Service on the Scarborough Rapid Transit train line in Toronto will be suspended indefinitely pending an investigation after several people were injured during a train derailment.
“As previously mentioned, Line 3 SRT will be replaced by dozens of buses for frequent service until it is safe for us to resume train service,” Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) said in a statement early Tuesday.
“External reviewers coming in to assist. But this could be several days at minimum so we have staff on scene to assist with options.”
Paramedics told Global News on Monday they took five people to hospital with minor injuries after a carriage detached from the train and derailed.
Toronto police said a Scarborough train derailed around Ellesmere Station after 7 p.m. Officers said both police and paramedics attended the scene.
The TTC initially said there was no service between Kennedy and McCowan stations while a mechanical problem was fixed on the line.
The TTC then explained the rear carriage had separated from the rest of a train along the route, also known as Line 3. Officials said the cause of the separation and derailment was not yet known.
Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop spoke to reporters at the scene.
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“Basically, the train flipped off the tracks and they were thrown inside when it happened, and our crews were able to assist them getting out and then deliver them to the care of paramedic services,” Jessop said.
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Approximately 20 to 30 other passengers from the remainder of the train were able to exit the train car themselves and walked down the tracks, Jessop said.
Rick Leary, TTC CEO, said in a statement on Monday he had ordered an “immediate review” of the incident that will use external expertise if required.
He said the Scarborough RT would be shut down and replaced by buses “until such time as we are confident it is safe to resume train service.”
Leary’s statement continued: “I know this will be an inconvenience to our customers, but it’s the right thing to do. We will share more information on this very serious incident with the public as soon as we know more.”
Forty-five people were evacuated from the train, according to the statement.
Paramedics initially told Global News six people were taken to hospital but later confirmed it was five.
According to the TTC’s website, Line 3 is a 6.4-kilometre intermediate capacity rapid transit line with six stations that opened in 1985, and that its trains have been in service 10 years past their design life.
The website says the line is scheduled for decommission in November and will be replaced by buses until the Scarborough Subway Extension is opened by the Province of Ontario in 2030.
Speaking at an unrelated press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his government believes in “supporting the people of Scarborough.”
“So we’re going to decommission that LRT and we’re building the Scarborough subway,” he said. “We have shovels in the ground, they’re tunnelling now.”
— with files from Global News’ Hannah Jackson and The Canadian Press
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