Saturday night's commute on the TTC quickly descended into chaos after service was halted along four subway stations due to an "injury at track level," renewing discussions surrounding the installation of safety barriers at the edge of Toronto's subway platforms once again. 

At approximately 8 p.m., the transit agency announced that Line 1 Yonge-University service was temporarily paused from Lawrence and St Clair subway stations, with shuttle buses serving the route instead. 

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The TTC continued to regularly provide updates on the matter, informing customers that all surface routes were being redirected to Davisville subway station. 

Despite this, some customers alleged that not enough shuttle buses were deployed, causing a sizable crowd to form outside Lawrence subway station. 

No buses at Davisville and no one working there to tell ppl what to do

— daisy (@daisyronn) December 17, 2023

At approximately 9:40 p.m., the transit agency announced that regular service had finally resumed on the route. A TTC spokesperson told blogTO that the service suspension was the "result of someone in crisis being injured at track level." 

Uhmmm. What shuttle busses? We were kicked off the subway at st. Clair, and now we're all standing in the street waiting.

...and waiting.

...and waiting...

— Laurence Rose (@sarcasm0) December 17, 2023

Unfortunately, this isn't the only time this month that service throughout the transit network had to be halted due to an injury at track level.

On Sunday, service was paused between St George and Union subway stations under similar circumstances, and just one week earlier, service was suspended between Lawrence West and St George subway stations. 

These incidents have prompted the resurgence of discussions regarding the installation of safety barriers at TTC stations — a feature repeatedly called for by transit advocates such as TTCRiders. 

Long past time the TTC installed barriers like they have in many developed nations

— OGRapsfan (@dewdrock) December 17, 2023

While cities like Paris and Copenhagen have already implemented this design element, the TTC has only toyed with the idea in the past, with the feature only being employed on Toronto's UP Express and the terminal link train at Pearson Airport.

However, the inclusion of the safety feature is thankfully popping up more and more in the city's future transit projects, including the $1.5 billion overhaul of Bloor-Yonge Station, which includes a plan to install sliding gates along the Line 1 subway platform, as well as the under-construction Ontario Line.