For TTC subway riders on Lines 1 and 2, infrastructure-related issues have certainly made for longer commutes in recent weeks.
“It’s very frustrating. In fact, it’s only been in the last few weeks that the trains have slowed down. I live right next to a slow zone and have been late many times,” said Shelar, executive director of the advocacy group. Pidgey-Allen says. TTC riderhe said on Thursday.
“Riders are so frustrated. To be honest…alarm bells are ringing. Why are there so many sections on the TTC track? [under] Is your order slow? ”
Recent TTC staff announced After identifying unspecified maintenance issues with track infrastructure, the company said it has introduced more than a dozen deceleration zones across its network.
Messages posted in TTC Service Alert X Account The travel time will be longer than usual. For example, travel times could increase by up to five minutes between Union Station and Finch Station, and Kipling Station and St. George Station, staff said.
As of February 15, there were low speed orders in some of the following areas of Line 1 Young University:
- Both directions between College Station and Wellesley Station
- Both directions between Spadina Station and St. George Station
- North between Highway 407 Station and Vaughan Metropolitan Center Station
- Northbound between Union Station and King Station
- Northbound, between Bloor and Rosedale stations
- Heading north between Summerhill Station and Davisville Station
- Northbound between Lawrence and Shepard-Young stations
- Northbound between North York Center Station and Finch Station
- Southbound between St. Andrew Station and Union Station
- Southbound between Davisville and St. Clair stations
The low speed commands for Line 2 Bloor-Danforth are:
- Both directions between Royal York and Jane stations
- Westbound between Lansdowne and Dundas West stations
- Eastbound between Castle Frank and Chester stations
- Eastbound between Victoria Park and Woden stations
Pizzey-Allen said delays could worsen travel times for commuters who need to transfer to connecting buses, trams and subways.
“Long-term trips mean much more travel time, but if you don’t plan ahead and leave home early for work or school, you might miss your connection,” she says. .
“Sometimes it just creeps along the tracks and you never know.”
CityNews canvassed along Line 1 on Thursday to see first-hand how travel times will be affected. Around noon, the train was heading south from Rosedale to Bloor, reaching speeds of about 42 km/h. However, after a few minutes, the train heading north from Bloor to Rosedale, one of the identified low-speed zones, reached a maximum speed of about 11 km/h.
TTC Deputy CEO Bruce MacGregor told CityNews that precautionary measures have been taken since an annual geometric survey of the subway system’s tracks identified multiple issues in late January. He admitted that he was being treated.
“There were a number of areas in our system that needed repair and needed attention,” he said.
“The first thing we do is perform an abundance of caution and assess the extent of repairs while reducing speed and keeping safety first.”
Staff also noted that visual inspections of trucks are conducted every 72 hours.
In an update released on Thursday afternoon, Mr McGregor said two-thirds of the distances with speed limits were expected to be lifted by the end of the day. Trains will be allowed to return to full speed on these sections.
City News asked about the large number of deceleration zones suddenly put in place and whether the TTC has enough equipment and personnel to quickly address all issues.
“This is our business and it’s the nature of our business to do this 24/7. So we have the parts and the people on hand to do this,” McGregor said.
“We apologize for the delay and assure them.” [passengers] that we are working on it. ”
As for the remaining affected lines, MacGregor said train service will be slow on those sections until sometime in March.
Meanwhile, Ms Pidgey-Allen called for greater transparency in the disclosure of reported issues.She noted concerns raised on certain issues consultant report After the Scarborough RT train derailment on Line 3 in 2023, we talked about track management and ensuring adequate personnel resources.
As of Thursday, TTC staff had not provided a detailed breakdown of the exact cause of each speed reduction zone.
Pidgey-Allen also said there should be a stronger message on the issue. During an investigation of the TTC’s online information platform, the transit agency’s X-feed contained a message. His website for the TTC also has a slow zone page, but nothing was noted on the home page or on his real-time service alerts. The spokesperson later added that information about order delays had been published in two weekly email newsletters.
“If a slower order is needed for safety, then of course we support that,” she said.
“But we expect to hear when these slow orders will be lifted and the story behind them. Are there any safety concerns? Are there any issues with good repair? ”