Cracked wheel slows LRT service Friday

LRT service was reduced on Ottawa's Confederation Line Friday morning after a crack was discovered in the steel wheel of one of the trains during maintenance Thursday.

"As a precaution and in accordance with safety operational procedures, a fleet-wide inspection began overnight and is currently underway. As more vehicles are inspected, they will be put into service," John Manconi, the city's general manager of transportation services, wrote in a memo Friday morning.

As a result, LRT service was reducedto every 10 minutes Friday morning. OC Transpo ran supplemental busservice from Blair, Hurdman and Tunney's Pasture stations to downtown during the morning peak.

According to an update at 10:26 a.m., six trains were in service and supplemental bus service had been pulled back because it was no longer needed. Inspections were continuing on the remaining trains.

The cracked wheel is the latest in a string of ongoing problems for the Confederation Line, which launched in September.