ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[Bob_McBob]

As usual, ION is a huge mess and entirely out of service right now because of a bit of ice. One train is stuck in the middle of Frederick and Duke with no power, another one is by R&T with difficulty maintaining power, and various other issues all over the route.

https://archive.is/X9VdA

[Bob_McBob]

This is the first time I've listened to one of these ice events over the scanner, and it's an absolute shitshow. As soon as the overhead lines ice up, LRVs start losing power, and the entire system quickly stops functioning because the route is blocked. LRVs dwelling at stations start having their own power issues, traction and braking become a problem on any kind of incline, etc. They've spent the last two hours trying to just move LRVs with various coordinated passing maneuvers. They were supposed to be sending out a scraper an hour ago, but it still hasn't happened. Two trains are running coupled right now, another is stuck and asking for permission to move back and forth on the line to get past the sticking point, and another is at Conestoga Station with no power. They've already basically said service is finished for the night. Some LRVs between stations still have passengers stuck on them after hours because the shuttle buses aren't running properly.

I don't see how this is a viable situation. The whole idea of running trains continuously in winter weather to keep the lines clear etc. is a fairy tale. Any ice accumulation pretty much guarantees the system will go down for an extended period almost immediately.

[Bob_McBob]

Sample radio chatter, I think you get the idea what a clusterfuck this all is:

22:59 513 stuck near Seagram Drive with no line voltage. Operator needs a bathroom break.
23:02 506 stuck nearby, operator will also need a bathroom break soon. Control tells them to lock their LRVs and meet up to find a bathroom.
23:07 2 LRVs stuck near Mill crossover
23:22 514 about to be coupled to a shunter to be towed back to OMSF
23:35 504 battery voltage 22.1V. Attempting to proceed to Borden. Control says something about switches being stuck locked.
23:37 506 operator back from bathroom break. Line voltage 830V. Attempting to get to Willis Way.
23:38 503 heading from car wash to couple with 508.
23:39 506 managed to move about 10 feet before the line voltage dropped to 8.5V and it came to a halt. Attempting to move backwards towards Erb and Caroline.
23:42 506 line voltage even lower, operating lowering and raising pantograph in an attempt to get a better connection.
23:43 503 stuck half way out of car wash. Requesting permission to move back and forth to "get a bit of a run".
23:44 506 completely dead, stuck 3 feet into Father David Bauer intersection.
23:46 506 randomly came back to life, still attempting to reverse out of intersection.
23:50 506 still attempting to maneuver around so crossing arms aren't stuck on.
23:50 512 stuck, can only move an inch at a time.
23:51 510 stuck with fault codes.
23:54 505 operator meeting maintenance at Overland Dr gate with keys to unlock it manually.
23:56 Rail crossing signal at Union is stuck on, bus driver requests permission to proceed.
23:56 513 battery at 22.1V, stuck on tracks north of Fairway, no line voltage.
23:58 Control asks line maintenance to scrape track in front of 513.
00:02 Control tells 512 to go into ECU recovery mode
00:04 512 worked for "half a second" then line voltage dropped to 12V.
00:05 503 coupling with 508
00:05 505 fault codes cleared, attempting to move.
00:06 Control tells 512 to change ends and move back and forth to attempt to get propulsion.
00:08 Union rail crossing still stuck on, another bus stuck there.
00:10 512 raised and lower pantograph 4-5 times and has no line voltage.
00:13 512 stuck waiting for power to come back on.

[Bob_McBob]

One more follow-up before I head to bed, track maintenance is currently making its way down the line clearing ice, nearly 4 hours after ION went out of service.

[danbrotherston]

I wonder what their excuse will be this time.

[KevinT]

This is the first time I've listened to one of these ice events over the scanner, and it's an absolute shitshow.

I thought we couldn't listen in any more since the region's radio system went digital. Is there a web feed for it? I don't see it listed at cykf dot net any more.

[KevinT]

Was there any mention of the 'ice cutter' pantos being used? I would hope that they'd start swapping in vehicles with these things fitted as they pass Northfield ahead of an ice event, but I wonder if for some reason they just aren't doing that, and only being reactionary with them instead.

[bravado]

I wonder what their excuse will be this time.

Well, since the operating contract didn’t specifically mention service levels on a Thursday in February 2023, then they’re likely off the hook. Nothing can be done! Weather has never happened before!

Meanwhile, my suburban street in Cambridge was salted multiple times before the ice appeared.

[danbrotherston]

Fun fact...the streets here get salted pretty reliably.

Most nights are -1 or -2 and we get a bit of frost from time to time, but I've never so much as slipped on the bike path.

It's scary given that the climate change forecast that the region got suggested that freezing rain and icing conditions would become much more common. If they can't deal with this, it's only going to be an increasing problem.

[Bob_McBob]

Update: "It doesn't sound like the train is going to go this afternoon at all."

[danbrotherston]

Update: "It doesn't sound like the train is going to go this afternoon at all."

Lol...honestly...this is a clown show.

[ac3r]

The LRT is still down. I was hoping to catch it around 3PM but then I overheard the "major service disruption" announcement. I had to take the 7 and it was jammed pack with kids leaving KCI. Ended up getting off near Benton/Frederick and just taking the 1 since I was heading to Fairview Station and it takes about the same time.

I'm going to guess it won't be operational until tomorrow. I wonder if they had any trains out today. The last time there was a lot of ice, I spotted a couple LRVs coupled together - not in service but just driving the route to clear the ice. Why they wouldn't invest in a vehicle on rails that could scrape it off the wires and tracks is beyond me. This is Canada after all... I wonder how Line 5 and Line 6 in Toronto will fare when those open up.

[Bytor]

I guess we're the new Ottawa right now.

Mathieu Goetzke, the Regional official who emailed me last time has seemingly ghosted me, hasn't responded to multiple emails over the past month requesting and update to the root cause analysis from the previous freezing rain outage.

I would encourage the rest of you to also poke the bear and email you Regional Councillors and ask the difficult questions.

[Bob_McBob]

This morning at 3am there were still 4 trains left stranded on the tracks, 6 1/2 hours after the system went down. They tried running ION service this morning and shut it down again within a couple hours. A train lost power crossing Northfield and blocked eastbound traffic during rush hour, apparently for hours. There were still trains out this afternoon when I posted earlier, but many were having issues or stranded. They are still trying to get some of them back; 503 and 513 are currently coupled and attempting to get to Northfield.

[ac3r]

Sample radio chatter, I think you get the idea what a clusterfuck this all is:

23:02 506 stuck nearby, operator will also need a bathroom break soon. Control tells them to lock their LRVs and meet up to find a bathroom.

23:37 506 operator back from bathroom break. Line voltage 830V. Attempting to get to Willis Way.

That's a long bathroom break! Probably got frustrated and just wanted to sod off for a bit.