A GO train that partially derailed near Union Station Monday morning is causing mass train delays, with service disruptions likely to last into the evening, Metrolinx says.
The derailment happened at 8:16 a.m. when a train was leaving Union Station, the provincial transit agency said in a statement to CBC News.
The rear of the train came off the track and made contact with a track switch, Metrolinx says.
“This impact resulted in signal issues and the train has been disabled in place since the incident,” it said.
Meanwhile, GO Transit’s afternoon service will be reduced due to limited track availability, according to a notice on the service’s website.
“To help manage the flow of people and make your trip home easier, please try to travel earlier if you can and allow extra time,” the alert says.
GO train routes will be running on the following service levels Monday evening, according to a 4:20 p.m. statement from Metrolinx to CBC News:
Extra TTC busses will be running alongside the 509 Harbourfront streetcar for commuters travelling to Exhibition GO and along the 505 Dundas streetcar route for those travelling between Union Station and Bloor GO, TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said in a statement Monday afternoon.
Extra trains will also be running on subway Line 1 to connect Union Station and Downsview Park GO, said Green.
The issue caused headaches for morning rush hour commuters and has persisted into the afternoon.
Crews are working on repairs, according to a GO Transit online alert, but trains have been delayed several hours. The agency initially reported delays were due to a signal issue and would last up to two hours.
All lines through Union Station are affected, and trains will be unable to travel through the station until the problem is resolved.
Trains will travel as far as possible and hold at stations in the meantime, GO Transit said. Some trips may be cancelled or modified due to the disruption.
GO Transit is recommending commuters travelling into Union Station Monday use TTC routes instead.
Subway service downtown had its own disruptions though, with the TTC reporting mid-morning that Line 1 was out of service between St. Andrew and Spadina stations, due to an injury on the tracks. Service on that part of the line has since resumed, according to the TTC website.
The UP Express train was also out of service for most of the morning, with express bus service replacing it between Union Station and Pearson airport. Pearson airport’s official X account reported just before 12:30 p.m. that UP Express service had resumed, though wait times may be longer than normal.
Trains on the Milton and Richmond Hill lines were temporarily on time while repairs were underway, but as of 2:20 p.m., all GO train lines are reporting significant delays.
Train signalling systems work in a similar way to traffic signals and help rail transit run safely, according to Jeff Casello, a professor of transportation planning and engineering at the University of Waterloo.
“It prevents one train from moving into a space of the track where there might be another train. It prevents collisions,” he said.
If one train gets stuck, it can cause a block in the rail network and affect other routes, he said.
Uber prices for riders coming into the city were surging on the app Monday morning, at the same time that repairs are delaying trains.
Commuters who had to transfer to the subway to make it to Union Station told CBC Toronto their usual Monday morning trip was more than twice as long as usual.
“Great start to a Monday,” said Kris Pathmanathan, who was travelling downtown from Scarborough. He said his usual 20-minute commute became an hour-and-a-half slog.
Jenil Patel said he was returning to the office full-time this week, but only made it one stop from Agincourt GO to Kennedy Station. He said he was an hour late for work because of the delays.
“Of course that’s what happened.”
Bianca Salazar, another commuter, said the disruption made her about two hours late to work.
She said she boarded the GO train from Mount Pleasant to Union Station but, when the delays were announced at Weston Station, she shared an Uber with three strangers to Jane Station and took the TTC to work.
“It’s my first day back from mat leave after a year off,” she told CBC News. “So it’s been a really eventful day for my first day back.”
