The severe winter storm brought significant snow and blowing snow overnight and early this morning. Heavy snowfall and high winds continue to make this morning’s conditions challenging.
O-Train Line 1 service started at 5 am this morning, but operations were impacted by snow accumulation and blowing snow on the tracks, particularly between Tremblay and Hurdman stations, despite snow clearing continuing throughout the night. Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) has deployed all available resources to clear snow from the track infrastructure and at the stations.
As a result of ongoing snow-clearing operations, customers can expect:
- Line 1 is operating between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations, with trains running on one track between uOttawa and St-Laurent stations
- R1 bus service is providing supplemental service from Tunney's Pasture to Blair to help keep customers moving
- E1 bus service also continues to run between Blair Station and downtown
Line 2 and 4 started on time and all station platforms are open for customers. Snow accumulation at some switches required trains to use a diversion early this morning, which resulted in delays for customers. Our maintainer, TransitNext, is monitoring the system and has resources in place to clear snow on track infrastructure, including switches.
For the first time, we implemented the Severe Storm Schedule for bus service. We are monitoring bus operations closely and are seeing effective results so far in keeping the bus network moving in poor conditions. Customers who must travel today are encouraged to give themselves extra time and plan ahead by using the Travel Planner on octranspo.com or the Transit App. Due to challenging road conditions slower travel times are expected.
Para Transpo service is operating, and customers can use My Para Transpo app to track the status of their trips. Operations are taking longer due to the challenging road conditions and ensuring the safety of customers and staff.
We expect that conditions will fluctuate throughout the day and will continue to provide updates to customers through all of our communications channels throughout the day.
