Toronto work week starts with a TTC outage and a miserable commute
Toronto commuters are facing a rough start to the week with, you guessed it, another unplanned TTC subway outage.
Line 1 subway trains came to a halt just after 6 a.m. on Monday, replacing service between Lawrence and Eglinton stations with dreaded shuttle buses on Yonge Street. And it's creating commuter chaos to kick off the last week of April.
An early morning fire in the midtown area could be the cause of the mayhem, Toronto Police reporting a fire at Yonge and Roehampton, just north of Eglinton subway station, at 6:02 a.m., warning that people should "expect delays in the area."
FIRE:
— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) April 25, 2022
Yonge St + Roehampton Ave
6:02 am
- reports of a fire
- @Toronto_Fire attending
- police responding
- unknown injuries
- expect delays in the area
- consider alternate routes#GO765725
^ep2
Minutes later, the TTC reported that trains are not in service between Eglinton and Lawrence while the transit agency fixes a mechanical problem, adding that shuttle buses had been deployed.
Line 1 Yonge-University: No service between Eglinton and Lawrence while we fix a mechanical problem. Shuttle buses are running between Eglinton and Lawrence. https://t.co/aypSMscCNc
— TTC Service Alerts (@TTCnotices) April 25, 2022
But long lines queueing to board shuttle buses only grew as rush hour arrived, with one local claiming that he witnessed "probably 400 people on the sidewalk."
Area resident Martin Partridge tells blogTO that while he was waiting to board a shuttle bus, the line "stretched down Lawrence, up Yonge, and into the station up to the turnstiles," adding that the problem intensified with the arrival of every southbound train at Lawrence.
@CityMelanie on @TTCnotices @TTChelps shuttle to Eglinton Station
— Alexandra (@scrappydoo6) April 25, 2022
Lawrence is the usual mess waiting for shuttle service, just started walking @breakfasttv
Overflowing crowds and a lack of shuttle buses on the route had some walking the two kilometres south from Lawrence Station to catch a southbound train at Eglinton.
I walked to Eglinton from Lawrence only to be told this and your TTC employees don’t know what’s going on. And surprise, not enough buses so I’ll keep walking south. Why are my monthly passes so high again?
— Mireille Landry (@exercisephysio) April 25, 2022
But those who walked without checking status updates on their phones were given an unpleasant surprise when the outage had been extended to St. Clair just before 8 a.m.
Line 1 Yonge-University: No service between St Clair and Lawrence while we fix a mechanical problem. Shuttle buses are running between St Clair and Lawrence. https://t.co/7QDjzMkcLm
— TTC Service Alerts (@TTCnotices) April 25, 2022
One rider at St. Clair reported at 8:17 a.m. that no shuttle bus had arrived yet, and additional northbound trains were adding to long lines every minute.
@ St Clair, there have been 0 shuttle buses. More trains arriving. No staff directing people where to go. It’s an absolute mess here.
— JAWN • ə • thən (@jprast1) April 25, 2022
UPDATE: As of 9:15 a.m, the outage has been resolved, and trains are once again operating.
Martin Partridge
