All LRT service suspended due to bearing issue

All trains on Ottawa's Confederation Line LRT have been stopped and all stations have been closed because of a bearing issue that was discovered during a routine inspection.

All trains on Ottawa's Confederation Line LRT have been stopped and all stations have been closed because of a bearing issue that was discovered during a routine inspection.

Transit services general manager Renée Amilcar said in a message to the mayor and city council that the decision was made in the interest of safety.

"This email is to notify you that, in an abundance of caution, Transit Services is immediately launching R1 service across Line 1, after a routine inspection revealed an issue with a bearing," Amilcar wrote. "More information will be provided soon."

The Aug. 8, 2021 derailment at Tunney's Pasture Station was due to an "undetected catastrophic roller bearing failure" in the axle bearing assembly, the Transportation Safety Board has said. It's unclear if this issue is similar.

Last July, OC Transpo pulled all O-Train vehicles that had travelled more than 175,000 kilometres out of service for additional inspections after a failure was discovered in one of the wheel hub assemblies on a train, an issue that appeared to be different than the one that caused the Aug. 8 derailment.

Train service was halted just before 5 p.m. R1 buses are replacing LRT service across the entire line from Tunney's Pasture Station to Blair Station.

Barrhaven East Coun. Wilson Lo, a former OC Transpo employee, said on Twitter that OC Transpo is likely trying to find buses to support R1 service.