Section of Ottawa LRT still shut down due to ice problems

More than 24 hours after freezing rain shut down Ottawa's light rail system, a section of the line remained closed on Friday.

More than 24 hours after freezing rain shut down Ottawa's light rail system, a section of the line remains closed.

As of Friday morning, crews were still working to move the two trains that first became stuck Wednesday night near Lees Station as freezing rain fell and ice built up on the overhead wires.

It remained unclear how long it would take to restore full service. Trains were running between Blair and Tremblay stations in the east and Tunney's and uOttawa stations in the west. Replacement bus service was still running between St. Laurent and Rideau stations.

In a memo Friday morning, transit general manager Renée Amilcar said the overhead wire that was damaged near Lees Station has been repaired.

"RTM is still working to remove the two trains immobilized near Lees Station to the Maintenance Facility," Amilcar said. "Once the trains are removed, RTM will verify the work done to ensure service can resume safely through the area."

However, video on Twitter Friday morning appeared to show a broken wire on the closed stretch of the tracks.

Speaking on Newstalk 580 CFRA Friday, Coun. Glen Gower said trains would not be operating if there was a safety issue with the track, adding that although there isn't a definitive answer on the cause of the outage, but freezing rain is "very likely" a contributing factor.