Spotlight: Corkstown Yard Light Maintenance and Storage Facility

If you’ve travelled west on Highway 417 over the past few years, you have probably noticed the ongoing construction of a large complex to the north of the highway, just west of Moodie Drive. This site is home to the future Corkstown Yard Light Maintenance and Storage Facility, an integral part of our future O-Train network.

Corkstown Yard LMSF, 2024.

What is a Light Maintenance and Storage Facility?

We currently maintain all Line 1 vehicles at the Belfast Yard Maintenance and Storage Facility. With our electric rail network expanding farther east and west, we need an additional facility to house and maintain some of the 38 new vehicles that will be added. The Corkstown Yard LMSF will provide space for storing and performing light maintenance on these additional vehicles.

The new Corkstown Yard LMSF facility includes five buildings and a switchyard. This facility will ensure that vehicles are ready for service and operating on the O-Train system as efficiently as possible. 

Corkstown Yard Service and Inspection Building, April 2022.

Activity at the Corkstown Yard LMSF facility includes visual inspections to check for any issues, both inside and outside the train, to spot anything from minor repair issues to vandalism. At the LMSF, trains will be serviced daily, including interior cleaning, repairs to seats or doors, window replacement, system testing and more. Trains are also topped up with any fluids, like window washer fluid, that they need to continue operating safely. The LMSF will even include a drive-through train-wash. Unfortunately for passengers, you won't get to ride along while the trains are being cleaned!

Corkstown Yard LMSF area, 2024

One thing that might surprise you about train maintenance is the need for sand. Sand is regularly applied to the wheels on the trains to maintain proper friction with the track. Each train is equipped with sand boxes, and these will be filled from large reserves stored at the new Corkstown Yard LMSF site.

Sand isn’t the only thing that will be kept at the new facility. The site will also serve as storage, with a 24-train capacity at the end of construction. In the future, the facility can be expanded to a capacity of 90 trains to service the operating fleet in use for future system expansions.

Any trains needing major repair or maintenance work will still head to the Belfast maintenance facility, where more significant work is done.

Designing a state-of-the-art LRT maintenance and storage facility requires tremendous planning and effort. Construction on the site began in April 2021 and is nearly complete, with buildings constructed, mechanical and computer systems being integrated, and tracks and overhead catenary systems (OCS) being installed.

Welcoming our first vehicle

In early September, we hit a significant milestone with the arrival of our first train at the LMSF . The train was delivered in two parts from Belfast Yard using a specially designed truck float. This float is equipped to lower onto the rails, enabling the train to roll off safely. After rolling off the truck, the train was coupled with a diesel rail car and transported to the yard facilities, where the wrapping was carefully removed. Throughout the fall, additional trains will be delivered, allowing for the preparation of vehicle testing on the west extension.

Train delivery to the Corkstown LMSF.

As work continues to move forward towards completion of Ottawa’s O-Train Network , you will see the Corkstown LMSF develop into a critical hub of storage and maintenance, serving as a key point for the City’s entire light rail system.

Stay informed of O-Train Extension Progress
 

There are many exciting milestones on the horizon as we extend the benefits of the O-Train system farther south, east, and west.

To stay up to date on O-Train Extension progress, sign up for the project newsletter, follow OC Transpo on Instagram, or visit the project website.