Confederation Line

Confederation Line
Route length:	12.5 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	1500 V  =
Top speed:	100 km / h
Trim Tenth Line Orléans Town Center Place d'Orléans Orleans Boulevard Joan of Arc Montréal Blair Cyrville St Laurent Belfast Yards Tremblay (to Ottawa Train Station ) Hurdman Rideau River Lees uOttawa Rideau Rideau Canal Parliament Lyon Pimisi Bayview (to the Trillium Line ) Tunney's Pasture Westboro Dominion Cleary New Orchard Lincoln Fields iris Baseline Queensview Pinecrest Bayshore Moodie

The Confederation Line ( French Ligne de la Confédération ) is a light rail line in the Canadian capital Ottawa . Together with the Trillium Line , it is part of the O-Train network operated by OC Transpo . The first section between Tunney's Pasture and Blair stations is 12.5 km long, in the city center the route runs in a 2.5 km long tunnel with three stations. Construction work began in 2013, the opening was originally planned for November 2018, but had to be postponed to September 14, 2019.

Planning and financing

In July 2006, the Ottawa City Council approved an expansion project to extend the Trillium Line to the University of Ottawa campus . A tram-like section was planned in the city ​​center . One month after the new elections, the project, which had come under fire from various quarters during the election campaign, was canceled in December 2006. Two and a half years later, the city and the Siemens- led consortium agreed to pay damages.

On May 28, 2008 the city council approved a traffic master plan. Among other things, this provides for the reconstruction of the central section of the transitway (route for Bus Rapid Transit that has existed since 1983 ). After updating the master plan , work began on a feasibility study in November 2008 . The report was submitted a year later and was approved by the city council in January 2010. The first stage of the Confederation Line involves the construction of a 12.5 km stretch between Blair in the east and Tunney's Pasture in the west. The city center is crossed in a 2.5 km long tunnel with three stations. The costs were 2.1 billion dollars estimated.

In August 2010, the Province of Ontario completed the Environmental Impact Assessment and secured a $ 600 million funding from the city. The city's building authorities re-examined the project in detail and cut the construction program by one year, which meant that construction work should be completed in 2018 instead of in 2019 as originally planned. The tendering process began with the final building decision by the city council in July 2011 . Mayor Jim Watson presented the shortlist of the three remaining consortia on October 21, 2011 . On February 15, 2013, the Rideau Transit Group was awarded the contract to build the Confederation Line . This consortium includes a total of 15 companies, including SNC Lavalin , Grupo ACS , Alstom and Scotiabank . In July 2015, the federal government approved a $ 1 billion funding contribution.

Construction work

Construction of the Confederation Line began on April 25, 2013 with the establishment of building plots at the western tunnel portal and on the site of the depot (one month later also at the eastern tunnel portal). Since the light rail will replace a significant part of the transitway, a replacement had to be created for the duration of the main work. To this end, a section of Ontario Highway 417 was widened to make way for bus lanes . This $ 200 million sub-project was completed in fall 2015.

The tunnel boring work began on October 11, 2013 at the west portal. The predominant rock was limestone , with occasional clay and sand deposits. The New Austrian Tunneling Method was used to excavate from three locations: from the west portal on Commissioner Street, from the east portal on Waller Street (next to the grounds of the University of Ottawa) and from a central shaft at the intersection of Kent Street and Queen Street to the east . Three roadheaders from the Swedish company Sandvik were used . The three identical machines named Jawbreaker , Chewrocka and Crocodile Rouge weighed 135 tons and were 20 meters long.

On June 8, 2016, when there were only around 50 m of tunnels left, a large hole in the ground opened in Rideau Street. Three lanes and a parked delivery van sank. No one was injured, but the bursting of a main water pipe led to the 300 m length of the tunnel, which is around 25 m lower, being flooded. In addition, several buildings in the area had to be evacuated due to a gas leak. After filling the hole with concrete and pumping out the water, work could resume eight weeks later. Finally, the tunnel was pierced on January 19, 2017.

In February 2018, the city of Ottawa announced that the route is expected to open at the end of November 2018 (the originally scheduled date in May 2018 could not be met due to the delays). This appointment was also delayed, by almost ten months. Finally, the first section of the Confederation Line opened on September 14, 2019.

Route and stations

The first stage was a 12.5 km long light rail line from Tunney's Pasture in the west to Blair in the east. A 2.5 km long tunnel with three stations was built under Queen Street in the city center, each of which has two side platforms. At both ends there are transfer options to bus lines on the transitway, at Bayview station to the Trillium Line, which runs in a north-south direction .

• Tunney's Pasture - Temporary western terminus at the intersection of Scott Street and Tunney's Pasture Driveway. Develops an area with office buildings for the federal government (with around 10,000 workplaces). Transition to the Transitway sections to Barrhaven and Kanata .
• Bayview - Located on Albert Street. The route runs on a bridge over the Trillium Line, which you can change to here.
• Pimisi - the heart of the LeBreton Flats urban renewal project on Booth Street. The station offers bus connections to Gatineau . Pimisi means “eel” in the Algonquian language .
• Lyon - the west tunnel station is 17.5 meters below the intersection of Queen Street and Lyon Street. It is connected to the underground shopping arcade of the Place de Ville office complex .
• Parliament - the central tunnel station is 19 meters below the intersection of Queen Street and O'Connor Street - close to the Sparks Street shopping street and Parliament Hill , the seat of the Canadian Parliament .
• Rideau - the east tunnel station is 26.5 meters below Rideau Street. In the immediate vicinity there are important facilities and sights such as B. the National War Memorial , the Château Laurier , the Byward Market , the National Arts Center , the National Gallery of Canada and the Rideau Center .
• uOttawa - Located on Victoria Street, on the western edge of the University of Ottawa campus . The station name Campus previously used at this point has been changed to avoid confusion with other universities in Ottawa.
• Lees - Located on Lees Avenue, on the west bank of the Rideau River . Access to the southern part of the university campus.
• Hurdman - major transportation hub on Riverside Drive. Transition to the southeast tangent of the transitway.
• Tremblay - Located on Tremblay Road in front of the main entrance to Ottawa Railway Station . Connection to the national trains of VIA Rail ; a footbridge leads over Ontario Highway 417 to the Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park baseball stadium.
• St-Laurent - directly connected to the Center St-Laurent, the largest shopping center in the National Capital Region . The light rail uses an existing tunnel station on the transitway. Important transport hub for bus routes.
• Cyrville - Develops a residential and commercial zone on Cyrville Road.
• Blair - Temporary eastern terminus on Blair Road, next to Gloucester Center shopping mall. Transfer to the transitway and other bus routes.

vehicles

Test drive at the St-Laurent station (January 2018)

Electric light rail vehicles of the Citadis Spirit type from the French rail vehicle manufacturer Alstom , which are based on the Citadis Dualis, operate on the Confederation Line . 34 bidirectional vehicles were ordered for a total of $ 400 million. They each consist of two head and intermediate modules with a total length of 48 m. The completely low-floor cars are 2.65 m wide and 3.6 m high and offer space for 300 passengers (120 of which are seats). In normal operation, two units are coupled together to form a 96-meter-long train. Most of the vehicle components were manufactured at the Alstom plant in Hornell in the US state of New York . The final assembly takes place in Ottawa in the O-Train depot.

The depot known as Belfast Yards , where the vehicles are parked and serviced, is on Belfast Road next to an OC Transpo bus depot, about half a kilometer from Ottawa Railway Station. The light rail line is connected via a short tunnel. The depot was completed in the summer of 2015. The communication-based train control system comes from Thales .

Second stage

The traffic master plan for the city of Ottawa from November 2013 provides for an expansion of the Confederation Line at both ends, with further sections of the transitway to be rebuilt. In the east, the line from Blair is to be extended by ten kilometers to Place d'Orléans (four new stations), with an option for a further 3.5 kilometers to Trim . From the western terminus of Tunney's Pasture , the line should lead to Lincoln Fields , where it branches into two branches to Moodie and Baseline . This sub-project provides for 13 kilometers of new routes with ten stations. Construction work is scheduled to begin in 2019 after the completion of the first stage and will last five years .

Web links

Commons : Confederation Line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Confederation Line - official website (English, French)
• Project website 2nd stage (English, French)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Passed. (No longer available online.) Ottawa Citizen, May 28, 2008, archived from the original on November 7, 2012 ; accessed on August 17, 2015 . 
2. ↑ $ 1B tunnel worth the cost, mayor says. Ottawa Citizen, March 4, 2008, archived from the original on November 4, 2012 ; accessed on August 17, 2015 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b} The Confederation Line - A Brief History. O-Train - Confederation Line, March 15, 2013, accessed on August 17, 2015 . 
4. ^ Three consortia shortlisted for the Ottawa light rail project. Railway Gazette International, October 25, 2011, accessed August 17, 2015 . 
5. ↑ Ottawa awards $ 2bn light rail transit project to Rideau Transit Group. Railway Technology, February 15, 2013, accessed August 17, 2015 . 
6. ↑ Who is building it? O-Train - Confederation Line, 2013, accessed on August 17, 2015 . 
7. ^ Federal Tories pledge $ 1 billion for Ottawa's rail plans. Ottawa Citizen, July 22, 2015, accessed August 17, 2015 . 
8. ↑ 417 widening. O-Train - Confederation Line, accessed on August 17, 2015 . 
9. ^ Confederation Line tunnel construction begins. City of Ottawa, accessed August 17, 2015 . 
10. ↑ Tunnel Fact Sheet. (PDF, 451 kB) O-Train - Confederation Line, accessed on August 17, 2015 (English). 
11. ↑ Roadheaders. O-Train - Confederation Line, accessed on August 17, 2015 . 
12. ↑ Rideau Street sinkhole floods 300 meters of LRT tunnel. CBC News , June 10, 2016, accessed April 8, 2018 . 
13. ^ LRT tunnel work under Rideau to resume next week. Ottawa Sun, July 29, 2016, accessed April 8, 2018 . 
14. ↑ LRT tunnel finally makes connection, mayor announces. CBC News , January 19, 2017, accessed April 8, 2018 . 
15. ↑ City to open LRT by the end of November. Ottawa Citizin, February 6, 2018, accessed April 8, 2018 . 
16. ↑ LRT arrives in Ottawa today. CBC News, September 14, 2019, accessed September 14, 2019 . 
17. ↑ ^{a b} Alstom finalizes Ottawa LRT contract. Railway Age, February 14, 2013, accessed August 17, 2015 . 
18. ↑ ^{a b} Vehicle. O-Train - Confederation Line, accessed on August 17, 2015 . 
19. ↑ Belfast Yard. O-Train - Confederation Line, accessed on August 17, 2015 . 
20. ↑ Thales awarded Ottawa line signaling contract. (No longer available online.) Thales, March 4, 2013, formerly in the original ; accessed on August 17, 2015 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
21. ^ Transportation Master Plan. City of Ottawa, 2013, accessed August 17, 2015 . 
22. ^ Trillium Line East. In: Stage 2 Light Rail Transit. City of Ottawa, 2015, accessed August 17, 2015 . 
23. ^ Trillium Line West. In: Stage 2 Light Rail Transit. City of Ottawa, 2015, accessed August 17, 2015 .