Alstom’s Citadis Spirit life-sized mock-up of the future light rail train for the O-Train Confederation Line has been unveiled by the City of Ottawa and OC Transpo.

The unveiling took place in the presence of Mayor Jim Watson, Ontario Transportation Minister, Stephen Del Duca, Federal Member of Parliament, Royal Galipeau, and Jérôme Wallut, Senior Vice-President of Alstom Transport North America, as well as other dignitaries.

Alstom is supplying 34 Citadis Spirit vehicles and 30 years of maintenance services to the Rideau Transit Group that was selected to design, build, finance, and maintain phase 1 of the O-Train Confederation Line. This first phase comprises thirteen stations along a seven-mile route, with six miles running at ground level and one mile underground. The O-Train Confederation Line is expected to begin full revenue service in spring 2018.

The City of Ottawa is the first city in North America to choose Alstom’s Citadis Spirit as its light rail vehicle. The Citadis Spirit is based on Alstom’s Citadis range of tramways and builds on the experience of more than 1,900 Citadis in service around the world in 49 cities. Customized for the needs of the North American market, the Citadis Spirit is designed to maximise availability and to operate in severe climatic conditions, offers superior accessibility and passenger flow via a full low-floor architecture, and can operate on either a 750 V or 1,500 V power supply. Designed to run up to 62 mph the vehicles for Ottawa are fitted with panoramic windows and winterized air conditioning systems, to ensure passenger comfort on every journey.

"This important transportation infrastructure project will help guarantee a quality public transit system required to serve the city’s future transit needs," said Jérôme Wallut. “As the light rail market is booming in North America, the Citadis Spirit has been especially built for the region and is specific to each city and community it will serve. Alstom hopes this is the first of many more projects to come”.

The Citadis Spirit will be assembled in Ottawa at OC Transpo’s new state-of-the-art maintenance and storage facility, Belfast Yard. Components of the vehicle have been designed and produced in several Alstom sites in the U.S. (Hornell, N.Y.), France (Saint-Ouen, Valenciennes, Ornans, Le Creusot, Tarbes, Villeurbanne), Italy (Sesto), and Poland (Katowice).