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Toronto streetcar, subway service fully restored after power outage

WATCH ABOVE: Streetcar and subway service has been fully restored following a hydro vault fire in downtown Toronto Tuesday morning. Cindy Pom reports – Mar 1, 2016

Streetcar and subway service has been fully restored following a hydro vault fire in downtown Toronto Tuesday morning.

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The 501 Queen, 504 King, 505 Dundas, 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina are now back up and running, the Toronto Transit Commission confirms.

Subway service has also resumed on the Yonge line.

A power outage caused by a hydro vault fire early Tuesday morning halted subway service on the Yonge line between Bloor and Osgoode Stations and several streetcar routes were disabled or diverted in the area.

Shuttle buses were operating to move riders along for the morning rush hour commute.

WATCH: TTC CEO Andy Byford reports on early morning subway service

“We’ve got shuttle buses, about 130 of them, running the entire length of the downtown U. So they’re operating from St. George, all around Union and up to Bloor and back,” said TTC spokesperson Mike DeToma.

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Toronto Mayor John Tory, who was briefed on the disruptions, was told subway service will resume by the afternoon rush hour.

READ MORE: Uber surge pricing in effect as Toronto struggles with subway, streetcar delays

TTC officials say the power issues are connected to a hydro vault fire on Richmond Street between Church and Victoria around 1 a.m. Tuesday.

“It’s knocked power out in the downtown core and obviously that has affected the TTC,” said DeToma.

The fire was extinguished quickly but hot spots remained an issue as it blocked transit crews from conducting repairs for several hours.

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TTC CEO Andy Byford said crews were allowed to enter the vault shortly after 8 a.m.

“They’ve already worked up a cable plan. We think they can splice the cables and they can effectively divert the power such that we can restore things and get things going again,” Byford said.

Byford said the outage is contained within the downtown core and won’t affect other portions of the subway and streetcar system.

Meanwhile, GO train service experienced increased ridership Tuesday morning as commuters opted to choose travel alternatives.

Riders were allowed to board a train for the price of a regular TTC fare.

Uber also saw a huge spike in demand for the ride-sharing service. So much so that surge pricing or “dynamic pricing” came into effect which bumped the price for a ride significantly.

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LIVEBLOG: Get the latest on the TTC service delays below.

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