Deachman: Trillium Line's first day — small hiccups but mostly hoorahs

"It was quicker than taking the bus all the way, and Uber was a little expensive, so we thought we’d try this."

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Published Jan 06, 2025  •  Last updated 5 minutes ago  •  5 minute read

Teddy Dong rides the Trillium Line Jan. 6. 2025. Photo by Bruce Deachman /POSTMEDIA

The Trillium rail line and its stations might have been the most photographed landmarks in Ottawa on Monday, at least if you don’t count Rideau Cottage.

I was one of the locals with nowhere to be and all day to get there — and $12 to spend on an OC Transpo day pass. Like many others, I wanted to be on the first train of the new, revamped and expanded Line 2. I also wanted to start at Limebank station, the very end of the line and 20 km away from Bayview station, which links the Trillium line to the Confederation Line.

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It was dark and bitterly cold when I arrived shortly before 6 a.m., after parking and walking a kilometre from Urbandale Mall, learning along the way that my gloves are better suited to summer. (Be advised there’s no parking — or currently anything — at Limebank station). Meanwhile, other riders, clearly eager to board the train, had beaten me to the station, where an OC Transpo customer relations person assured us that the automatic gates would open “any second.”

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First-day riders had first-day questions along the way, to be sure, and a handful of mostly minor complaints such as: Why don’t the trains have wifi? Shouldn’t there be a Park-n-Ride at Limebank? If OC Transpo is so hard up for money, why don’t the trains have ads on them for local businesses? And: It would be nice if it started earlier than 6 a.m. And: It’s too bad the trains aren’t electric.

There were also some opening-day hiccups that will hopefully have been addressed already, such as: a) the announcement screens telling riders that the next stop was Leitrim, when, for much of the journey, it wasn’t (the public-transit equivalent, perhaps, of a stopped watch only being right twice a day); and b) the public address system being set too low for the human ear, with which most riders were equipped — some covered by hats.

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Those quibbles aside, though, the Trillium Line’s expansion and return to service, at least inasmuch as could be determined during my three-hour, back-and-forth-and-back-again riding of the rails, went swimmingly.

Teddy Dong was one enthusiast, and the first passenger to enter Limebank station when its automatic gates were raised shortly before 6 a.m.

Very briefly an OC bus operator, Dong was among the legion of OC volunteers who for years toiled to restore one of Ottawa’s very first electric streetcars. His enthusiasm for light rail is so great that he returned this past weekend from a genuine busman’s holiday in San Francisco, where he worked on a streetcar simulation project, just so he could be on Line 2’s maiden voyage. He rode the line from Limebank to Bayview and back, then returned to South Keys to ride the airport spur line.

“I’ve watched this system grow for years, and this is an important rail link for me, and residents in South Ottawa, to get into town,” the Smiths Falls resident said. “My hope is that it gets further extended on both ends, to Barrhaven Centre and Kemptville on one end, and Gatineau on the other. And I hope it spurs some housing.”

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The latter seemed evident by the many signs of development in Riverside South surrounding the Limebank station, with apartment/condo buildings, business parks and retail plaza(s) now going up as fast as they can be leased.

The actual ride, meanwhile? “It’s smooth and comfortable,” Dong said. “I hate to quote VIA Rail, but it’s a more humane way to travel.”

Riverside South residents Bergen Wilde and his eight-year-old daughter, Mia, were also pleasure riders Monday, with Mia carrying a camera to document the occasion. “I’m excited,” she said, “because this is the first train ride on this track.” The cars, she added, were “pretty good, except that they’re diesel. Electric is better for the environment.”

Bergen Wilde rides the Trillium Line, which he described as smooth, quiet and spacious. Photo by Bruce Deachman /POSTMEDIA

Bergen noted the trains were smooth, quiet and spacious, a marked difference from the Confederation Line trains that run east-west. He said he ran into a neighbour on the train, and the two were remarking on how great it will be to take the train into the city and not drive.

It wasn’t only enthusiasts and joy-riders on Monday’s trains. There were actual commuters and students, too.

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“Line 2 is great!” said Sarah MacKeigan, a North Gower resident who took the train to get to work downtown.  “Smooth ride, warm and comfortable. Easy transit to Line 1, which is so cold and much smaller by comparison.

“I’m a big fan of public transportation, so I’m hopeful this works.”

Mitsuki Binette was riding from Limebank to South Keys, where he took the spur to the airport just to check it out. Later on Monday, the Barrhaven resident planned to take Line 2 to Carleton University for the start of his winter term.

“This line will definitely make a difference, in terms of the time it takes me to commute and the reliability. I think OC Transpo did a good job.”

Mitsuki Binette at the South Keys platform: ‘This line will definitely make a difference.’ Photo by Bruce Deachman /POSTMEDIA

Janette Watson, also a Barrhaven resident, works at a retirement home near South Keys, and said she was “very excited” that the trains were running.

“It’s taken a long while, but it’s definitely going to make my life easier.”

With luck, that will be true for many people. If things continue to run smoothly, more riders may have the mindset of Tony and Ethan Landry, who were in Ottawa for the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, and used the Trillium Line as part of their escape Monday from Kanata to the airport to board their flight back to Saskatoon. As recent visitors, they didn’t know about the “before times,” and only had good things to say about their transit experience.

“It was quicker than taking the bus all the way, and Uber was a little expensive, so we thought we’d try this,” said Tony. “It was fantastic.”

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Janette Watson: ‘It’s definitely going to make my life easier.’ Photo by Bruce Deachman /POSTMEDIA

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