TORONTO – Kevin Bracken is hoping his wife will forgive him for insisting the couple take the new Union Pearson Express Train.
He said the trip, which is supposed to take about 25 minutes, took more than an hour due to a switch malfunction before the couple finally gave up and took an Uber home.
“I insisted very strongly that we take it this time even though she just wanted to take a bus and the subway like we always do,” the 28-year-old software company owner who splits his time between Toronto and New York City said.
“I feel like I owe her dinner at least.”
Bracken said that just a few minutes into his trip from the airport back downtown, the train sat at a red light signal for close to 45 minutes.
“I really wanted to like it, I’m a big proponent for transit expansion in Toronto and I was hoping that this would be a really easy way to get to the airport but I think I’m probably going to stick to the subway,” he said.
“I hope this doesn’t happen during the Pan Am Games, it seems like it would be kind of embarrassing.”
But Metrolinx spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikens said that like every train, delays can and will happen.
“Unfortunately every rail system can have switch issues and this had a switch issue. It was resolved pretty quickly but it impacted that train so it was delayed for sure,” she said.
“It didn’t have a long term impact on service other than this one particular train was certainly delayed. It’s usually a 25 minute trip and it looked like it was over 60 minutes.”
Aikens added that it’s possible for a train to go through a malfunctioning switch, but the company’s policy doesn’t allow that for safety reasons.
“We don’t ever compromise safety because switches, if they’re not lined up correctly or we’re not getting an indication from the signal that they’re lined up correctly, can cause serious accidents,” she said.
“I’ve reached out to him myself that he should call our call centre to hopefully arrange a refund for him so he can give us a try again.”
Aikens said that despite the delay, more than 99 per cent of trains on the UPX line have been meeting the commitment of 20 to 25 minutes to the airport and she advises travellers, like with all modes of transportation, to give themselves a bit of extra time in case of unexpected delays.
Bracken said after finally making it home he was contacted by Aikens, who helped him to get a full refund.
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