Ottawa's urban rail system: from the streetcars to the O-Train

 When I first arrived in Ottawa, I was surprised to discover that, just as in Brazilian cities, all the former streetcar lines had been dismantled, and many of their rights-of-way had been converted into paved roads for buses and cars.

As happened throughout Latin America, North America also saw a widespread shift from streetcars to buses beginning in the late 1950s, and Canada was no exception. In that country as well, an extensive network of tracks disappeared in favour of the automobile industry. This movement originated in North America and influenced the thinking of entrepreneurs throughout the rest of the Americas and Western Europe.

In Canada, larger cities such as Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax, Montréal, Québec City, and Ottawa also abandoned their streetcar systems. There were only a few exceptions worldwide (I will discuss them in a future post). Toronto was the most significant of them in the Americas: it maintained uninterrupted streetcar service and, across the continent, has the greatest number of kilometres of track, passengers, and vehicles.

Ottawa's system did not have the same fate. In 1948, the OER (Ottawa Electric Railway), the private company that operated the city's streetcars, proposed a fare increase. This led to a referendum in which residents voted in favour of municipalizing the transit system. As a consequence, the publicly owned OTC (Ottawa Transportation Commission) took control of the OER (Ottawa Electric Railway) in 1950. Since the system was outdated and the new company did not have the resources to expand the streetcar lines, the OTC decided to eliminate the system. This took place on May 1, 1959. The following day, the decommissioned vehicles paraded through the city for the last time.

          Streetcar 869 on the “death line” (scrap yard) after the parade through the city

  (Source: McGee, David. Lost Ottawa. Vol. 1. Ottawa Press and Publishing, 2017, p. 28)

This pattern of replacing rail-based transit with road-based transportation ultimately resulted in the choking of roadways as the number of automobiles increased.

Because of this problem, more modern streetcar systems used in Germany (Stadtbahn) and later in Nantes and Grenoble, France (Tramway), began to inspire initiatives to bring back the old streetcar, now rebranded as LRT (Light Rail Transit), as an alternative form of urban mobility.

The Trillium (2 and 4) and Confederation (1 and 3) Lines

In a way, as part of a movement to bring back the discontinued mode of transportation, Ottawa began making plans in the late 1990s to reintroduce an urban rail system to the capital.

In 2001, the municipal transit agency OC Transpo (originally the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Transit Commission), successor to the former OTC, introduced the eight-kilometre Trillium Line with diesel trains. In 2019, it introduced the Confederation Line, an LRT system (Line 1). Since then, Line 1 has been undergoing expansion as part of a major urban mobility project, partially restoring the mobility once provided by the streetcar network while extending rail service to more distant parts of the city.

The Trillium Line (Current Line 2)

The Trillium Line opened in 2001, extending for eight kilometres under the name O-Train. It remained in operation until 2015 with three Bombardier Talent trains serving five stations: Bayview, Carling (now Downslake), Carleton, Confederation (now Mooney's Bay), and Greenboro.

     (Source: https://www.railfans.ca/o-train/content/trains/bombardier-talent)

Beginning in 2015, Bombardier's three Talent trains were replaced by six Alstom Coradia LINT trains. The system was then renamed the Trillium Line/Line 2, in anticipation of the construction of the future LRT Line 1, which opened in 2019.

Between 2019 and 2020, the Trillium Line connected with the newly opened Line 1 at Bayview Station, until the line was closed on May 2, 2020, for expansion southward. Line 2 then remained closed for nearly five years before reopening on January 6, 2025, with seven new Stadler FLIRT trains and additional stations. 

The current route includes Bayview, Corso Italia (new station), Dow's Lake (formerly Carling), Carleton, Mooney's Bay (formerly Confederation), Walkley (new station), and Greenboro. From Greenboro, four additional stations were opened to the south: Southkeys, Leitrim, Bowesville (a park-and-ride station), and, farther south, the Riverside South neighbourhood, whose terminus is Limebank Station.

At South Keys, Line 4 branches off toward the city's airport (YOW), serving three stations: South Keys, Uplands, and Airport.

In total, the current Line 2 has 13 stations and extends for 19 kilometres, while Line 4 has two stations and extends for four kilometres.

Currently, Line 2 has thirteen diesel trains: six Alstom Coradia LINT units and seven Stadler FLIRT units. The trains are comfortable and spacious, providing a pleasant journey of approximately 40 minutes from one end of the line to the other. Although the LINT trains still operate on Line 2, they are used more frequently on Line 4.

                 Alstom LINT train arriving at Limebank Station in February 2025

                                    (author's photo)

  

                                                 

                            Stadler FLIRT train arriving at Leitrim Station in January 2025

                                     (author's photo)

The Confederation Line (Lines 1 and 3)

Line 1 opened in April 2019 with its current thirteen stations: Tunney's Pasture, Bayview, Pimisi, Lyon, Parliament, Rideau, uOttawa, Lees, Hurdman, Tremblay, St. Laurent, Cyrville, and Blair.

Unlike Line 2, Line 1 was designed for light rail vehicles (LRTs), and currently operates with Alstom Citadis Spirit trains.

Although technically classified as LRT, Line 1 differs from traditional systems because it operates on fully segregated rights-of-way, eliminating interaction with pedestrians and road traffic. This configuration gives Line 1 operational characteristics similar to those of a metro system, although it uses lightweight rolling stock.

Since April 2019, the line has been undergoing expansion in both western and eastern directions. Part of the existing Line 1 alignment will be shared with the future Line 3, meaning that both lines (1 and 3) will share tracks between Lincoln Fields Station in the west and Trim Station in the east, the future eastern terminus (the current terminus is Blair).

                         

               Section under construction between Blair and Montréal stations in 2024

                                    (author's photo)

To the west, Line 1 will separate from Line 3 at Lincoln Fields Station and continue south to two additional stations, Iris and Algonquin, the future southwestern terminus.

Line 3, meanwhile, will continue westward from Lincoln Fields through four additional stations: Queensview, Pinecrest, Bayshore, and finally Moodie, its western terminus.

                                    

Map of the system including Line 3, still under construction
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-Train)

Even with this expansion, some areas that were once served by the streetcar system will remain without rail transit, such as Rockcliffe Park, whose streetcar line once carried passengers into the park's green spaces:

Streetcar operating inside Rockcliffe Park

(Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/library-archives.html)

Britannia Beach, for example, that still preserves its former streetcar station, may eventually be accessible on foot from the future New Orchard Station, but only after a walk of approximately 30 minutes.

The former streetcar station preserved in the Britannia Beach park.(Source: James Powell, in: https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/significant-technological-changes-in-the-city/britannia-on-the-bay-75)

Map of the system based on Google Maps
(Source: https://www.octranspo.com). Access the original map here.

The completion of the Line 1 expansion is planned for this year. Although strongly criticized by some residents, particularly those who do not depend on public transit, Ottawa's rail system has helped mitigate road congestion in the city while giving passengers back valuable time and providing greater comfort.

Despite its high cost, the current investment is restoring infrastructure that represents a continuation of earlier investments that were irresponsibly scrapped.

The return of rail-based public transportation to the city is proof that the streetcars in Ottawa, and in many other cities around the world, should never have been dismantled.

The O-Train is just one example of the modern return to streetcar-based transportation, as cities try to make up for some of the wrong choices of the past. In the years ahead, Ottawa will certainly need new lines and other forms of rail transportation to connect its different regions more efficiently. And, really, the same lesson applies to any major city.

For those interested in Ottawa's trains, the excellent website https://www.railfans.ca/ contains a wealth of information about Ottawa's urban rail system.

O sistema de trens urbanos de Ottawa: dos bondes ao O-Train

Quando cheguei a Ottawa, fiquei surpreso ao descobrir que, assim como nas cidades brasileiras, todas as antigas linhas de bonde foram suprimidas e muitos dos seus leitos convertidos em vias asfaltadas para ônibus e carros. 

Assim como aconteceu em toda a América Latina, também a América do Norte viu uma mudança generalizada de bondes para ônibus a partir do final dos anos 50, e o Canadá não foi uma exceção. Também nesse país uma extensa malha de trilhos virou sucata em favor da indústria automobilística. Esse movimento surgiu na América do Norte e influenciou a mentalidade dos empreendedores do restante da América e Europa ocidental. 

No Canadá, cidades maiores como Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax, Montréal, Québec e Ottawa também acabaram com suas linhas de bonde. Houve poucas exceções mundo afora(tratarei sobre elas em uma próxima postagem). Toronto, foi a maior delas nas Américas; manteve o serviço ininterrupto detendo em toda a América o maior número de quilômetros de trilhos, de usuários e de frota. 

O sistema de Ottawa não teve a mesma sorte. Em 1948, a OER (Ottawa Electric Railway), empresa privada que administrava os bondes da cidade propôs um aumento das passagens, o que provocou um referendo no qual a população votou a favor da municipalização do sistema de transporte. Como consequência a estatal OTC (Ottawa Transportation Commision) assumiu o controle da OER (Ottawa Electric Railway) em 1950. Como o sistema estava ultrapassado e a nova empresa não tinha recursos para a expansão das linhas do bonde, a OTC decidiu por extinguir o sistema, o que aconteceu no dia 1o de maio de 1959. No dia seguinte, os veículos já desativados desfilaram pela última vez na cidade.  

                    Bonde 869 na "linha da morte" (sucata) após o desfile pela cidade

    (Fonte: McGee, David. Lost Ottawa. Vol. 1. Ottawa Press and Publishing, 2017, p.28)

Esse padrão de substituição do modal ferroviário pelo rodoviário teve como resultado o estrangulamento das vias com o aumento dos automóveis. 

Devido a esse problema, bondes mais modernos usados na Alemanha (Stadtbahn) e mais tarde em Nantes e Grenoble na França (Tramway) passaram a inspirar iniciativas de retorno do antigo bonde, agora rebatizado de VLT (Veículo Leve sobre Trilhos), como alternativa de mobilidade urbana. 

As Linhas Trillium (2 e 4) e Confereration (1 e 3)

De certa forma num movimento de retorno ao modal extinto, Ottawa iniciou, no final dos anos 90, planos para reimplantar um sistema de trilhos urbanos na capital. 

Em 2001, a empresa municipal OC Transpo (inicialmente Ottawa-Carleton Regional Transit Commission) , sucessora da antiga OTC, implantou a linha Trillium de 8 quilômetros com trens a diesel e, em 2019, a linha Confederation de VLT (linha 1). A Linha 1 está desde então em expansão na realização de um grande projeto de mobilidade urbana, recuperando em parte a mobilidade que era oferecida pela malha de bondes, agora incluindo partes mais distantes da cidade. 

A Linha Trillium (Atual Linha 2)

A linha Trillium foi inagurada em 2001 com oito quilômetros de extensão sob o nome de O-Train e esteve em operação até 2015 com três trens Bombardier Talent percorrendo cinco estações (Bayview, Carling (atual Downslake), Carleton,  Confederation (atual Mooney's Bay) e Greenboro. 

             (Fonte: https://www.railfans.ca/o-train/content/trains/bombardier-talent)

A partir de 2015,  os três trens Talent da Bombardier foram substituídos pelos seis trens Alstom Coradia LINT. O sistema foi então renomeado para Trillium Line/Linha 2, já considerando a construção da futura linha 1 de VLTs inaugurada em 2019. Entre 2019 e 2020, a Trillium Line já fazia conexão com a recém inaugurada linha 1 na estação Bayview, até o fechamento da linha em 02 de maio de 2020 para a sua expansão na direção sul. A linha 2 permaneceu então fechada por quase cinco anos, quando foi reinaugurada em 06 de janeiro de 2025 com sete novos trens Stadler FLIRT e mais seis estações (duas estações adicionais e duas estações renomeadas no trecho original: Bayview, Corso Italia, Downslake, antiga Carling, Carleton,  Mooney's Bay, antiga Confederation, Walkley e Greenboro. A partir da estação Greenboro, mais quatro estações foram inauguradas na direção sul da cidade: Southkeys, Leitrim, Bowesville, uma estação estacionamento, e de lá até o bairro de Riverside South cuja estação final é a Limebank Station. 

Da estação South Keys, sai a linha 4 até o aeroporto da cidade (YOW), conectando três estações: South Keys, Uplands e Airport (Aeroporto). No total, a linha 2 atual conta com 13 estações e extensão de 19 quilômetros e a linha 4 com duas estações e quatro quilômetros de extensão. 

Atualmente, a Linha 2 conta com treze trens a diesel, seis Alstom Coradia LINT e sete Stadler FLIRT. Os trens são confortáveis, espaçosos e proporcionam uma viagem agradável de aproximadamente 40 minutos de uma ponta a outra da linha. Embora os trens LINT ainda rodem na linha 2, eles são mais utilizados na linha 4. 

                            

                       Trem Alstom LINT chegando à estação Limebank em fevereiro de 2025

                                     (foto do autor)

  

                                                 

                               Trem Stadler FLIRT chegando à estação Leitrim em janeiro de 2025

                                      (foto do autor)

A linha Confederation (Linhas 1 e 3)

A linha 1 foi inaugurada em abril de 2019, com as atuais treze estações (Tunneys Pasture, Bayview, Pimisi, Lyon, Parliament, Rideau, uOttawa, Lees, Hurdman, Trumblay,  St. Laurent, Cyrvile e Blair). Diferentemente da linha 2, a Linha 1 foi projetada para veículos leves (VLTs), contando atualmente com trens Citatis Spirit da Alstom. 

Apesar de ser tecnicamente classificada como VLT, a linha 1 se diferencia dos sistemas tradicionais por possuir vias completamente segregadas, eliminando o compartilhamento de tráfego com pedestres e veículos rodoviários. Essa configuração confere à linha 1 características operacionais de um metrô, embora opere com material rodante leve. 

Desde abril de 2019, a linha está em processo de expansão nas direções oeste e leste. A extensão parcial da atual linha 1 será dividida com a futura linha 3, de modo que ambas as linhas (1 e 3) compartilharão os trilhos entre as estações Lincoln Fields (oeste) e Trim (leste), a futura estação final no lado leste (atualmente a estação final é a Blair). 

                         

                   Trecho em construção entre as estações Blair e Montréal em 2024

                                  (foto do autor)

A oeste, a linha 1 se separará da linha 3 a partir da estação Lincoln Fields e seguirá no sentido sul para mais duas estações, Iris e Algolquin, a futura estação final no lado sudoeste. Já a linha 3, partindo da estação Lincoln Fields, seguirá para mais quatro estações na direção oeste: Queensview,  Pinecrest, Bayshore, alcançando a estação final Moodie. 

                                    

Mapa do sistema incluindo a linha 3 ainda em construção 

(fonte: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-Train)

Mesmo com a expansão, algumas regiões que antes eram servidas pelo sistema de bondes continuarão órfãs do transporte por trilhos, como o Rockcliffe Park cuja linha conduzia os passageiros para dentro da área verde do parque:

Bonde trafegando dentro do parque Rockcliffe

(fonte: https://www.canada.ca/en/library-archives.html)

Já a praia Britannia, por exemplo, que ainda preserva a antiga estação de bondes, poderá ser acessada a pé a partir da futura estação New Rochard, mas apenas depois de uma caminhada de cerca de 30 minutos. 

A antiga estação de bondes preservada no parque da praia Britannia

(Fonte: James Powell in https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/significant-technological-changes-in-the-city/britannia-on-the-bay-75)

Mapa do sistema a partir do google maps

(fonte: https://www.octranspo.com). Acesse o mapa original aqui.

A finalização das obras da Linha 1 está planejada para este ano. Fortemente criticado por parte da população, especialmente por quem não depende do transporte público, o sistema de trens de Ottawa tem contribuído para mitigar o congestionamento das vias rodoviárias da cidade e devolver mais tempo e conforto aos passageiros. Apesar de oneroso, o atual investimento resgata antigos investimentos que irresponsavelmente foram sucateados. 

O retorno do sistema de transporte por trilhos à cidade é uma prova de que os bondes nunca deveriam ter sido destruídos em Ottawa ou em qualquer outra cidade do mundo. 

O O-Train é apenas um exemplo de retorno moderno do bonde como tentativa de corrigir escolhas equivocadas do passado. Nos próximos anos, com certeza novas linhas e outras formas de transporte por trilhos serão necessários para conectar de forma eficiente as diferentes regiões de Ottawa. E essa lição vale para qualquer cidade grande. 

Para os interessados no trem de Ottawa, a excelente página (https://www.railfans.ca/) possui farto material sobre o sistema de trens urbanos de Ottawa. 

The Morro Velho Railway (EFMV)

Anyone traveling along MG-030 toward Nova Lima may have already noticed the discreet presence of locomotives and stationary wagons in a small square beside the highway. This equipment appears to have belonged to AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., and likely served the mining company in internal operations long after the dismantling of the former Morro Velho Railway (EFMV).

1.Locomotive from the 1990s displayed in a public square in the Ouro Velho neighborhood in Nova Lima.

(Photograph taken by the author in 2018)

Similar electric locomotives to the one shown above, with the same track gauge (0.66 m), together with small passenger cars, made up the rolling stock of the Morro Velho Railway (EFMV). The railway was built by the company to transport cargo and employees to the mine. The line was established between 1913 and 1914 and connected the municipalities of Raposos and Nova Lima, also serving the population of these towns with passenger trains.

2. Passenger train with the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário in the background. 

(Photograph by Earl Clark published on the excellent website of Allen Morrison)

The railway began operations fully electrified along its entire length, becoming the second railway in the country to use electricity to power its trains, after the Estrada de Ferro Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro. According to an article by Ralph Giesbrecht, there is a disagreement between two sources, Stiel and Morrison on one side, and Pimenta on the other, regarding the year the line was opened. Concerning this discrepancy, researcher Allen Morrison, in an article published on his website, suggests, based on these data, that the line began operations in 1913, while the full extension of the railway was opened in 1914.

 

3. A locomotive and a passenger car in front of a shed in Nova Lima with the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário in the background. (Photograph by Earl Clark published on the excellent website of Allen Morrison)

The line had a gauge of 0.66 m and departed from the Raposos station, alongside the Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil (EFCB). The station had two platforms. Beside one of them ran the Central do Brasil line, which came from Belo Horizonte toward Rio de Janeiro. On the other side, the station served the EFMV line, which continued for 9.5 km to the city of Nova Lima.

Between Raposos and Nova Lima, the railway also served a settlement called Galo, where there was a station and an arsenic factory belonging to the mining company. This railway was created to facilitate the transportation of materials and mining employees from the EFCB line to the Morro Velho mine. Although it primarily served the mining company, its trains also transported the general population on trips that took place every 40 minutes.

With the opening of a highway connecting Belo Horizonte and Nova Lima, passenger transportation on the EFMV gradually lost its importance during the 1950s and 1960s, although it continued to be operated by the company until 1964, when the service was discontinued. As the closure led to protests by employees and threats of strikes, the municipality of Nova Lima took control of the railway, which resumed operations in 1965 for another five years, exclusively as a passenger service. It was finally deactivated in 1970, when the line was completely dismantled.

4. Raposos Station between the EFMV line on the left and the EFCB line on the right.
(Photograph by Earl Clark published on the excellent website of Allen Morrison)

5. Small electric locomotive about to pull two passenger coaches, while an employee adjusts the pantograph’s contact with the overhead electrical wire. (Photograph by Earl Clark published on the excellent website of Allen Morrison)

Although there was an intention to preserve the railway line, the idea was never carried out. Today, part of the former railway bed is occupied by the AMG-150 highway. Had the line not been dismantled, it would undoubtedly be an excellent transportation alternative for the region, perhaps already featuring modern light rail vehicles (LRVs) running between Nova Lima and Raposos, and, of course, serving as a tourist attraction for the cities through which it passed.

A locomotive and a passenger car from the EFMV were preserved and can be seen at the Morro Velho Memory Center. When I tried to visit it in 2018, it was closed. I am not aware of any other preserved rolling stock.

6. Locomotive No. 16 and Car No. 27 preserved at the Morro Velho Memory Center
(photograph by Antonio Gorni, available on this website)

In 2020, I went to Nova Lima and found the exact place where the train stop once stood. I could not get closer to the precise location, but the hospital building, the twin towers of the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário and the round shed (maybe a roundhouse) in the background leave no doubt that the railway line ran through this area. At the time, the site was being used as a bus garage:

(Photograph 7, taken in August 2020 by the author, compared with Photograph 3)

The small shed shown in Photograph 3 is situated directly behind the first passenger car in Photograph 2. If we could go back in time, this shed would have been located approximately beyond the concrete slab on the right-hand side of Photograph 7.

Regarding the EFMV, there are three excellent references on which this article was merely based:

Giesbrecht, Ralph. Estações ferroviárias do Brasil - E.F. de Morro Velho.

Gorni, Antônio Augusto. A eletrificação nas ferrovias brasileiras - A EF Morro Velho. 

Morrison, Allen. Estrada de Ferro Morro Velho - Raposos - Nova Lima/Brazil.