Planning the Shift to a Multimodal Operations Control Center

Michael Morgan

OC Transpo, Director, Rail Operations

Ottawa, Ontario

Part I: Current Operations

Planning the Shift to a Multimodal Operations Control Center

Ottawa, Ontario

Current BRT Transitway Network

• Nerve centre of the City’s Public Transit System;

• Provides 24/7 monitoring of on-street service, including the bus

and O-Train Trillium Line, to optimize effective service delivery;

• 340,000 daily customer trips per day on conventional transit and

approximately 14,500 daily customer trips on the Trillium Line;

• Monitoring of over 500 CCTV cameras throughout transit stations;

• Over 750,000 calls to the TOCC per year (2,300 calls per day);

• Provide a safe, reliable, courteous and seamless service.

Current Operations Centre

Current Operations: GPS Tracking

Current Operations: GPS Tracking

Current Operations: GPS Tracking

Part II: Introduction of the

Confederation Line

Planning the Shift to a Multimodal Operations Control Center

CurrentBus, Para, DMU

2018Bus, Para, DMU, LRT

Confederation Line

Alstom Citadis Spirit

The Train

Part III: Shift to a Multimodal

Operations Control Center

Planning the Shift to a Multimodal Operations Control Center

Multimodal Operations Centre

• Project Objectives:

• Primary operation and control centre for revenue service of OC

Transpo’s multimodal transit network;

• Provide 24/7 monitoring of conventional bus and para transit

service, O-Train Confederation Line and Trillium Line, and Transit

Law Communications;

• Manage the bus and train connections to ensure delivery of

seamless service for our customers; and,

• Align to industry best practices to create an integrated and open

concept control centre including bus and para operations, rail

operations and transit law.

Multimodal Operations Centre

Current Systems Future Systems

Conference Room Emergency Command Centre

Onboard fare control only Onboard fare control + fare gates +

expanded proof of payment zones

GPS bus tracking GPS bus tracking + CBTC train control +

SCADA systems

500 traffic cameras, limited control 2000 cameras, mix of control/access

Current Operation Future Operation

Bus, Transit Law Bus, Transit Law, Para, & Light Rail

Distributed service leadership Centralized service leadership

Segregated & partitioned work

areas

Open concept work areas

Bus transfers / single seat rides Bus transfers / bus to rail transfers

Challenges and Opportunities

• Design & Construction

• Schedule Risk: Renovation of existing control room by OC

Transpo became a critical path schedule item for the LRT

project (new PPP Project Co. consortium risk).

• Service Risk: Renovation of an active bus operations control

centre requires multiple phased cutovers and temporary moves

while we continue to deliver the service.

• Commissioning Risk: Once the renovation is complete, we

will be commissioning a new CBTC-based LRT system in an

active revenue service control room.

Challenges and Opportunities

• Employee Development

• Change Management: Addition of new roles and

responsibilities including additional functions in the control

centre such as CBTC and SCADA controls.

• Training & Development: Requirements to hire and train staff

on new critical systems (CBTC). New streams of skills

development for technical staff and new leadership

opportunities.

• Employee Engagement: Hardship during renovation of new

control centre and adjacent building, e.g. employee areas

moved to construction trailers during winter construction.

Challenges and Opportunities

• Technology Changes

• CCTV Equipment: Shift from 500 cameras to over 2200

cameras on trains, stations, and buses. New equipment

requirements for monitoring, access, and recording.

• Performance Reporting: Additional private data feeds including

train schedule adherence, performance reporting, real time

passenger counts, defect reporting and tracking systems.

• Employee Comfort: Additional improvements to the overall

control room including layouts, reduced noise levels, and

improved heating and air conditioning.

Challenges and Opportunities

• Municipal Policy Changes

• Regulatory Framework: Due to nature of OC Transpo’s

operation, the agency is federally regulated; however, no

precedent exists for federal regulation of light rail systems.

• Technology Policy: Original municipal CCTV policy heavily

influenced by use of cameras by traffic management. Changes in

business requirements along with advancements in technology

required policy updates.

• Information Access: New open concept space requires new and

additional consideration for sharing sensitive information.

Challenges and Opportunities

• Customer Service Enhancements

• Station Stop Information: Expanded use of passenger

information displays at new stations and bus hubs (bus status

information, train countdown messages, transfer information,

custom messages)

• Station Help Points: New two-way video feed help points to

answer inquiries, print transfers, and provide customer service.

• Additional Open Data: Additional open data to provide

customers with train location information from CBTC system,

select station information (elevator & escalator status), and

schedule updates.

Challenges and Opportunities

www.ligneconfederationline.ca

www.stage2lrt.ca

Thank You