OTTAWA — Ottawa city staff are looking at long-term solutions to handle freezing rain after the light rail transit system experienced a six-day delay at the beginning of January due to massive ice buildup.
An ice storm on the evening of Jan. 4 damaged the system’s overhead lines, leading to several trains being stuck on the tracks.
The city’s director of engineering services told the transit commission the system reached the limit of the amount of freezing rain it could handle.
City staff outlined both short- and long-term plans to address future delays that might be caused by freezing rain including using anti-freeze and heating the cables.
Ottawa city councillor Riley Brockington asked about construction of the next phase of the light rail system and how staff will avoid mistakes from the first stage.
Richard Holder, the city’s director of engineering services, says officials are looking to procure extra devices called winter carbons, which can break through and sheer off ice more effectively.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
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