GO Transit service disrupted by train derailment
GO Transit riders faced significant delays on Monday evening after a train derailed near Union Station in Toronto. The incident caused signal malfunctions, with disruptions continuing throughout the evening. Commuters are warned of potential impacts on schedules for Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.
- The derailment, which occurred shortly after 8:15 a.m. on Monday, involved the rear passenger car of a Kitchener-bound GO train. - According to a preliminary investigation by Metrolinx, the cause was the failure of rail fastenings on the south rail of depot track three. Lag screws at nine different locations sheared off due to fatigue, allowing the rail to move by just over an inch, which was enough to cause the derailment. - The investigation found that the track did not meet Metrolinx's standards, which were updated in 2016 to require four screws at each fastening location; the derailed section only had two. This issue had not been caught in previous inspections. - While the train was moving at a low speed and no injuries were reported, the incident had a significant impact on service. The derailment damaged a track switch and related signal infrastructure, taking four platforms at Union Station out of service for several days. - The incident occurred at what Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay described as the "worst possible place" in the network, a critical "hinge point" that severely hampered the movement of trains in and out of Union Station. - As a result of the widespread disruptions, Metrolinx announced that it would be proactively issuing refunds to passengers who traveled on February 2nd and 3rd, as well as for some trips on February 4th. - Full service on the affected GO lines was not expected to resume until the Saturday following the Monday morning derailment, as crews worked to repair the damaged track and signaling systems. - Following the identification of the track defect, crews inspected the entire Union Station rail corridor and found a few other sections with similar screw deficiencies, which were immediately rectified.
