To signal the all-clear, the platform staff blow a whistle and the train starts rolling. This is supposed to repeat before every train leaves every station whenever the Confederation Line is operating.
Business
Why are staff blowing whistles at every Ottawa LRT station
Light Rail Train (LRT) from OC Transpo at the Blair Station in Ottawa, March 20, 2019.
Reliability issues with the Confederation Line’s camera system have necessitated the full-time installation of whistle-blowing platform staff at every one of Ottawa’s LRT stations to ensure trains depart safely, this newspaper has learned.
According to multiple people with knowledge of its operations, the light rail system is equipped with cameras that feed into a display in the operator’s cab, offering a view of the train doors and surrounding platform area while at a station. Sources said that the camera system is unreliable and has failed to operate at times.
As a safety measure, staff have been contracted at every station to ensure no one remains in the yellow hazard area at the edge of the platform once the doors have closed. To signal the all-clear, the platform staff blow a whistle and the train starts rolling. This is supposed to repeat before every train leaves every station whenever the Confederation Line is operating.
According to sources, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, there’s no concrete end date for the use of whistling officials to clear trains for departure.
It’s unclear how often the camera system falters or how long it will take to fix.
Rideau Transit Group, which built the LRT system, did not acknowledge emailed questions and a voicemail on Tuesday.
In a statement, Ottawa’s director of transit operations Tony Charter said the whistle-blowing “spotters” are on the platforms to provide “redundancy” for the camera system as a safety precaution for LRT users.
“As with any new system, there can be intermittent technical issues and, as such, mitigation measures were implemented prior to the launch of revenue service to help minimize any potential impacts to service,” Charter said.
It’s been a rough ride for the Confederation Line in recent weeks when it comes to equipment reliability. On Monday, Ottawa’s transportation general manager John Manconi reported that the light rail vehicles appear more prone to power loss during “wet or inclement weather,” and that the root cause of this is under investigation.
Meanwhile, some train wheels have developed flat spots that need to be rounded out. Track switches have also been problem-plagued.
In a transit commission meeting last week, the chief executive of RTG’s maintenance arm said the company has been consumed with reacting to problems rather than studying day-to-day operational issues.
This led to the hiring of JBA Corp., international rail experts brought on to examine a dozen issues flagged by the city about LRT maintenance. The consultants have been helping the City of Ottawa’s transportation department figure out if RTG is off track with the maintenance program, and now RTG, which is a partnership of ACS Infrastructure, EllisDon and SNC-Lavalin, has hired the consultants to fix troubles related to LRT upkeep.
JBA has experience with Alstom trains and infrastructure.
-With files from Jon Willing
TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:QSR)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.
The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.
Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:FTS)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Thomson Reuters reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its revenue rose eight per cent.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it earned US$301 million or 67 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of US$367 million or 80 cents US per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter totalled US$1.72 billion, up from US$1.59 billion a year earlier.
In its outlook, Thomson Reuters says it now expects organic revenue growth of 7.0 per cent for its full year, up from earlier expectations for growth of 6.5 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Thomson Reuters says it earned 80 cents US per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 82 cents US per share in the same quarter last year.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 76 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:TRI)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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