OC Transpo says the month of November should bring the transit agency a few steps closer to opening the O-Train Line 1 east extension, though firm pre-trial running dates have not been set.
Transit general manager Rick Leary stated in a Wednesday memo that software issues causing the latest delay in pre-trial running had been resolved and the installation of the updates would require Line 1 to open late on Nov. 15.
Line 1 service will be adjusted to open at noon on Nov. 15, with replacement buses running between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations between 8 a.m. and noon, as well as a shuttle bus service between St-Laurent and Cyrville stations and between Lees Station and Mackenzie King Bridge.
The late opening “is required to safely implement software updates for the east extension,” Leary wrote in the memo.
OC Transpo says it also expects to run all trains beyond the current end of the line and into the east extension starting on Nov. 22, ending at Trim Station, though passengers will only be able to ride as far as the current end of the line at Blair Station. OC Transpo staff will be present to make sure passengers get off the train, Leary said.
It is also expected to be the first time all 23 trains will be in service, running at a frequency of about every four and a half minutes.
“This allows us to test the vehicles, schedules and staffing assignments, and is the next step in the preparation for pre-trial running,” Leary wrote. “This is a similar process that was followed in the successful launch of Lines 2 and 4.”
OC Transpo has not yet announced when it expects to start the pre-trial running phase, which is expected to last about one week. Once that’s complete, it will be followed by 21 days of trial runs.
The long-awaited east extension will include five additional stops along Line 1 in the east end: Montreal, Jeanne d’Arc, Convent Glen, Place d’Orléans and Trim stations.
