly heard, the REM E is going through another existential crisis…
Thanks for the overview! I graduated and moved away from Ottawa before the O-Train was in operation (or perhaps even in the planning stages), alas. I would've loved to have it operating when I was there, would've made getting around so much nicer! Exciting to see how far Ottawa is developing their transit system with these great electric vehicles. :)
Excellent video as always. You're right - I was totally unaware of this major rail expansion project, and only a few hours from Toronto! I haven't even been to Ottawa since the first section of the rail system there opened, I look forward to riding it during my next visit!
Can't wait to get onto these LRT trains in my neighbourhood in Ottawa. Its long overdue for the transit users especially with the long commute with the buses during rush hour.
Ottawa is a great city. Im from Melbourne Australia, but studied at University there for 6 months and loved it. It is definitely a North American city, but it still felt quite ‘human’ I guess, and not empty downtown etc like so many other North American cities. I think the new transit system will make that even better, making the downtown more vibrant. One thing it definitely does need though is better connectivity to Gatineau. I think they should extend autoroute 50 across the river (to join the 417 and thus providing a freeway standard road crossing/downtown bypass) and at the same time use the bridge as a train crossing as well, extending the network there. Would make it much easier for trucks to bypass the city (there are so many trucks on king Edward ave) and providing better connectivity to the airport for those living in Quebec. I would love to be a transit planner with the city of Ottawa!
It will also be nice for the trim road station being so close to the Petrie island beach. Just hop on the train and go to the beach will be nice. Or you can drive into the city. Go to the beach for a couple hours. Hop on the train to the market and get some food and take the train back to the beach for the afternoon.
It sucks that the extension to Moodie Station is delayed for a year! I am optimistic that the opening to Moodie Station will help the communites of Bells Corners & Crystal Bay.
Can we all just appreciate the amount of effort Ottawa is commiting JUST TO DIVERT THE TRANSIT WAY TO CONVER IT TO RAIL? THE ORANGE SUBWAY LINE IN BOSTON DIDNT EVEN GET ANY TEMPORARY BUS LANES ON THE TEMPORARY SHUTTLE SERVICE WHEN IT WAS SUSPENDED
This is some amazing infrastructure, especially considering that Ottawa only has a population of 1.5 million for the entire metro area. Picture if Milwaukee had a 60km light metro system for the US comparison.
I've been having so much fun documenting the expansion over the last 5 years. It's so awesome, I love it 😀 I can't wait for this expansion to be opened! You've done an amazing job summarizing the current state of the project and showing everything 👏 ❤️
In west, it is mostly the tunnel... from seeing the progress, I think it's no sufficient place to place excavated earth material before loading into a dump truck, so requiring more resourcing that is not as existing to fulfill pressures. But that's much progressed now.
The main excuse for the delay of the western leg is a rebar shortage and a labour shortage. With a 3 km tunnel from Kìchì Sìbì to Lincoln Fields stations and a 300 m tunnel between Lincoln Fields and Queensway stations there's a need for a lot of rebar. Maybe when luxury condo development in nearby megacities slows down more rebar will become available.
Would be nice, but it won't be happening, at least not on a single train. The Airport and EY stations run as a shuttle (Line 4) from South Keys. It ends up being two transfers from downtown, which is counterproductive to getting people to take the O-Train to/from the airport.
@@microserf Its goal isn't (yet) to get people to/from the Airport, but it absolutely would be possible to get to EY Centre by rail with the expansion, despite starting with an additional train cross platform interchange (you wouldn't even change platforms at South Keys).
Wow you went to Place d'Orléans! That was the mall I always went to growing up. I grew up in the east end of Ottawa so much of the first half of your video really strikes home. It is really interesting to see the east end of Stage 2 on the inside given that the previous 95 BRT design was always on the outside of the 174. But that in the long run I think its nicer because then you get the dedicated right of way and the LRT would not have to go up every highway exit as how they built most of those exits in the 174. Also I think you mixed up eastern/western terminus captions in your video. Tunney's Pasture is the west end terminus and Blair is on the east. Also as another error, you labelled the Place d'Orléans station as Orléans station. If they were to name the Place d'Orléans station as Orléans station, that would be very confusing because Covent Glen station is what's running under Orléans Boulevard.
All I hope is for Ottawa and Gatineau to be connected by train via the Prince of Wales Bridge. The last train it seen was in 1998 (during the initial North-South O-Train construction, which brought ballast cars over from Gatineau) and is a shame that it’s been rusting away ever since. It was even ruled out as the bridge to connect the cities by Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and who has instead insisted to transform the Portage Bridge closer to downtown into a train/car bridge. It should noted that the Prince of Wales Bridge sits a about 150m from the current Bayview station and could easily connect to the Line 2 O-Train if they ever wanted. TL;DR: Ottawa-Gatineau needs another bridge to carry the stupid amount of people which commute in and out everyday.
I heard from a friend of mine at Lebreton Flats that they turned it into a cyclist bridge, but I could be confusing it with something else. Either way, I do hope we get a connection to Gatineau, like the old CN railway that went through Ottawa.
@@SixSkyDiver You friend is correct, it opened this past August but they have it closed and gated for the winter which has drawn a lot of criticism given the project cost, and I'm not joking, $22.6 Million dollars and it's not open year-round.
I love your coverage of these projects, do you have any sources you can share for the budget for these projects? Also: I think a similar system would be a good fit for Winnipeg where we have a bunch of existing CP and CN rail corridors that seem to have some space to spare where light rail could run parallel to create a similar S-bahn style service with radial corridors feeding downtown.
It's cool to see the immenseness of this project. I live in Aylmer and have been working from home for two years. Therefore I've missed a lot of work in areas where I spent a lot of time. My dad used to live right across from the Lincoln Fields station. Life outside of work has been pretty car-oriented. However, not having us government drones on the Transitway probably gave Ottawa more room to work. Before Covid, I was on the trains a lot bouncing between my office near Lyon Station, work on a special project at Tunney's Pasture and grad school at Carleton.
Would you ever do videos on transit projects that almost got built but then were cancelled like the Baltimore red line, 1980s Seattle metro plan (RIP), and Detroit Woodward subway?
So nice to hear someone speak with excitement and positivity regarding the O-Train. I'm also hopeful opening Phase II will coincide with significant improvements to service reliability and rider satisfaction.
Whow! I'm impressed. I was aware that Ottawa was planning a massive rail transit expansion, but wasn't aware that it had been approved let alone that construction was underway and this far advanced. Good video.
The last time I visited to Ottawa was in October 2021, but due to the temporary shut down of the LRT I wasn’t able to ride. Reece thanks so much for this amazing update (and motivation to visit the Capital again). Had no idea that Ottawa was this far in their expansion projects AND that there will be additional underground stations . Did you get to sign a sleeper?
Oh man, I absolutely love electric busses. They are not only so much more pleasant as a rider but also for everyone on the outside. A few days ago I was talking to a buddy of mine just standing around on the sidewalk and one of these E-Busses passed by, followed by a BMW i3. We just kept talking, no need to talk louder or anything. Soon after a diesel bus and a few suburban battle tanks passed us and we just stood there in awkward silence until they were finally gone. I'm glad electric busses have become pretty common around here :) Because cities aren't loud. Cars are. ~NJB~
It’s nice to see a city expand its rail transit and at a reasonable cost. With what you showed it looks like it will go a long way to improving the existing bus service. It also helps the environment by replacing some of the diesel buses with clean energy efficient rail transit.
Whether the budget allows for better bus service is an entirely different story, but it does allow for the bus system to be run more effectively as long as the budget is there for that service. So far, the city has failed to show a more effective bus service, a lot due to the budget decided by Council.
The trench in the west end of the city was excavated from the old Canadian Pacific Railway line. When I was younger I used to see the CPR's Canadian and Dominion on their way across the country to Vancouver.
You could do a video about England that isn't London only. Birmingham are currently building a new tram line and extending their existing one on all 3 sides I think? Now that's a transit expansion that people aren't talking about. This video is interesting though 👍
This is really cool, especially for how cheap it is considering the costs of most things in the Anglo-world. Though I might contest and say the biggest transit expansion that no one is talking about is probably İstanbul. :) looking forward to your video on that some time this year :)
What a disaster the LRT in Ottawa has been. Years behind, millions over budget. The trains don't even operate in the climate correctly, provincial inquiries into the mismanagement. Lawsuits over the contracts, Ottawa residents left holding the bag on a broken transit system. Buses taken out of commission before the train was even open because it was behind schedule they could no longer upkeep the maintenance as they were planned to be retired. Service has been absolutely HORRIBLE. There is a good chance your bus just doesn't show up, the train gets delayed or shut down. The train has derailed twice in the last year. I want this LRT to be finished and reliable, but we are looking at another year + of that at the minimum.
Last August, I rode the LRT end-to-end and back for the experience and thoroughly enjoyed it. unfortunately, I was looking to go to Carlton and duplicate a shot I took 50 years ago of 1201 exiting the tunnel around there, but the Trillium Line is not currently running. When it works, the LRT is great, but it had more problem after my visit. Been a rail and transit enthusiast for over 60 years and will ride anything under a wire (or Third Rail); but not a foamer.
While I tend to think that trolley buses are better than battery electric buses because of the lack of a a need for massive batteries, but I can completely get behind non-diesel for comfort.
Trolley buses are better, but the problem: not enough other cities are buying them, so, higher costs on higher costs on higher costs. Battery buses, being the in-thing, are expected to have more steady prices even with inflation, because enough of everyone else is buying them.
There are a few other corrections I could make (like that Lincoln Fields is more like Lougheed, and the shuttle is a Monday-Thursday night time period plan, and that mostly would be run like Stadium-Chinatown only running on two tracks except for certain use cases that require the use of the centre pocket track for custom train movements) ... but I'm here to see the take on it (how someone else from outside the city sees the line).
@@RMTransit Both are 3-track stations that allow for multiple similar operation patterns. The platform layout is much the same (difference more on whether elevated or open-air cut), though the choice of operation patterns isn't.
I live in Ottawa and have followed the progress closely. It is an excellent system (the bugs will be corrected with time) and huge in scale. Our leaders (Jim Watson especially) have done a fantastic job in bringing this to our city and weathering the storms that a project of this size always brings. The electric bus program is rolling out nicely too. Thanks to the thousands of individuals involved in making this vision a reality.
3:10 yes. That type of transit stops is what I have been thinking what we can do to the 401 at places, rail in the mediums. Yes, they recently added more lanes to certain sections but we will just say they have prepared it nicely for rail transit along the 401. 🤣😉
It's been a while since I tried the rail lines with my bike around Ottawa, but the one that sticks out is the former CPR line to the east that has VIA property signs that goes to Montréal (M&O?? Montreal and Occidental) Gatineau still has the steam train and CPR Lachute.
I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on the extreme delays and corners cut on Boston’s MBTA Green Line Expansion. I was excited to see it open the entire 4 years I was in school in Boston, and now I’ve been in NYC 5 years before it finally opened. And it doesn’t even have fare gates from what I know!
I got to ride the new extension on a visit home in March. My excitement turned to disappointment pretty quickly because the train didn't go past North Station and we all had to get out and take shuttle buses (?!) or switch to the Orange Line (except for when it was broken...). It's maddening and embarrassing.
There is a political culture in MA that is loath to expand the transit railways in the wake of the highway capacity expansions and cancellations. the consensus within the Machiavellian Transit Authority is that the diesel bus is the one size fits all final solution to the railway question, with some battery bus demonstrations as a specious distraction. Capital expansion is delivered as favors to the politically connected, and no one loses elections screwing transit riders.
When I saw the title I just knew that the topic would be line 7 of Metro de Santiago... Nevertheless I was just really amazed by the video ! Really like it ! 💜
every time i learn something new i continue to be impressed by how good ottawa seems to be for urbanist related things, and how proactive it is compared to other anglo american places. i have to agree strongly with the sentiment that ottawa's built and natural environments are so _refreshing_ compared to the GTA.
As an Ottawa resident, the fact that phase 1 keeps breaking down and does not work in extreme cold weather which happens in Ottawa all winter. It would be fair if you informed viewers of the broken wires, the flattened steel wheels, doors that stay open etc.
Hey Reece. I was just wondering if you knew why the design decisions were taken to make a tunnel beside the parkway in the west and run the train in the highway median in the east? As an Ottawa resident, the tunnel in the west seems to add cost and it would have been cool to have a surface train adjacent until it hits the Byron tunnel section. In the east, it seems to defeat the benefits of having communal areas around stations and close proximity to residents if they are on overpasses. Thanks and keep up the good work!
I live on Byron, just a few meters from the tunnel they dug a few months ago through the bed rock. It takes forever - 'the guys' start at 7 and finish in evening hours, often through the night during the summer.
@@pliedtka yeah I can imagine that would be annoying. Unfortunately I do understand the Byron portion of the tunnel because it’s a major thoroughfare and park. However I feel like the SJAM portion was an unnecessary expense.
Headways are now 10-12 minutes, trains are slowed through downtown tunnel and most of the tracks east of Lees stations, not to mention them running only half trains. I love public transit but they have made the system so unusable that I’m better off walking or taking an uber in most cases. Not to mention the ridiculously high ticket prices. I hope that the city considers new transit improvements because the O-Train is simply not enough. We deserve more and better mass-transit.
You are not getting what you are hoping for. This whole project has been a disaster and the public has been abandoning transit in droves. The solution: lets make the transit system worse.
Plagued with problems from the start. The electric line has been down again for over a week with" bearings issues." We wanted Montreal Metro and got the Springfield Monorail. Also, no park and ride at the final station on south line (Limebank Station) though it will be reliable diesel trains to start. Also my understanding is that passengers going to airport from downtown will have to transfer twice. Not good.
Good to see continued expansion, though the eventual forced transfer to travel between downtown and the airport is unfortunate. Beyond that, in the future it would be good to see a subway under Bank Street, which could perhaps be extended further north across the river ultimately up to Gatineau. When I was last in Ottawa 5 years ago I was impressed with the development and walkability along much of Bank Street, but its narrowness makes transit-only lanes a bit of a challenge. So a subway seems worthwhile. This could serve as the major north/south rapid transit corridor to complement to now existing (and continuing to expand) east/west rapid transit corridor.
The problem with ever seeing that as feasibly viable, beyond improving its transit capacity and levels of transit priority, is that there are already other rapid N/S options: Line 2 and the SE transitway; the most likely route to implementation of a line that just isn't where most people are is an Olympics (its benefits are mostly events based) .. I don't see rail-based as likely on either Bank or Montréal Road until after Gatineau does their mostly at-grade tramway LRT, and then a similar version can extend off of it.
I agree a subway down bank would be worthwhile, particularly if it followed Rideau/Montreal to St. Laurent. Eventually it could extend back south to Tremblay ( allowing redevelopment in Overbrook and connection to the via HFR), and then run back to Billings Bridge on the Transitway to from a loop. That said I agree with other comments, short term closing part of Bank and making a transit mall for buses, while also upzoning Glebe/Center town and getting rid of Parking requirements, is probably essential to having the density to support it. Otherwise a PanAm or Olympic games. I don't think existing N/S connections provide useful transit to these more urban portions of Ottawa, but they do let commuters get North so the demand isn't quite there yet. Long term a tram might be better then a subway, although I think a cut and cover is viable if planning is done around it.
The stations on the eastern extension seem to be in the middle of nowhere. Or at least that's what it looked like in the video. Do you think having such stations is a good idea? Will it even attract any ridership on that section of the transit?
They are actually all in middle of the main highway, at intersections of major roads in one of Ottawa’s largest suburbs. It’s also the area of the city with highest ridership per capita and all are serviced by local bus routes. I don’t think ridership will be a problem. The video POV makes the look more isolated than they are.
Park & Rides. No, it isn't good balanced urbanism. But with development also going through between Place d'Orléans and Trim. I do say it is better if the extension were more south, but this allows a quick build without getting too neighbourhood disruptive on a corridor that has mostly always been high demand (east to Place d'Orléans).
Some critics say there is no need for such expansion. Mass transit is the way to go as demonstrated in all major cities. It is expensive but required and will take a long time to pay for. It is worth it in the end.
Here in Ottawa, it's so popular to hate on this train right now. Hopefully the next phase can change people's mind about this system, and actually get people fully on board!
STO already have a plan in development to bring light rail across the river and into the downtown. Unlikely OC Transpo will cross into Gatineau anytime too soon due to red tape & funding issues with the Quebec government, but a corridor has been protected should that change.
Great video, but is there any reason you don't mention the project name, train line name, city or country in the title or description? It would help accessibility massively if this information was as text and so searchable at a later date or could be used to do further research by copying the text.
As a resident and former transit user (I had to stop because of COVID & the fact that my job is a 20min drive away vs. 2.5hrs by various bus & train transfers) & given that any resident will tell you that overpacked buses/buses simply not showing up at their scheduled times/buses just absolutely disappearing in to the ether are absolutely everyday problems with our system, plus coupled with the fact in Ottawa it is actually cheaper right now to use a car than the skyrocketing transit fares which are turning transit in to a luxury and not the Great Equalizer it is supposed to be means I have very little faith OC Transpo will actually deliver an effective system once it's built. I hope you actually talk to transit users in this city rather than gloss over the issues because many of us WANT to use transit, but we can't because we're priced out and the reliability IS NOT THERE.
Rode the system the last 2 days downtown, from Bridlewood in Kanata. Bott the bus portion and train portion worked flawlessly. Your experience from 2 years ago is not relevant.
Although there has been many reliability problems, keep in mind that the expansion of rail service should vastly increase reliability. Since Line-1 will be serving the longest & busiest portions of the route, shorter bus routes that don't need to cross town can be run more often and decrease the odds that they are delayed (traffic jam or whatever else).
@@steved2602 The bus problem MW mentions is still very present today. It hasn't gone away. There was an improvement in morning peak availability of buses, but that doesn't mean enough drivers for them... and it also works the other way too (enough drivers, but not enough buses). Many cancellations just due to "resource shortage" .. usually that means not enough buses or not enough drivers.
@@steved2602 Depends on where you are. I'm in the billings Bridge area and route 6 going up and down Bank St is consistently unreliable, and so I'm disincentivized to use the route regularly. The bus routes that are designed to complement the LRT are decent, but local routes are a roll of the dice and we need solutions for it. Too much of the focus is on getting to and from downtown. It's important, don't get me wrong, but for transit to really be viable, we need to make short local trips more convenient.
@@steved2602 And reliability isn’t the only problem I mentioned. Transit is ridiculously expensive in this city and the service it pays for isn’t that reliable. We need better transit in this city but constantly raising fares while not addressing reliability in ALL areas is just a recipe for disaster. Transit is supposed to be affordable & it really isn’t in this city & frankly in this entire province.
I am blown away at how much Ottawa is doing for so little. I wish Toronto would learn a lesson or two and work with some more at-grade, trench, and cut-and cover methods rather than everything having to be bored tunnels. We bored a tunnel to what was recently farmland in the 905 FFS with the Line 1 York-U Vaughn Extension and are tunnelling again through quite low density areas in Scarborough with the Line 2 extension. Moreover the Line 5 extension is supposed to be tunnelled as well through Etobicoke which just seems egregious as there is a massive right of way on Eglinton. At a minimum these could all be a mix of trenched and elevated to keep grade separation and minimize disruption to existing residents. In return they get a rapid transit line. And with these savings Toronto would save enough money to build subways where we actually need it. 1) Extending Line 3 (Ontario Line) west past Exhibition to Parkdale & Roncesvalles and north to Sheppard. 2) Extending Line 6 (Finch West) to Pearson & integrating it with the throughrunning GO/UP service in some sort of transit centre 3) Extending Line 4 (Sheppard) west to Sheppard West (trains could interline to Downsview Park or York U) and east to Scarborough Centre via Agincourt GO 4) Creating more (ideally total) grade separation on Line 5 from Don Mills to Kennedy, to make up for this bad mistake. 5) Convert more streetcar routes into proper tramways, at least starting with King Street - and renumberung the tram lines to fit in to the other rapid transit lines) e.g. could be T-1 / T-2 / T-3 or just follow in sequence but from 10 so they’re all double digit lines. GO Lines should also be numbered (or Lettered) as well to create a more coherent system. Anyways, this video was great, and it made me wish Toronto wasn’t squandering so much money boring tunnels to nowhere.
I'm so so glad you're invited to these events. I would be absolutely in the dark about transit in Canada without you, so thank you for that!
I am too! It's really cool to see stuff firsthand!
As much as I like the cynical tones of other transit-oriented, anti-car UA-camrs, your positive outlook on things even as maligned as the o-train (Ottawa native here) is really refreshing. I'm still holding out hope the city turns the market into a car free zone though.
What market ?
@@Ryanaireee byward market
@@lunkus1 😅Makes sense
Your comment comparing the new length of the O-Train system to the Montreal metro really puts into scale the amount of work and the quality of transit for the future system. Great video and a great way to keep track of work progression.
Its a really good point, although the O-train is more like a light S-bahn than light Metro in my opinion, so it should be noted coverage isn't as nice.
I thought is was a good thing to mention, the Metro has larger trains, but in a much larger city!
@@neolithictransitrevolution427 You're right about the S-Bahn comparison. It feels like Ottawa decided to prioritize s-Bahn type routes and use buses for shorter commutes which works better in suburb dominated cities instead of dense cities where creating a u-Bahn network (like the Montreal metro) and overlying on it an s-Bahn like network later (the REM) is considered a better option
I’m a transit operator. I’ve been with the organization for 12 years! I wish I knew you were in town, I’m a huge fan of your videos! :)
I've lived in Orleans most of my life and I'm happy that one day people will be able to take the train downtown! Thanks for another great video!! I've been watching the construction for years!
Orléans?
@@bahnspotterEU yep, the name of the eastern suburb of Ottawa.
Exciting times, the station in Orleans is great!
@@RMTransit I just checked the plans, I'm gutted there won't be a north entrance to Trim station!! Like why!? :(
@@footballfanstyleonye It's a future works project, separate from Stage 2. You have to remember the thinking... public servants asking for LRT to get them from the Park & Ride in Orléans at Trim to Tunney's Pasture, although the north side would be useful with a more direct connection, especially with developments and summer attactions... the ridership basis (to even include Trim) is on that Park & Ride.
Your enthusiasm is contagious and gives us hope in Ottawa
Ottawa's urban landscape is baffling to me, coming from Montreal. With Montreal there's pockets of density, surrounded by medium density that stretches to the suburbs, gradually trailing off. Ottawa just sticks a 16 storey tower in the middle of a strip mall.
An exception to that is parts of Napean, which has to be the worst example of Density I know. Lots of medium and large residential, all car centeric with lots of parking and no transit, with absolutely no mixed use included. It's the kind of thing that gives people density PTSD, and creates one of the worst Stroads I know, Merivale.
There is some better mixed density, in Glebe, Center town, Sandyhill, Lower town, and Vanier, but none has good Tranist. I think the giant buildings in suburbs is really an attempt to add some density along what is really a commuter train line.
@@neolithictransitrevolution427 I was living down on Prince of Wales, south of Baseline, so I was relatively close to Nepean. There's definitely some really nice, walkable parts of Ottawa, and we'd try and escape to the Glebe or Old Ottawa South when possible just to get out of our neighbourhood.
@@APJTA For sure, overall its a great city and I loved living there. But the area around Merivale and Meadowlands, oooff.
I whould tend to agree. I lived in Ottawa for 10yrs before moving to another city. Ottawa always felt like a bunch of small suburban bed room communities hobbled together without any real city plan of properly connecting them all together.
@@sirxavior1583 That's because that is exactly what Ottawa was. Kanata, Nepean, and Gloucester were separate entities apart from Ottawa, with a regional council composed of the mayors of the municipalities making up the area and an unelected Regional Chair hashing out decisions that affected all. It was a right royal mess. Amalgamation was done badly but it was needed.
It makes me so happy to see a transit expansion in North America actually going up in a decent time frame and for not insanely huge amounts of money. This is how it should be for ALL of North America. I think Ottawa will be pointed at as another example of transit expansion done RIGHT!
I definitely think so once the dust has settled, teething issues aside.
For sure, but I hope the real leason taken is from the Line 2 original build. Not many places have an existing transitway with lots of ROW, so the leasons are limited. But quick, cheap transit on existing freight lines? That can be exported to even small cities.
Ottawa LRT is not on-time. It's not on-budget. It is costing a huge amount of money. (We are in part 1B of a $10B plan). It's not working. It's not reliable. It's built by morons. For instance stations which are intolerable below 0C, when we have 4-5 months of -20C.
There's no way Ottawa's LRT built constitutes transit expansion "done right." The system has more than teething pains; some problems are inherent to or a high-probability outcome of the way it was built.
It's not a complete disaster, but it's full of cautionary lessons for other projects.
Yea until the incompetent people of Ottawa ruin it like they do everything. They'll probably manage to run another one of their transit vehicles into something else, like they've done with their buses regularly.
Really appreciate the coverage of the expansion! I live near the Eastern expansion and it's been a blast watching it go up so fast. Can't wait for the day I can see trains running out my back window!
Now that is super cool! I wish I could see stuff from my window
Thanks for such a positive take on all of this. I live in Ottawa and used the transit system my whole working life. Unfortunately I only got to use the LRT from fall 2019 until March 2020, when my company started working from home. I retired in 2021. I used to drive to Eagleson Park & Ride (my preferred park and ride because of number of connecting buses), bus to Tunney's and then take the LRT to Parliament station which brought me right inside my building. It really did make the trip quicker for me and I enjoyed taking the train. Once it is extended to Moodie in the west, I plan to spend a day taking the different routes that will be operational. As you mentioned, we also have an amazing amount of bike/walking paths in the City.
Can't wait until you're covering the finished product. Hope to see a review of Phase 3 and beyond plans, and what you would add or do differently (putting DMUs on the west CN line to Kanata/Arnprior seems obvious to me).
I hope to see the South portion of the line 1 expansion one day go past Algonquin to the CN line in Nepean, and then continue through the Greenbelt to Fallowfield. I'd love to see it go through Barrhaven to Riverside South and connect with Line 2, although I doubt that is in the cards in the next 30 years.
The City has already bought the right of way from QUebec border to Carling Ave (dont expect this go past Kanata North Tech Park. THey want to purchase the rest of the track to the 417 in the east end. This track goes into the Park and services 10,000s of workers.
@@neolithictransitrevolution427 connecting with L2 is far away but getting to Barrhaven is literally stage 3
@@pauldevey8628 It isn't just a want to purchase. There is a policy that they will. Whether it is used for rail transit, that is undecided.
@@pauldevey8628 I think it's possible the route will extend past Kanata, at least at peak times, the freight line is very low use and already exisiting. But even if not, it will be a very useful route if they boot strap it like line 2 and keep it cheap.
They could go all out and electrify but I think there are other projects which would better use funds; better connect to Quebec, Better rapid transit through Glebe/Center Town/Lower town/Sandy Hill/Vanier, a loop through Gloucester from blair along the Hydro Corridor and back up Aviation park way to connect to NRC, Colleges, exisiting residential, Hospital, green space, and the New development on the former CFB base. )
1. That linear park was originally a streetcar right-of-way.
2. Cycling infrastructure is impressive considering that Ottawa only started building it in 2011 (though the NCC built some in the 1980s), and in 2015 the city built the first modern cycle track on Churchill Avenue. When I left Ottawa in 2019, cycling infrastructure was much more noticeable, but still a long way to go.
East of Blair Road, there's still barely any cycling infrastructure at all, save for painted gutters along the stroads, and *one* traffic light for cycles that I'm aware of. The entirety of Blackburn and Orleans are funnelled through two dangerous choke points , effectively painted, unprotected lanes along fast-moving roads if you want to head toward the downtown. We've been told we might be getting a MUP to avoid that, but it'll be the better part of a decade before we see it.
This video is awesome! I’m an exchange student from Germany and at the beginning i thought it would be similar to my experiences in the us (which were awful), but the expansions are awesome and I think when i’m gonna come back in a couple years, it’s hopefully gonna be even better. ❤️
Thank-you Reece for the great summary. I am glad you pointed out the cost savings... and TOTALLY GRADE SEPARATED, hello. Cheers
Thanks for watching!
I can't say how many times I've flipped off on the lack of coverage on Ottawa transit development on UA-cam. But sir you have proved me wrong and I can't thank u enough for the amazing video! Please keep talking about Ottawa!
You mentioned the culverts and such, but as one of the many sub trades on the project, from my side the shocking number is the elevators and escalators! I am working on the contract for both sections and we have 97 units going in total, 89 elevators and 8 escalators!
I'm looking forward to seeing the completion of line two. Things were off to a shaky start in 2019 when they launched this, hopefully things will go better the second time around. There has certainly been mismanagement, including the fact they have intentionally disabled the only rail bridge between Ottawa and Gatineau...
You said "the 174". People always make fun of us from Los Angeles for saying "the 405" and "the 101". Love it!
Yes, for whatever reason, in Southern Ontario we say “the” before a freeway number: the 401, the 400.
@@scottdawson4705 well we also say "Highway X" just as often as "the X"
Beautiful project!
And I’m so jealous. Because meanwhile here in Montreal, as you undoubtedly heard, the REM E is going through another existential crisis…
Happy for Ottawa folks!! Good job! Will enjoy the biking there next summer.
Thanks for the overview! I graduated and moved away from Ottawa before the O-Train was in operation (or perhaps even in the planning stages), alas. I would've loved to have it operating when I was there, would've made getting around so much nicer! Exciting to see how far Ottawa is developing their transit system with these great electric vehicles. :)
Excellent video as always. You're right - I was totally unaware of this major rail expansion project, and only a few hours from Toronto! I haven't even been to Ottawa since the first section of the rail system there opened, I look forward to riding it during my next visit!
Can't wait to get onto these LRT trains in my neighbourhood in Ottawa. Its long overdue for the transit users especially with the long commute with the buses during rush hour.
Ottawa is a great city. Im from Melbourne Australia, but studied at University there for 6 months and loved it. It is definitely a North American city, but it still felt quite ‘human’ I guess, and not empty downtown etc like so many other North American cities. I think the new transit system will make that even better, making the downtown more vibrant. One thing it definitely does need though is better connectivity to Gatineau. I think they should extend autoroute 50 across the river (to join the 417 and thus providing a freeway standard road crossing/downtown bypass) and at the same time use the bridge as a train crossing as well, extending the network there. Would make it much easier for trucks to bypass the city (there are so many trucks on king Edward ave) and providing better connectivity to the airport for those living in Quebec. I would love to be a transit planner with the city of Ottawa!
It will also be nice for the trim road station being so close to the Petrie island beach. Just hop on the train and go to the beach will be nice.
Or you can drive into the city. Go to the beach for a couple hours. Hop on the train to the market and get some food and take the train back to the beach for the afternoon.
It sucks that the extension to Moodie Station is delayed for a year! I am optimistic that the opening to Moodie Station will help the communites of Bells Corners & Crystal Bay.
Can we all just appreciate the amount of effort Ottawa is commiting JUST TO DIVERT THE TRANSIT WAY TO CONVER IT TO RAIL? THE ORANGE SUBWAY LINE IN BOSTON DIDNT EVEN GET ANY TEMPORARY BUS LANES ON THE TEMPORARY SHUTTLE SERVICE WHEN IT WAS SUSPENDED
I just moved here from Vancouver and I’m really excited to see this extension in progress.
I’m so glad you get these inside looks, you deserve it so much and cover projects so well
This is some amazing infrastructure, especially considering that Ottawa only has a population of 1.5 million for the entire metro area. Picture if Milwaukee had a 60km light metro system for the US comparison.
I've been having so much fun documenting the expansion over the last 5 years. It's so awesome, I love it 😀
I can't wait for this expansion to be opened!
You've done an amazing job summarizing the current state of the project and showing everything 👏 ❤️
It's great to seeing the updates on the overall scale even with my access to the portion that is essentially in my backyard
Thank-you for such a hopeful and informative video! As a proud Ottawan, it’s made me more optimistic about the future of this city.
Are you planning an Otrain update anytime soon?
I don't think it is wise to have a video that will clearly be negative.
I saw a few articles on RT&S of the expansions facing some problems. But, I hope the problems are overcome and the expansions open and succeed.
In west, it is mostly the tunnel... from seeing the progress, I think it's no sufficient place to place excavated earth material before loading into a dump truck, so requiring more resourcing that is not as existing to fulfill pressures. But that's much progressed now.
Oh I'm sure there are challenges, but lots going on!
@@mlmielke the dump truck drivers strike hasn’t helped
The main excuse for the delay of the western leg is a rebar shortage and a labour shortage. With a 3 km tunnel from Kìchì Sìbì to Lincoln Fields stations and a 300 m tunnel between Lincoln Fields and Queensway stations there's a need for a lot of rebar. Maybe when luxury condo development in nearby megacities slows down more rebar will become available.
Great video! Love the channel! The method and tone of talking about transit is excellent and something I look forward too. Keep it up!
I look forward to taking a train from downtown to the EY Centre. It looks like that will be possible for next September.
Yep!
Would be nice, but it won't be happening, at least not on a single train. The Airport and EY stations run as a shuttle (Line 4) from South Keys. It ends up being two transfers from downtown, which is counterproductive to getting people to take the O-Train to/from the airport.
@@microserf Its goal isn't (yet) to get people to/from the Airport, but it absolutely would be possible to get to EY Centre by rail with the expansion, despite starting with an additional train cross platform interchange (you wouldn't even change platforms at South Keys).
Wow you went to Place d'Orléans! That was the mall I always went to growing up.
I grew up in the east end of Ottawa so much of the first half of your video really strikes home. It is really interesting to see the east end of Stage 2 on the inside given that the previous 95 BRT design was always on the outside of the 174. But that in the long run I think its nicer because then you get the dedicated right of way and the LRT would not have to go up every highway exit as how they built most of those exits in the 174.
Also I think you mixed up eastern/western terminus captions in your video. Tunney's Pasture is the west end terminus and Blair is on the east.
Also as another error, you labelled the Place d'Orléans station as Orléans station. If they were to name the Place d'Orléans station as Orléans station, that would be very confusing because Covent Glen station is what's running under Orléans Boulevard.
All I hope is for Ottawa and Gatineau to be connected by train via the Prince of Wales Bridge. The last train it seen was in 1998 (during the initial North-South O-Train construction, which brought ballast cars over from Gatineau) and is a shame that it’s been rusting away ever since. It was even ruled out as the bridge to connect the cities by Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and who has instead insisted to transform the Portage Bridge closer to downtown into a train/car bridge.
It should noted that the Prince of Wales Bridge sits a about 150m from the current Bayview station and could easily connect to the Line 2 O-Train if they ever wanted.
TL;DR: Ottawa-Gatineau needs another bridge to carry the stupid amount of people which commute in and out everyday.
I heard from a friend of mine at Lebreton Flats that they turned it into a cyclist bridge, but I could be confusing it with something else. Either way, I do hope we get a connection to Gatineau, like the old CN railway that went through Ottawa.
@@SixSkyDiver You friend is correct, it opened this past August but they have it closed and gated for the winter which has drawn a lot of criticism given the project cost, and I'm not joking, $22.6 Million dollars and it's not open year-round.
@@theironrhino110 that’s absurd. I would have thought a Canadian bridge would be able to withstand a Canadian winter
Very nice. Awesome! Great video.
I love your coverage of these projects, do you have any sources you can share for the budget for these projects?
Also: I think a similar system would be a good fit for Winnipeg where we have a bunch of existing CP and CN rail corridors that seem to have some space to spare where light rail could run parallel to create a similar S-bahn style service with radial corridors feeding downtown.
Ooh cool! I saw on Instagram that you were heading to Ottawa
Any updated thoughts on Ottawa's LRT?
It's cool to see the immenseness of this project. I live in Aylmer and have been working from home for two years. Therefore I've missed a lot of work in areas where I spent a lot of time. My dad used to live right across from the Lincoln Fields station. Life outside of work has been pretty car-oriented. However, not having us government drones on the Transitway probably gave Ottawa more room to work. Before Covid, I was on the trains a lot bouncing between my office near Lyon Station, work on a special project at Tunney's Pasture and grad school at Carleton.
Surprised there is transit to Orleans. I used to live in orleans 10 years ago and walk in that bridge every day. I got goosebumps when I saw it haha.
Would you ever do videos on transit projects that almost got built but then were cancelled like the Baltimore red line, 1980s Seattle metro plan (RIP), and Detroit Woodward subway?
So nice to hear someone speak with excitement and positivity regarding the O-Train. I'm also hopeful opening Phase II will coincide with significant improvements to service reliability and rider satisfaction.
Subscribed, good info here
Whow! I'm impressed. I was aware that Ottawa was planning a massive rail transit expansion, but wasn't aware that it had been approved let alone that construction was underway and this far advanced. Good video.
Yep, it's moving very fast! Should all be open in a couple of years!
The last time I visited to Ottawa was in October 2021, but due to the temporary shut down of the LRT I wasn’t able to ride. Reece thanks so much for this amazing update (and motivation to visit the Capital again). Had no idea that Ottawa was this far in their expansion projects AND that there will be additional underground stations . Did you get to sign a sleeper?
It wasn’t temporary. It only works part of the time. Every time I’ve had to use it, its needed me to take a bus in between.
And, amazingly, a portion of the new cut and cover tunnel is running under the old Ottawa Britannia Streetcar line.
Oh man, I absolutely love electric busses. They are not only so much more pleasant as a rider but also for everyone on the outside. A few days ago I was talking to a buddy of mine just standing around on the sidewalk and one of these E-Busses passed by, followed by a BMW i3. We just kept talking, no need to talk louder or anything. Soon after a diesel bus and a few suburban battle tanks passed us and we just stood there in awkward silence until they were finally gone. I'm glad electric busses have become pretty common around here :)
Because cities aren't loud. Cars are.
~NJB~
It’s nice to see a city expand its rail transit and at a reasonable cost. With what you showed it looks like it will go a long way to improving the existing
bus service. It also helps the environment by replacing some of the diesel buses with clean energy efficient rail transit.
Whether the budget allows for better bus service is an entirely different story, but it does allow for the bus system to be run more effectively as long as the budget is there for that service. So far, the city has failed to show a more effective bus service, a lot due to the budget decided by Council.
The trench in the west end of the city was excavated from the old Canadian Pacific Railway line. When I was younger I used to see the CPR's Canadian and Dominion on their way across the country to Vancouver.
I hear 'the guys' every day since 7AM until late evening, since I live around Richmond/Woodroffe. Not easy to make a tunnel through the rocky bed.
You could do a video about England that isn't London only. Birmingham are currently building a new tram line and extending their existing one on all 3 sides I think? Now that's a transit expansion that people aren't talking about. This video is interesting though 👍
I am! Planning on Manchester, but also just going to visit and film some stuff my self
@@RMTransit Ayy, that sounds great. Hope you enjoy visiting!
This is really cool, especially for how cheap it is considering the costs of most things in the Anglo-world. Though I might contest and say the biggest transit expansion that no one is talking about is probably İstanbul. :) looking forward to your video on that some time this year :)
What a disaster the LRT in Ottawa has been. Years behind, millions over budget. The trains don't even operate in the climate correctly, provincial inquiries into the mismanagement. Lawsuits over the contracts, Ottawa residents left holding the bag on a broken transit system. Buses taken out of commission before the train was even open because it was behind schedule they could no longer upkeep the maintenance as they were planned to be retired. Service has been absolutely HORRIBLE. There is a good chance your bus just doesn't show up, the train gets delayed or shut down.
The train has derailed twice in the last year. I want this LRT to be finished and reliable, but we are looking at another year + of that at the minimum.
Last August, I rode the LRT end-to-end and back for the experience and thoroughly enjoyed it. unfortunately, I was looking to go to Carlton and duplicate a shot I took 50 years ago of 1201 exiting the tunnel around there, but the Trillium Line is not currently running.
When it works, the LRT is great, but it had more problem after my visit.
Been a rail and transit enthusiast for over 60 years and will ride anything under a wire (or Third Rail); but not a foamer.
I cant wait for line 2 to finish. I can bike to the terminal station and ride downtown without having to drive/ get stuck in traffic/ be miserable :)
While I tend to think that trolley buses are better than battery electric buses because of the lack of a a need for massive batteries, but I can completely get behind non-diesel for comfort.
Trolley buses are better, but the problem: not enough other cities are buying them, so, higher costs on higher costs on higher costs. Battery buses, being the in-thing, are expected to have more steady prices even with inflation, because enough of everyone else is buying them.
Sure you lack that, but you also don't need to build trolley infra, which is a big deal!
@@RMTransit yeah but I think it is cheaper in the long term
@@RMTransit You suggest Electrifying Line 2, and it's all part of the plan. But suggest Electrifying the bus network, and everybody loses thier minds.
Great content, big fan here. When are you going to make a video on the VIA Canadian?
Tunney’s Pasture is at the west end of the Confederation Line, and Blair is at the east end. Your captions have it backwards.
There are a few other corrections I could make (like that Lincoln Fields is more like Lougheed, and the shuttle is a Monday-Thursday night time period plan, and that mostly would be run like Stadium-Chinatown only running on two tracks except for certain use cases that require the use of the centre pocket track for custom train movements) ... but I'm here to see the take on it (how someone else from outside the city sees the line).
@@mlmielke Lincoln Fields isn't like Lougheed?
Yeah I know, that's what editing at 2am gets you! Haha
@@RMTransit Both are 3-track stations that allow for multiple similar operation patterns. The platform layout is much the same (difference more on whether elevated or open-air cut), though the choice of operation patterns isn't.
Seems more like a commuter rail line.
I live in Ottawa and have followed the progress closely. It is an excellent system (the bugs will be corrected with time) and huge in scale. Our leaders (Jim Watson especially) have done a fantastic job in bringing this to our city and weathering the storms that a project of this size always brings. The electric bus program is rolling out nicely too. Thanks to the thousands of individuals involved in making this vision a reality.
Ottawa is nicest city :D
3:10 yes. That type of transit stops is what I have been thinking what we can do to the 401 at places, rail in the mediums. Yes, they recently added more lanes to certain sections but we will just say they have prepared it nicely for rail transit along the 401. 🤣😉
Speaking of transit that no one talks about, have you ever considered covering Tel Aviv’s new metro system?
It's been a while since I tried the rail lines with my bike around Ottawa, but the one that sticks out is the former CPR line to the east that has VIA property signs that goes to Montréal (M&O?? Montreal and Occidental)
Gatineau still has the steam train and CPR Lachute.
Edmonton’s Valley Line LRT line is probably only weeks away now from being operational
I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on the extreme delays and corners cut on Boston’s MBTA Green Line Expansion. I was excited to see it open the entire 4 years I was in school in Boston, and now I’ve been in NYC 5 years before it finally opened. And it doesn’t even have fare gates from what I know!
I got to ride the new extension on a visit home in March. My excitement turned to disappointment pretty quickly because the train didn't go past North Station and we all had to get out and take shuttle buses (?!) or switch to the Orange Line (except for when it was broken...). It's maddening and embarrassing.
There is a political culture in MA that is loath to expand the transit railways in the wake of the highway capacity expansions and cancellations. the consensus within the Machiavellian Transit Authority is that the diesel bus is the one size fits all final solution to the railway question, with some battery bus demonstrations as a specious distraction. Capital expansion is delivered as favors to the politically connected, and no one loses elections screwing transit riders.
When I saw the title I just knew that the topic would be line 7 of Metro de Santiago... Nevertheless I was just really amazed by the video ! Really like it ! 💜
Thanks for sharing 👍♐♐♐♐♐♐♐
I heard the don't run as well underwater lol.
This train system reminds me of Perth’s.
every time i learn something new i continue to be impressed by how good ottawa seems to be for urbanist related things, and how proactive it is compared to other anglo american places. i have to agree strongly with the sentiment that ottawa's built and natural environments are so _refreshing_ compared to the GTA.
Maybe its because its only half Anglo.
It's had a long history of bureaucratic gridlock, political whimsy and questionable decisions, but seems to be making progress more recently.
Every time Jean D'Arc is mentioned I remember what Churchill supposedly said upon De Gaulle comparing himself to her - "...and we burnt her"
As an Ottawa resident, the fact that phase 1 keeps breaking down and does not work in extreme cold weather which happens in Ottawa all winter. It would be fair if you informed viewers of the broken wires, the flattened steel wheels, doors that stay open etc.
Hey Reece. I was just wondering if you knew why the design decisions were taken to make a tunnel beside the parkway in the west and run the train in the highway median in the east? As an Ottawa resident, the tunnel in the west seems to add cost and it would have been cool to have a surface train adjacent until it hits the Byron tunnel section. In the east, it seems to defeat the benefits of having communal areas around stations and close proximity to residents if they are on overpasses. Thanks and keep up the good work!
National Capital Commission I think?
I live on Byron, just a few meters from the tunnel they dug a few months ago through the bed rock. It takes forever - 'the guys' start at 7 and finish in evening hours, often through the night during the summer.
@@pliedtka yeah I can imagine that would be annoying. Unfortunately I do understand the Byron portion of the tunnel because it’s a major thoroughfare and park. However I feel like the SJAM portion was an unnecessary expense.
I always had the impression the Ottawa LRT project was hugely expensive and over budget. . . but you say it is comparatively quite cheap!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Headways are now 10-12 minutes, trains are slowed through downtown tunnel and most of the tracks east of Lees stations, not to mention them running only half trains. I love public transit but they have made the system so unusable that I’m better off walking or taking an uber in most cases. Not to mention the ridiculously high ticket prices.
I hope that the city considers new transit improvements because the O-Train is simply not enough. We deserve more and better mass-transit.
You are not getting what you are hoping for. This whole project has been a disaster and the public has been abandoning transit in droves. The solution: lets make the transit system worse.
Hey, I don't see Long Branch Mike in the footage - isn't he your sidekick?
you need to talk about Santiago transit (again) and how art and space design can increase quality of life of riders.
Plagued with problems from the start. The electric line has been down again for over a week with" bearings issues." We wanted Montreal Metro and got the Springfield Monorail. Also, no park and ride at the final station on south line (Limebank Station) though it will be reliable diesel trains to start. Also my understanding is that passengers going to airport from downtown will have to transfer twice.
Not good.
Good to see continued expansion, though the eventual forced transfer to travel between downtown and the airport is unfortunate. Beyond that, in the future it would be good to see a subway under Bank Street, which could perhaps be extended further north across the river ultimately up to Gatineau. When I was last in Ottawa 5 years ago I was impressed with the development and walkability along much of Bank Street, but its narrowness makes transit-only lanes a bit of a challenge. So a subway seems worthwhile. This could serve as the major north/south rapid transit corridor to complement to now existing (and continuing to expand) east/west rapid transit corridor.
The problem with ever seeing that as feasibly viable, beyond improving its transit capacity and levels of transit priority, is that there are already other rapid N/S options: Line 2 and the SE transitway; the most likely route to implementation of a line that just isn't where most people are is an Olympics (its benefits are mostly events based) .. I don't see rail-based as likely on either Bank or Montréal Road until after Gatineau does their mostly at-grade tramway LRT, and then a similar version can extend off of it.
A more viable and attainable solution is to limit car traffic on the north end of Bank street so that buses can easily get through.
I agree a subway down bank would be worthwhile, particularly if it followed Rideau/Montreal to St. Laurent. Eventually it could extend back south to Tremblay ( allowing redevelopment in Overbrook and connection to the via HFR), and then run back to Billings Bridge on the Transitway to from a loop.
That said I agree with other comments, short term closing part of Bank and making a transit mall for buses, while also upzoning Glebe/Center town and getting rid of Parking requirements, is probably essential to having the density to support it. Otherwise a PanAm or Olympic games. I don't think existing N/S connections provide useful transit to these more urban portions of Ottawa, but they do let commuters get North so the demand isn't quite there yet. Long term a tram might be better then a subway, although I think a cut and cover is viable if planning is done around it.
I love riding the O-Bahn
way to go Ottawa
I agree, rapid expansion!
The stations on the eastern extension seem to be in the middle of nowhere. Or at least that's what it looked like in the video. Do you think having such stations is a good idea? Will it even attract any ridership on that section of the transit?
They are actually all in middle of the main highway, at intersections of major roads in one of Ottawa’s largest suburbs. It’s also the area of the city with highest ridership per capita and all are serviced by local bus routes. I don’t think ridership will be a problem. The video POV makes the look more isolated than they are.
Park & Rides. No, it isn't good balanced urbanism. But with development also going through between Place d'Orléans and Trim. I do say it is better if the extension were more south, but this allows a quick build without getting too neighbourhood disruptive on a corridor that has mostly always been high demand (east to Place d'Orléans).
@@mikejulien2330 Like Calgary's Crowchild Trail NW (Red Line) and Memorial Drive and 36th Street NE (Blue Line).
Some critics say there is no need for such expansion. Mass transit is the way to go as demonstrated in all major cities. It is expensive but required and will take a long time to pay for. It is worth it in the end.
Here in Ottawa, it's so popular to hate on this train right now. Hopefully the next phase can change people's mind about this system, and actually get people fully on board!
Now they need to make the new Ottawa sens arena 30,000 seat capacity.
I wonder when they will extend it across the river to Gatineau since a large population live on the other side.
STO already have a plan in development to bring light rail across the river and into the downtown. Unlikely OC Transpo will cross into Gatineau anytime too soon due to red tape & funding issues with the Quebec government, but a corridor has been protected should that change.
This is giving WMATA Silver Line vibes
Great video, but is there any reason you don't mention the project name, train line name, city or country in the title or description?
It would help accessibility massively if this information was as text and so searchable at a later date or could be used to do further research by copying the text.
i live in Gatineau.
Great Ottawa!! Now Ottawa now get the Federal Government funding to complete the UBC line in Vancouver!!!!
I wonder which Pacific Northwest rail project costs 10x more than Ottawa's. Couldn't be my city...
_cries_
As a resident and former transit user (I had to stop because of COVID & the fact that my job is a 20min drive away vs. 2.5hrs by various bus & train transfers) & given that any resident will tell you that overpacked buses/buses simply not showing up at their scheduled times/buses just absolutely disappearing in to the ether are absolutely everyday problems with our system, plus coupled with the fact in Ottawa it is actually cheaper right now to use a car than the skyrocketing transit fares which are turning transit in to a luxury and not the Great Equalizer it is supposed to be means I have very little faith OC Transpo will actually deliver an effective system once it's built. I hope you actually talk to transit users in this city rather than gloss over the issues because many of us WANT to use transit, but we can't because we're priced out and the reliability IS NOT THERE.
Rode the system the last 2 days downtown, from Bridlewood in Kanata. Bott the bus portion and train portion worked flawlessly. Your experience from 2 years ago is not relevant.
Although there has been many reliability problems, keep in mind that the expansion of rail service should vastly increase reliability. Since Line-1 will be serving the longest & busiest portions of the route, shorter bus routes that don't need to cross town can be run more often and decrease the odds that they are delayed (traffic jam or whatever else).
@@steved2602 The bus problem MW mentions is still very present today. It hasn't gone away. There was an improvement in morning peak availability of buses, but that doesn't mean enough drivers for them... and it also works the other way too (enough drivers, but not enough buses). Many cancellations just due to "resource shortage" .. usually that means not enough buses or not enough drivers.
@@steved2602 Depends on where you are. I'm in the billings Bridge area and route 6 going up and down Bank St is consistently unreliable, and so I'm disincentivized to use the route regularly. The bus routes that are designed to complement the LRT are decent, but local routes are a roll of the dice and we need solutions for it. Too much of the focus is on getting to and from downtown. It's important, don't get me wrong, but for transit to really be viable, we need to make short local trips more convenient.
@@steved2602 And reliability isn’t the only problem I mentioned. Transit is ridiculously expensive in this city and the service it pays for isn’t that reliable. We need better transit in this city but constantly raising fares while not addressing reliability in ALL areas is just a recipe for disaster. Transit is supposed to be affordable & it really isn’t in this city & frankly in this entire province.
I am blown away at how much Ottawa is doing for so little. I wish Toronto would learn a lesson or two and work with some more at-grade, trench, and cut-and cover methods rather than everything having to be bored tunnels.
We bored a tunnel to what was recently farmland in the 905 FFS with the Line 1 York-U Vaughn Extension and are tunnelling again through quite low density areas in Scarborough with the Line 2 extension. Moreover the Line 5 extension is supposed to be tunnelled as well through Etobicoke which just seems egregious as there is a massive right of way on Eglinton. At a minimum these could all be a mix of trenched and elevated to keep grade separation and minimize disruption to existing residents. In return they get a rapid transit line.
And with these savings Toronto would save enough money to build subways where we actually need it.
1) Extending Line 3 (Ontario Line) west past Exhibition to Parkdale & Roncesvalles and north to Sheppard.
2) Extending Line 6 (Finch West) to Pearson & integrating it with the throughrunning GO/UP service in some sort of transit centre
3) Extending Line 4 (Sheppard) west to Sheppard West (trains could interline to Downsview Park or York U) and east to Scarborough Centre via Agincourt GO
4) Creating more (ideally total) grade separation on Line 5 from Don Mills to Kennedy, to make up for this bad mistake.
5) Convert more streetcar routes into proper tramways, at least starting with King Street - and renumberung the tram lines to fit in to the other rapid transit lines) e.g. could be T-1 / T-2 / T-3 or just follow in sequence but from 10 so they’re all double digit lines. GO Lines should also be numbered (or Lettered) as well to create a more coherent system.
Anyways, this video was great, and it made me wish Toronto wasn’t squandering so much money boring tunnels to nowhere.