Following an inspection, it was discovered that one vehicle's wheel hub assembly "failed," and all Confederation Line trains with a distance of more than 175,000 kilometers have been removed from the tracks. The vehicles were taken out of service "for additional inspections out of an abundance of caution," transit services general manager Renée Amilcar wrote in a memo to Ottawa city council on Saturday night.
According to Amilcar, the issue was discovered after a train operator reported feeling vibrations.
The failure affected the train's axle and bearing, according to Amilcar's memo, but in a different way than the problem that led an out-of-service train to derail close to Tunney's Pasture station in August 2021.
In that incident, the bearing—a component installed at each end of the axle that aids in the wheel's effortless rotation—broke, causing the wheel to detach from the axle. Amilcar stated that "in-depth testing" was being carried out by Alstom and Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) to determine what went wrong with the wheel hub assembly. She claimed that they both agreed "verbally and in writing" that all trains running on the Confederation Line are secure. Train service is still running.
Amilcar reported that ten trains are currently operating on the Confederation Line, stopping about every five to six minutes. Her memo states that the trains will be examined and deemed safe before being put back on the track.
Amilcar added that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has also been informed. On Tuesday, an additional update is anticipated from OC Transpo and RTM.
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