Subway service on one stretch of the TTC’s Line 2 is up and running but remains halted on another, the TTC said on Friday.
The transit agency says on X, formerly Twitter, that regular service has resumed between St George and Woodbine stations following a police investigation.
Nearly 80 shuttle buses will continue to run along that stretch of Danforth Avenue to deal with crowds as service comes back online, according to the TTC.
There is no service between Kipling, Islington, Royal York, Old Mill and Jane stations as crews work to repair communications cables badly damaged by a fire, however. Service on that stretch is expected to remain suspended throughout the weekend and possibly into Monday.
“This has been a trying day for TTC Line 2 customers and we sincerely apologize,” the agency said in a statement.
Between 40 and 60 shuttle buses will be operating along Bloor Street in place of subway cars but significant delays are expected throughout the day. Commuters can alternatively use a TTC fare to take GO’s Lakeshore West line to downtown.
Fire caused 1st problem
The first issue to rear its head on Line 2 happened when a fire broke out along a track-level fence at Islington Station around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, according to TTC spokesperson Stuart Green, and eventually spread to adjacent subway infrastructure.
The blaze severely damaged a signalling box and a number of cables that enable communication between trains and the control centre, Green said. TTC crews are still working alongside police and firefighters to determine how it started, he added.
A portion of the TTC’s Bloor-Danforth line is suspended between Kipling and Jane due to a fire Thursday near Islington Station. As CBC’s Ali Chiasson reports, the closures could last several days, as crews investigate the cause of the fire and work to repair service
Green was unable to say when regular service might resume on that length of Line 2.
“It’s really going to depend on what we find when we start looking into that cable box. As I say, it was quite heavily damaged by the fire and a lot of things melted in there. We need to get in there and and take those things apart and really look at what’s damaged, what needs replacing,” he said.
“We don’t have a timeline on that just yet. It could be a few days.”
Green said there is a chance that the length of the closure could be reduced to include only Kipling and Islington, but it’s not yet clear if that will be feasible.
Police investigation caused 2nd problem
A police investigation at Sherbourne station prompted the closure between St George and Woodbine stations. Sherbourne station is now open.
Police said they were called about a man assaulting a woman on the subway platform, and when officers arrived, the man tried to run and jumped on the tracks.
The man was later taken to hospital, police said. Toronto EMS confirmed paramedics transported one person to hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said the man has been medically cleared and is now in police custody.
The province’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, was involved in that investigation as well but has since cleared the station, the TTC said.
The TTC said Line 2 is closed between St. George and Woodbine because they are the only stations where trains can turn back to avoid Sherbourne station.