OC Transpo Ottawa Metro Rail – Success Story

OC Transpo, entrusted with the public transit in Canada’s capital city, is a Customer who embraces integration. OC Transpo sought a solution for their expanding metro rail, O-Train, that would enable the integration of both control (SCADA) and communications, including multimedia. They were looking for a flexible integration Partner, and chose Willowglen to provide our enterprise Integrated Control and Communication System (ICCS) solution, SCADACOM.

The O-Train Confederation Line saw the introduction of a modern light rail transit service to Ottawa, Canada. The O-Train is a multimodal light metro system consisting of two lines, east–west electrified Confederation Line (Line 1) and the north–south diesel-powered Trillium Line (Line 2).

Along with our ICCS, Willowglen provided Station E&M and Traction Power RTUs, project management, professional software development, configuration, and integration services for the Confederation Line. At the time, we delivered our latest generation SCADA (SCADACOM6) server and workstation products for the Transit Services Control Centre, Back-Up Control Centre, and Yard Control Centre.

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) System Integration

Parallel Acknowledgements and Display Assignments

Goal

OC Transpo wanted any unusual activity (motion, infrared, other CCTV visual processing) detected by the CCTV system to generate an alarm.

Benefits

• Frees operators from duplicating actions they’d have to do multiple times per hour.
• Improves ability to rely on the CCTV system and ICCS.
• CCTV always runs in parallel to the ICCS because CCTV handles the video streams.

Goal

OC Transpo has a goal of making  the O-Train 100% accessible, so extra attention was placed on the Passenger Announcement (PA), Passenger Information Systems (PIS), and Passenger Information Display System (PIDS) integrations.

Benefits

• Passengers can safely and reliably access and use the O-Train.
• Less Passenger incidents occur, reducing demand on operational resources.

Similarly, for people with hearing impairments the following provisions are in place.

• Digital signs at several locations along the platform display the expected departure time for each train. Times adjust in real-time according to each train’s progress along the line as it approaches the station.
• Digital signs inside the train, both in common areas and on the wall in the cooperative seating area, display the destination and upcoming station names. When the train pulls into a station, video messages repeat the station name.
• Service alerts are shown on the platform displays.

All of these features are enabled by integrating Passenger Announcement (PA), Passenger Information Systems (PIS), and Passenger Information Display System (PIDS). Each metro rail operation is unique and as such we work closely with key stakeholders to ensure all the configuration they require is executed. We recommend configurations based on international standards and industry best practices to ensure the operation is not only compliant but going above and beyond for safety, useability, and accessibility.

Goal

Improve response time when emergency phones are engaged and automate safety responses.

Benefits

• Safety of passengers and staff is significantly increased.
• Offers a great deal of flexible automation to fit each transit agency’s style of reacting to potential emergencies.

Goal

In the event that smoke or fire is detected, a rapid multi-modal response is triggered to mitigate casualties, economic loss, and functional disruption.

Benefits

• A quick response in an emergency situation is essential for saving lives.
• Minimizes further risks while protecting property.

• ICCS tells the Tunnel Ventilation System (TVS) or BMS to turn on fans to blow in the correct direction for safety purposes.
• ICCS tells the Gate Intrusion Detection System (GIDS) and Intrusion Access Control (IAC) to turn off so people can use emergency exits and doors that would normally alarm.
• ICCS tells the Public Announcement system and PI system (display signs) to play automated emergency evac messages (on top of the fire alarm sounds managed directly by the FAS).
• ICCS turns off Traction Power System (TPS) and other non-essential electrical systems in case the fire is electrical in nature, once Trains no longer need to move out of the area.
• ICCS tells Trains (STCS, CBTC) at/near the station which way to exit so they don’t run into the fire.
• ICCS tells Trains outside the station to stop or give way to exiting Trains.

• ICCS tells Passenger Information Systems (PIS) there is an emergency at this location, kind of like Google Maps showing when and where an accident happened.
• ICCS dials emergency services through Telephony* if operators are not tasked with doing this manually.

*Telephony = telephone system, hand held device, cellular phone, big yellow safety phone, passenger intercom, etc.

Stage 2 of Ottawa’s rail network improvement project involves a three-phased approach to extend both the Confederation Line and the Trillium Line. In phase one, the Trillium Line will be converted to a dual-track system, and it will be extended 16 kilometres in the south. The Airport Link (Line 4), a 4-kilometre system sharing track with the Trillium Line but operating as a distinct segment, is also scheduled to open in September 2022 (phase one). Willowglen is providing the RTUs and our ICCS solution for the phase one extension of Trillium and the Line 4 addition. Similarly, in the second and third phases, Willowglen is facilitating the East and West extensions of the Confederation Line, which is more than doubling its current capacity with 16 new stations!