image002 O-Train

 

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O-Train C2 pulls into Greenboro Station on Oct. 20, 2001.  These Bombardier Talent BR643 DMU trains were built in Germany, and each train can carry up to 135 seated passengers, with room for 150 standees.  Each train is powered by two diesel engines generating 800 HP, using an automatic transmission capable of propelling the train at a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph), though the track speed is set at 80 km/h (50 mph).

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O-Train C2 waits for passengers at Bayview Station on Oct. 20, 2001.  The O-Train operates on a former Canadian Pacific freight line, between Greenboro in the south end of the city and Bayview near downtown.  In the future, service could be extended north into Gatineau; there is already a railway bridge across the Ottawa River, built back in the 1880s!

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O-Train C2 is shown departing from Bayview Station on Oct. 20, 2001.  The O-Train is double ended, and an exemption has been granted to allow OC Transpo to operation the O-Train with only a single operator.  At each end of the route, the operator walks to the other end of the train, reverses the gears, and drives the train in the other direction.

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Just to make sure the train doesn’t go past the end of the tracks… The O-Train also has an engine shut-off switch, which is activated if the train goes past a trigger on the tracks.

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The sliding doors on the O-Train.  These doors are passenger operated: when a passenger wishes to open them, he or she pushes a small green button next to the door.

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O-Train C1 is boarding passengers at Bayview Station shortly after starting service on Oct. 20, 2001.  OC Transpo currently has three trains, two of which carry passengers while the third is a backup unit in case one of the others breaks down.

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O-Train C3 slowly pulls into Bayview Station on Dec. 28, 2004.  Bayview Station is the northernmost station on the current O-Train line, where riders can transfer to buses on the Transitway.

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O-Train C2 approaches Carleton Station on Dec. 28, 2004.  Carleton University students make up the majority of O-Train passengers during the school year, as there are no other rapid transit links with the large post-secondary institution.

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O-Train C3 approaches Carleton Station while C2 waits for the southbound track to clear on Dec. 28, 2004.  At the moment, this is the only place where O-Trains can pass each other, as the rest of the line is single track from Bayview to Greenboro.

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C3 is shown approaching Bayview Station on Nov. 24, 2010.

 

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