Toronto Transit Commission workers inspect the rail line after a train stopped in the morning rush hour just outside of Kipling Station in Etobicoke.Deborah Baic
Dozens of passengers had to be taken off a Toronto subway and walked to the nearest station after staff thought the train had derailed.
The incident in the tail-end of the morning rush hour came amid signal problems at the western end of the Bloor-Danforth subway line. Trains were being manually signalled through the area when a TTC staff member believed one train had left the tracks.
It's not clear how the staffer reached that conclusion, said TTC spokesman Danny Nicholson, but it prompted transit staff and fire officials to respond. The transit service shut down power on the third rail and passengers were removed from the train.
"They had to walk about a train-length to the station, they went back to Kipling," Mr. Nicholson said. That stretch of track is not in a tunnel.
There were no injuries reported. Shuttle buses were put on to bridge the gap while the subway was out of operation in the area. Once the train was recognized not to have derailed, regular operations began to resume. Mr. Nicholson said that service was back to normal about an hour after the incident was reported
The incident caps a frustrating week for commuters and the TTC. A weekend storm played havoc with many surface routes and a series of problems on Monday sparked a detailed explanation and apology from TTC CEO Andy Byford.
Oliver Moore