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LRT service won’t be fully restored until at least Tuesday

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Weekend efforts to restore full service to the city’s LRT system in time for Monday’s return to work and school failed.
On Sunday evening, officials from the city and from Rideau Transit Management held a news conference to confirm that the light rail system would not be fully operational until at least Tuesday. Some trains have been disabled since the ice storm that hit the city overnight Wednesday and Thursday damaged overhead lines.
“I appreciate these past few days have been difficult for you and restoring full Line 1 services has taken longer than expected,” said OC Transpo general manager Renee Amilcar, speaking directly to transit users. “We are doing everything we can to provide you with the best possible service under these challenging conditions.”

She said the full service would only reopen “when it is safe to do so”.

On Monday, the light rail system will continue to run in two loops — one in the west from Tunney’s Pasture to uOttawa and one in the east from Blair to St. Laurent. Those trains will run every five minutes, Amilcar said. In addition, R1 bus service will run between Blair and Rideau stations. Officials said they expect the R1 service to operate every 10 minutes, but noted that running R1 at that frequency could “put pressure on other areas of the bus system”.

The partial stoppage during an ice storm is just the latest in a long line of problems for the LRT system, which opened to fanfare in 2019. Last November, Justice William Hourigan issued a scathing final report after the Ottawa Light Rail Transit Inquiry, in which he said the public was deliberately misled about problems with the system while under construction and it was rushed into service.

LRT issues continued Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, with multiple trains stuck on the tracks between Lees station and Tremblay station. Damaged cables hung over a train west of the Tremblay station Sunday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

The latest problems started Wednesday overnight when, first, an eastbound train stopped between Lees and Hurdman stations and then a westbound train stopped in the same area a short time later. Efforts to tow disabled trains resulted in further damage to the overhead cantenary system and two more trains being stuck on the tracks in the area around Lees and Hurdman stations.

As of Sunday night, two trains had been towed off Track 1. Overnight Sunday and Monday, workers were manually clearing ice and making repairs on the wires on Track 2. The two remaining disabled trains cannot be moved until those repairs are made, said Mario Guerra, CEO and acting general manager of Rideau Transit Maintenance.

He said full services would not be restored until at least Tuesday “if we are as successful with Track 2 as we were with Track 1 (Sunday).”

Guerra said the freezing rain “probably caught us a bit by surprise — how quickly it happened”, but he said he doesn’t believe there are any issues with the system.
LRT issues continued Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, with multiple trains stuck on the tracks between Lees station and Tremblay station. Crews were working on lines in Lees station Sunday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

Experts from the city, RTM and light rail manufacturer Alstom will meet Monday to determine whether the overhead cantenary system is safe and will then discuss what lessons have been learned. That includes whether de-icing or technology could be used in advance to prevent any future stoppages during freezing rain.

OC Transpo said the R1 bus service will not service the Cyrville station. Customers are asked to transfer at St. Laurent or Blair stations. Officials said they would monitor passenger demand and adjust where possible.

OC Transpo will have representatives at stations to direct transit riders and answer questions. Updates will be available on its website octranspo.com and information is available at 613-560-5000.

The situation has frustrated Stittsville Coun. Glen Glower, the city’s new transit commission chair, who said Saturday it would take time to regain the public’s trust in the system.

“It is frustrating. After going through what we have over the past three years with the LRT, it really seemed like we had turned a corner and that the worst was behind us,” Gower said in an interview Saturday.

Glen Gower, Stittsville councillor and the chair of the City of Ottawa’s transit commission.Gower called it a significant outage.

“It is a setback in terms of everyone’s confidence and everyone’s trust in the system. We are going to have to work harder to make sure it is reliable.”

He noted that light-rail trains operated around the world in areas that occasionally experience freezing rain.

“Freezing rain is not something that should take a system down.”

Stranded LRT trains Saturday morning. Published with permission. Photo by Paul Drouin /Supplied

Amilcar, who took over as head of city transit services in 2021, said OC Transpo was bringing in external oversight to “closely monitor” RTM’s work and “provide independent advice to OC Transpo and confirm that we have a solid plan to return services to this area.”

The LRT’s poor winter performance was one of the issues addressed during the provincial public inquiry into the construction, operation and maintenance of the Confederation Line.

In his report, released Nov. 30, Hourigan said the train should have been tested in real-world winter weather conditions and not just in lab simulations, as was done for Ottawa’s system.

Trains remain stuck on the tracks between Lees and Tremblay stations on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

The chaos caused by last week’s ice storm caught OC Transpo off-guard.

The ice buildup wasn’t as bad on the east and west sections because trains were still operating on those portions and regularly knocked ice off the power lines, said Guerra.

That wasn’t the case along sections of the track where the trains were stopped.

To prevent a reoccurrence, “We need to improve our ability to retrieve vehicles,” Guerra said.

With files from Megan Gillis

LRT issues continued Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, with multiple trains stuck on the tracks between Lees station and Tremblay station. Crews were working above a train on the east side of Lees station Sunday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia
A sign posted at an LRT station on Saturday advises would-be riders of the shutdown of the system in that area. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia
OC Transpo buses sit outside Hurdman Station on Saturday morning. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia
People lined up at Hurdman Station to take buses instead of the LRT on Saturday morning. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia
A train arcing in the snow Friday. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA
A worker continues repairs to the overhead cables on the LRT line between Hurdman and Lees stations on Friday. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON /Postmedia
Three LRT trains sit near Lees Station on Friday. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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