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O-Train

O-Train
O-Train logo.svg
Overview
Locale Ottawa, Ontario
Transit type Light rail
Number of lines 2 (one of which is under construction)
Operation
Began operation 15 October 2001 (2001-10-15)
Operator(s) OC Transpo
Technical
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
System map
Confederation Line
Bayview
Gladstone (2023)
Carling
Rideau Canal
Carleton
Rideau River
Confederation
Walkley (2023)
Walkley Yard
Southeast Transitway
Greenboro
South Keys (2023)
Southeast Transitway
Leitrim (2023)
Bowesville (2023)
Uplands (2023)
Airport (2023)

The O-Train is a light rail transit system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Operated by OC Transpo as part of the Ottawa Rapid Transit network, it currently has one line in operation, the diesel-powered Trillium Line, with a second line, the electrically-operated Confederation Line, under construction and set to open in 2018.

The system's name was proposed by Acart Communications, an Ottawa advertising agency working for OC Transpo. The name "O-Train" was based on the classic Duke Ellington signature tune "Take the 'A' Train", which refers to a New York City Subway service. Because Ottawa is effectively a bilingual city, the name had to work in both English and French. In French, it is pronounced similarly to 'au train,' ('to the train'). It survived an internal OC Transpo naming competition and was adopted soon after.

Due to the construction of a second light rail line, the Confederation Line, the O-Train name was extended to both rail transit services and the original service was renamed as the Trillium Line.

The O-Train consists of two grade-separated lines:

The Trillium Line, the original O-Train line, was introduced in 2001 as a pilot project to provide an alternative to the busways on which Ottawa had long depended exclusively for its high-grade transit service (see Ottawa Rapid Transit). The system uses low-floor diesel multiple unit trains. It is legally considered a mainline railway despite its use for local public transport purposes, and is more like an urban railway rather than a metro or tramway. It is often described as ‘light rail’, partly because there were plans to extend it into Ottawa’s downtown as a tramway-like service, and partly because the original Bombardier Talent trains are much smaller and lighter than most mainline trains in North America, and do not meet the Association of American Railroads' standards for crash strength.


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Wikipedia

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