Vandalism of critical O-Train infrastructure has kept the north-south Trillium Line offline for much of the day Thursday.
The Line was shut down early Thursday morning when the vandalism was discovered.
Director of Rail Operations Michael Morgan said in a statement the vandalism targeted above-ground cabling that is used for the signal system.
“In a number of locations along the corridor, there is cabling mounted on poles running alongside the track. If the above ground cable is damaged or vandalized, then we are unable to control train movements on the line,” the statement said. “While not only illegal, it also posed a serious risk to the people who removed the cables as the active railway corridor is dangerous.”
Commuters were directed to OC Transpo bus route 107.
Morgan said crews are working as quickly as possible to repair the system.
“Once the repairs and required testing have been completed by our maintainer, we will return to regular operations,” he said.
Early Thursday evening, OC Transpo said the O-Train would remain offline for the remainder of the day, to be replaced by Route 107.
O-Train Trillium Line repairs due to vandalism continue and replaced by Route 107 until end of service day. Watch for updates.
— OC Transpo (@OC_Transpo) March 9, 2017
Ottawa Police are investigating. Crime Stoppers is asking anyone with information to contact them at 1-800-222-8477.
It’s been an off-and-on week for the O-Train. It was shut down twice on Wednesday. The first shut down was due to a mechanical issue, and was resolved quickly. It was shut down a second time when a strong gust of wind blew a tree onto the tracks. It took about an hour to clear the debris. On Monday, it was announced there would be 5 to 10 minute delays along the route due to “security activity.” That was resolved within two hours.