“Ottawa’s Line 1 Service Resumes After Wire Issue”

UPDATE: Line 1 service resumed by 9:20 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15, as reported by Rami El Faghali, the city’s director of transit bus operations and maintenance, in a council memo.

An overhead wire issue caused platform closures and replacement bus services on the eastern end of Line 1 of the O-Train on Friday.

Around 8 p.m. on Sunday, Line 1 operations were adjusted to run between Tunney’s Pasture and Tremblay stations, with R1 bus service operating between Hurdman and Blair stations.

OC Transpo announced repair work taking place overnight, leading to the Line 1 service adjustment, shortly before 6 p.m. on Friday.

A fault in the overhead power wire system between St-Laurent and Cyrville was identified around 9:50 a.m. on Thursday, causing a train to halt, according to a memo from Rick Leary, the general manager of transit services.

Initially, no trains were running beyond St-Laurent.

A train stopped at St-Laurent station in Ottawa on Aug. 14, 2026. (Joseph Tunney/CBC)

Saturday Service Target

In a memo sent at 3:10 p.m., Leary had anticipated regular Line 1 service to resume at the beginning of service on Friday, which was delayed.

Another memo around 7:40 a.m. on Friday mentioned unexpected damages, with repair work resuming later that day after the peak period.

Pending clearance from inspectors, normal service was expected to resume on Saturday.

However, a subsequent memo just before 6 p.m. did not confirm the Saturday target.

The LRT’s overhead catenary system utilizes hanging wires to provide electric current for train operations. Previous issues have occurred post-freezing rain or lightning, but the cause of this latest damage is yet to be determined by OC Transpo.

No official statement has been released by OC Transpo regarding the recent damage.