I started off this adventure on a nice scenic drive to Limebank Station. In my sister's Versa with a fresh clutch and rumbly 106 hp engine, I traversed among the vast cornfields, identical Catholic High Schools, and the rather small airport that services our city. Once I arrived, I was faced with very little parking; sparse, I was scared that I might receive a citation. My ass was out towards a no-parking zone. If only that fucking Escape and Pontiac Vibe would have scootched up a bit, my versa's arse would have been comfortably following the law. Anyways, the station was placed beside the juvenile and neue suburb of Riverside South, it was placed strategically by the city. The entire goal was that all those corn would grow into crappy pre-fab Mattamy and Minto builds, and people would be right next to the O-Train.

Clever.

Those peeps taking care of the O-Train Line 2 project were actually clever people; not those retarded knuckleheads that ran the Rideau Transit Group Project. So with that said, ont commence. Let's ride mother truckers.

Disclaimer.

A quick disclaimer: As this is Bélanger’s Brilliantly Boring Blog, Reviews, and Op-Eds-these are my opinions. Apologies in advance if you disagree or get offended by my words, because that’s what they are words, no one else’s. These words do not reflect my affiliations, nor their values, nor my actual political values, as I respect and care for everybody. Every now and then, we need to throw jokes around for the sake of humanity’s mental health, so let loose a bit. If you are not ready to read my quips, now is the time to close this page. Everybody else; you are in for a real treat! I cannot wait for you to read this! So with that said, let’s get crackin’!

Let's Ride.

The plan for this Brilliantly Boring Article is to discuss the details, including station reviews, their design, and their track setup. Very autistic. Very Sheldon Cooper. It'll be fun; you'll enjoy this too.

The Train.

It's a brand-new Stadler FLIRT3 (oooh, sexy), and it did indeed feel quite flirtacious. To be perfectly frank, it made me really hard. A very very successful flirt. It was freaky in a good way.

The interior felt more premium than line 1, with higher backrests, less of that subway train feel, and felt like a real train, like one you would see in Europe that Renfé would use, or even an inter-city rail in Switzerland. Well, that's exactly it, Stadler makes trains that are designed for climbing the Alps. This one was no exception, it climbed and descended the tracks with ease, and was rather smooth and quiet in its operation.

Line 4 uses old Alstom Lint trains from the former Line 2 of the 2000s (not the Bombardier ones, surprisingly, those were retired). Unfortunately, I did not ride those, just the Flirts.

Let's talk interior. Lots of pretty signage about rules, including one with OC Transpo-branded yellow sneakers. Felt quirky and on-brand; I liked it! The stations were shown in a very futuristic setup; 12" LCDs with a map of what station is next, to come, and when are we arriving to the terminus (in this case, Bayview and Limebank.) That was a win on my books big time. An opportunity to bring tech to everyday use is always nice.

The seats I find were the highlights. The cloth livery is this blue gingham pattern seen in Line 1, but with an enclave-like headrest as seen in premium trains. With genuine leather, I was impressed, but concerned on how they would wear with crackheads kniving the surface to make rideau crackhead handbags and whatnot.

The halls between the cabs were also really interesting; reminding me of Intercity trains. I feel like they screwed up (not really, but would've been cool) if they were to add a washroom in them, since they were just closets that said move along. Big miss. Interesting opportunity for use-of-space, especially with the length of the ride.

Limebank.

Double-tracked, and elevated far above the cornfields of Riverside South, it had washrooms below, and limited stationnement. Overall, the shelters were rather comfortable, nice bespoke OC branded info screens, and a modern design with wood-cladded ceilings.

Bowesville.

Bowesville felt the same as Limebank, just with a Park and Ride.

Leitrim.

Same as Bowesville, just with more housing and less corn.

South Keys.

South Keys was interesting. The platform was in an island-style, with tracks that were shared with line 4. So one train would be line 2, and the next, line 4. Very interesting setup indeed, and with the view of the old bus station with the red and concrete, it contrasted well with the modern setup.

Greenboro.

Wasn't very green, or borough-y. Was next to the transitway, which was nice. It was also the original terminus for the old line 1, which was cool. It was also the first Single-platform in this trip.

Walkley.

I didn't like Walkley for personal reasons. First is the name. It reminds me of this woman I despise greatly named Lt. Walker, who gave me immense pain and suffering, and I hated her, and still do. If you're reading this Vicky, good. Other than that, I liked its single-tracked location, shaded by 2 apartment buildings, its trees, and stone. The new one had these massive curved windows in these great rooms that made the apartments feel like fish bowls. I loved it, and reminded me of some buildings on Grand and Hubbard in Chicago with a similar design. I remember they were Rental Residences operated by the Habitat Group. The Habitat group operated and owned most of the Apartment buildings in the city. Anyways, enough about Walkley, let's go to Mooney's.

Mooney's Bay.

Mooney's was giving me the urge to moon on the big picture windows inside the Flirt. Perhaps to flirt with the passengers. Maybe to the police officers, who will later arrest me for indecent exposure, who knows.

I'm not a retard, I'd never do that. Fuck, some people would believe anything they read.

Moving on, Mooney's Bay was also a single-tracked platform with access to the stupid Canada Post HQ, with their ugly Turquoise-on-sandstone building, the Charles Tupper(ware) building and its bright colours, the 33rd Combat Brigade's scary 15-storey school-like HQ, and many more stops along Riverside, including Billing's Bridge and their weird mall with a dark but nice Walmart. I hate Walmart. But hey, when I need to go to Walmart, it does the job.

Carleton.

Double-Tracked. Views Galore. Chutes that made me reminisce of the days I studied MPAD (which I did very much dislike, unlike my campaign I did with them).

The vistas, I cannot praise enough. wow. The Orthodox copper-roofed church from afar. Dunton fuckin Tower staring into my bored soul, feeling the diesel vibration upon my stop to let another train pass, it was interesting, to say the least.

As you know, Carleton's campus is stellar. Location is excellent, but the people crowd in. Expected, as it's a university, and the most popular stop on the train. Nevertheless, it was a stop, and then it returned to single tracked till Corso.

Dow's Lake.

I felt like I was in the Dover Straight. Why do I say that? The O-Train passes underneath water in Dow's lake, and is dark for a good 25 seconds. It felt super cool to ride underwater, and I saw fish!!!!

Jk. All I saw was dark pipes and graffiti, from the time it was abandoned during COVID, and when under construction. Once it arrived to Dow's, I saw HMCS Carleton, the new construction of the Ottawa Hospital's addition, and a nice granite-blasted platform with frozen waterfalls.

The walls of the station reminded me of an older Apple Store from the 2010s. Aluminium-cladded walls reflected ever-so-slightly the people and trains passing-by. It felt like I was in an outdoor Apple store. Twas rather intersting.

Corso Italia.

I love how the French Announcement pronounced it. Corseau Ïtàliuh. It was funny, and so was the tracks. Double, and back to normal, and it was fully new, with shelters and an under-bridge setup under the Queensway (417). It was conveniently hooked up to the bike network that connects to Lebreton, Gatineau, Dow's, Vincent Massey, the Arboretum, and even can go to my house via the Trans-Canada Trail in the summers. Nice setup.

Bayview.

Lastly, the station that I might have spent a full week's worth of my life waiting outside in -30c weather for a bus, while the driver plays Candy Crush for 15 minutes and then riding to either Hobin or Carleton. Finally, heated shelters, an enclave of Stone and Concrete, it was a miracle. Finally, Carleton commuters may stay warm!!!

Conclusion.

That's it. Controversial take: It's a step up from the overrated and unreliable Line 1, and I personally was surprised. Never in a million years would I say I prefer Diesel over Electric, but here I am. I didn't mind the rumble like I normally do, and the ride was rather smooth.

Let's get a fucking train to Kanata, Carp, and Stittsville, now. Chop-chop!

- Santiago Bélanger.