ttc shutdown

TTC subway derailment destroys morning commute in Toronto

A large portion of Toronto's busy Yonge-University subway line has been shut down, according to TTC officials, just in time for the morning rush hour — and with no expected reopening time in sight.

The TTC announced around 5:45 a.m. that service had been suspended on Line 1 between St. Clair West and Union Stations due to a derailment at St. George.

"Please plan extra time on your morning commute today — we have a subway service suspension on a portion of Line 1," wrote the TTC's customer service account on Twitter just before 8 a.m.

"There will be additional customers using the Yonge side of Line 1, Line 2, and streetcar and bus routes between St Clair and Union Stations."

More than 80 shuttle buses have been sent out to transport passengers between Union and St. Clair West Stations, but they're filling up fast — as usual — leaving many unhappy commuters behind.

TTC passengers who've already paid for subway rides are being forced to leave stations and shell out even more cash for cabs and Uber or Lyft rides.

Customers are currently able to use GO Transit vehicles for the cost of a TTC fare, but this only helps those with routes that are also served by GO (read: a small portion of downtown commuters.)

And it's not only subway riders who are feeling the pinch — overflow from the shutdown Line 1 is also gumming up surface routes all over the city.

While the TTC maintains that it does not yet have an ETA for when the problem will be resolved, the transit agency expects this mass delay to be shorter than last month's now-infamous four-hour-long Line 2 shutdown.

"This is quite a different situation," said TTC spokesperson Kadeem Griffiths to CP24 of today's mess, explaining that the January 22 shutdown was caused by a partial train derailment.

Today's shutdown is believed to have been caused by the derailment of a TTC work car, which is much smaller than a regular subway train.

More than two hours into the delay, however, customers are skeptical... not to mention late for work.

Many simply can't get over the fact that this keeps happening at rush hour, when people rely on the subway more than ever to get around.

All of this, less than a month after one of the worst TTC delays Toronto has seen in years — and amidst an aggressive anti-fare evasion campaign that itself has been sparking outrage... and ahead of another fare increase.

Bad timing for the TTC.... just like a subway shut down is for commuters at rush hour. Ha.

Lead photo by

Cam Gordon


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