ttc subway outage

TTC descends into rush hour chaos after fires shut down two subway lines

Fires shut down two separate TTC subway lines on Tuesday morning, creating chaotic commuting conditions across the transit network.

The morning was off to a rough start for commuters after a fire shuttered a stretch of Line 1 just before 7:20 a.m., halting subway service between Eglinton and St. Clair stations.

The TTC's Stuart Green tells blogTO that the fire was electrical in nature, occurring on the southbound tracks at Davisville station.

Green says that 20 shuttle buses were deployed to cover the outage along Line 1 from Eglinton and St Clair, however, the replacement service did not stop complaints from rolling in.

Line 1 service resumed roughly an hour after the outage began, though only minutes after trains began to roll along Yonge, service ground to a halt on Line 2 several kilometres away due to yet another fire.

The midtown subway outage drew some complaints, but the response to the Line 2 outage announced just after 8:30 a.m. triggered a flood of outrage from passengers left out on the streets waiting for shuttle buses to arrive.

Passengers complained of waits exceeding 30 minutes with no shuttle buses to speak of.

The frequency of fires — two shutting down separate lines an hour apart — is certainly worth exploring.

Service resumed between Keele and St. George stations just after 9 a.m., however, the TTC notes that the route is still experiencing 'major delays' following the outage.

Tuesday's chaos comes days after a TTC Line 3 train derailed, resulting in what is now expected to be a closure lasting several weeks.

The line is scheduled to close for good in November to accommodate construction of the Scarborough Subway Extension.

Lead photo by

@analysiswith_AR


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