This is Ottawa, Canada. Home to 1.2 million people, the city is connected by a network
of transitway and light rail lines, which service 48 stations in two local municipalities.
Consisting of one light rail line and 38 kilometres of transitway, the system travels travels
across Ottawa and Gatineau, with trains and buses running frequently from downtown to
the suburbs. But how did the system grow from its original station to the network it is
today? My name’s Zach, and this is the Evolution of the Network.
The first section of the Transitway opened in June 1983, with a short section of the
Central transitway opening through LeBreton station. In December of that year, two additional
sections of transitway were opened, located on either side of downtown Ottawa. The east
transitway serviced two stations at Lees and Hurdman, while the southwest transitway serviced
four new stations between Lincoln Fields and Baseline.
In November 1984, the central transitway was extended west from LeBreton to the Ottawa
River Parkway, servicing two new station at Tunney’s Pasture and Westboro. Buses continued
along the parkway in mixed traffic, connecting onto the southwest transitway at Lincoln Fields.
The east transitway was extended north from Lees station in 1985, servicing Campus station
at the University of Ottawa. In 1986, a further extension of the east transitway
brought service closer to downtown, with a new station opening at Laurier.
An extension of the opposite end of the east transitway opened in November 1987, with a
two station extension opening to St Laurent. An intermediate stop opened on this segment
at Train, providing connections to Ottawa’s VIA Rail station.
Eastward expansions continued in June 1989, with a one station extension opening to Blair.
The east transitway was completed in 1990, with Cyrville station opening on the existing roadway between
St-Laurent and Blair. The first section of the southeast transitway
opened in 1991, connecting with the east transitway at Hurdman station. The new roadway ran south
to Riverside, servicing two new intermediate stations at Abbey and Smyth.
In September 1995, a second independent section of the southeast transitway opened, which
included three new stations at Greenboro, Walkley, and Heron. This segment continued
north to the Billings Bridge bus terminal, servicing stops within the terminal.
In June 1996, South Keys station was opened at the south end of the southeast transitway,
located along the existing roadway. In November, the two sections of the southeast transitway
were joined, with the roadway connecting Riverside with Billings Bridge, and new stations opening
at Billings Bridge and Pleasant Park. A new station was added to the central transitway
in November 1999, with an infill station opening at Dominion.
In June 2000, the first section of the west transitway opened, along with a new station
at Bayshore. Buses ran along the highway from Queensway to connect to the new segment, servicing
Queensway station on eastbound trips only. In October 2001, Ottawa’s first light rail
line was launched, connecting two of the existing Transitway segments. Named the O-Train, the
line started from Greenboro station on the southeast transitway, before running north
to a new station at Bayview on the central transitway. The single-track diesel line serviced
three intermediate stops at Carling, Carleton, and Confederation.
In September 2002, Abbey station on the southeast Transitway was renamed to Lycée Claudel,
after a French language school located adjacent to the stop.
In December 2005, a new independent segment of the southwest transitway opened, connecting
to the existing bus terminal at Fallowfield VIA Rail station. Between Baseline and the
new transitway segment, buses travel in reserved curbside lanes on Woodroffe Avenue.
South of Fallowfield, a third independent segment of the southwest transitway opened
in December 2006, with a new station at Strandherd. In September 2009, the west transitway was
extended east from Bayshore, with an additional station opening at Pinecrest.
Two segments of the southwest transitway were linked in April 2011, with a new station opening
at Longfields. Additionally, the transitway was extended south from Strandherd, with two
new station at Marketplace and Barrhaven Centre. In October 2013, a new transitway opened in
Gatineau Quebec, on the north shore of the Ottawa River. The Rapibus ran from Taché-UQO
to Labrosse, servicing eight intermediate stops, with some buses continuing in reserved
lanes from Montcalm station to downtown Ottawa. The Chapman Mills transitway was opened in southwest
Ottawa in November 2014, including a new station at Beatrice, and a stop at the existing Nepean
Woods park & ride lot. Unlike the rest of the network, this was the first transitway
to run in the median of the road, with buses crossing intersecting streets at grade along
the alignment. In June 2015, construction began on Ottawa’s
second light rail line, designed to replace the busiest sections of the transitway, and
relieve congestion in Downtown Ottawa. To facilitate this, the east transitway was closed
between Blair and Hurdman, along with stations at Cyrville, St-Laurent, and Train. Construction
progressed into December, with Lees station also being closed. That year, the O-Train
was also renamed to the Trillium Line, in preparation for this second light rail route.
In January 2016, sections of the central transitway began to close for light rail construction,
with service ending to LeBreton and Bayview stations. In April, further construction activities
on the eastern transitway necessitated the closure of Campus station. Finally in June,
Tunney’s Pasture on the central transitway also closed, allowing for heavy construction
to proceed along the entire light rail alignment. In December 2017, Confederation Station on
the Trillium Line was renamed to Mooney’s Bay, reducing confusion with the future Confederation
light-rail line. Additionally, a new station opened on the west transitway, with the roadway
being extended from Bayshore to Moodie. Ottawa’s second light rail line began operating
in September 2019, with the Confederation Line beginning service. The line ran along
the former central and east transitways, with 13 new stations between Tunney’s Pasture
to Blair. The line interchanged with the Trillium Line at Bayview, as well as with the southeast
transitway at Hurdman. In October, The final station on the east transitway was closed
at Laurier, as the new light rail line was now operational.
In May 2020, work began on the Trillium line to extend service farther south, necessitating
the full closure of the service. In its place, replacement buses were offered along parallel
streets, which will run until construction is complete. This brings us to the Ottawa-Gatineau
rapid transit map that we know today.
In the years to come, two new light rail lines are expected to open, adding more service across
the City of Ottawa. To facilitate their construction, various sections of the transitway network
will close to allow for this conversion. In 2021, the remaining sections of the central
transitway will close, along with stations at Westboro and Dominion. The southwest transitway
will close from Lincoln Fields to Baseline, along with the west transitway from Pinecrest
to Moodie. Specific dates for these closures have not yet been announced, however are expected
to take place in the year to come. In fall 2022, the Trillium line is expected
to reopen, restoring service along its former route. As part of the expansion, the line
will be extended south from Greenboro, serving four new stations to Limebank. Along the former
line, two new stations will be added, with a stop at Corso Italia opening, as well as
a new interchange with the southeast transitway at Walkley station. Additionally, the station
at Carling will be renamed to Dow’s Lake. Ottawa’s third light rail line is also expected
to launch at the same time, with Line 4 beginning service. This route will run from South Keys
station, servicing two new stops west to the Ottawa Airport.
In 2023, a two stop extension of the Rapibus will open, extending the line east from Labrosse.
The route will travel to an existing station at Lorrain, along with a new intermediate
stop. In 2024, a five stop eastward extension of
the Confederation Line will being service to Trim, replacing previous bus service along
Highway 174. Finally in 2025, the Confederation line will
be extended west, with seven new stations opening to Algonquin. At the same time, Ottawa’s
fourth light rail line will begin service, paralleling the existing route along Line
1 from Trim to Lincoln Fields. The line will then continue along the former west transitway,
servicing four additional stations to Moodie. That was the evolution of Ottawa’s transitway
and light rail networks, giving us the lines that we know today. If you haven’t already,
be sure to watch our Evolution of the Network videos from other Canadian cities, which you
can access by clicking the button in the top right corner of this video. Don’t forget to leave a like
if you enjoyed this video, and comment down below to join in the discussion. My name’s
Zach, and I’ll be Vanishing Underground, until the next one.