Toronto Transit Commission incidents

Shuttle buses are often deployed to replace service during an emergency subway closure that is expected to last more than 15 minutes

Bloor–Yonge Station during a service disruption on the Yonge line.

This article lists incidents of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) since 1954.

Accidents and other incidents

20th century

• On 27 March 1963, a six-car subway train was completely destroyed by fire. This occurred on a spare track near Union station, after the few remaining passengers were evacuated.^[1]
• On 12 December 1975, a TTC bus travelling east on St. Clair Avenue collided with a westbound GO Transit train at the level crossing between Danforth Road and Midland Avenue just north of the Scarborough GO Train Station. Nine people were killed and 20 others injured. This was the worst accident in terms of loss of life in the history of the TTC and GO Transit systems. The level crossing was replaced by an overpass a few years later. This also led to the Ontario-wide law that all public buses and school buses must come to a stop at level rail crossings prior to proceeding.
• On 15 October 1976, an arson destroyed a train and caused significant damage to Christie station. There is evidence today with the odd-coloured trim tiles on the station walls on the centre of the platforms.^[2][3] A section of the line was closed for two days.
• On 11 August 1995, the Russell Hill subway accident resulted in the deaths of three passengers and injuries to 30 others. There were an additional 100 passengers who filed injury-related claims from the accident.
• In late 1995, TTC employee Jimmy Trajceski was killed during a robbery at Victoria Park station. Adrian Kinkead was arrested four months later for the crime and was found to be responsible for two other murders. He was convicted of all three crimes and sentenced to life in prison.^[4]
• On 27 September 1997, 23-year-old Charlene Minkowski was killed when she was pushed in front of a southbound train at Dundas Station. Herbert Cheong, a diagnosed schizophrenic, was convicted of second-degree murder and ^[5] sentenced life in prison with no possibility of parole for 15 years.^[6]
• Between 2 and 4 January 1999, an exceptionally large snowstorm paralyzed parts of Central Ontario and the Eastern United States. As a result, the city and the transit system ground to a halt. In the following days, major interruptions and delays were incurred and policies to handle snow at the Commission were changed.^[7]

21st century

• On 8 December 2000, a garbage train caught fire while en route through Old Mill station. The train was completely destroyed and the station remained closed for two days. Since the incident, the TTC has stopped the practice of using garbage trains and maintains a fleet of surface garbage trucks to collect refuse.^[8]
• On 14 August 2003, at around 4:15 p.m. EDT, the Northeast Blackout affected parts of Canada and the northeastern United States. The city of Toronto, like many other cities involved, effectively ground to a halt. Subway service was suspended and 18 trains sat stuck in tunnels between stations, unable to move with no power. However, all other trains were able to coast without power to the nearest station to be evacuated.^[9] Streetcars remained stationary where they were, and buses fought to get through gridlocked traffic, hampered by the lack of traffic signals. The subway did not reopen until August 18. This was the longest complete interruption in subway service in the history of the TTC. The incident led to an extensive review of TTC emergency procedures.
• On 6 February 2006, Mary Kim was born on a subway train at Wellesley Station. TTC officials promised Mary Kim lifetime access to the TTC.^[10]
• On 23 April 2007, a TTC asbestos removal crew employee, Tony Almeida, was killed and several others were injured at the end of a night shift when the work car they were operating snagged on some cabling and dislodged a work platform. The TTC was fined $250,000 for violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act.^[11][12] It was later found that Almeida was under the influence of cannabis.^[13]
• On May 13, 2011, two TTC buses collided head-on at a ramp on the lower bus level at Wilson subway station.
• On 30 August 2011, a woman was killed when a TTC bus rear-ended a flatbed truck carrying a crane at around 2:30 p.m. on Lawrence Avenue between Victoria Park Ave. and Don Mills.^[14] At least 13 other people were injured in the crash.^[15][16][17] The bus driver was charged with criminal negligence causing death and possession of cannabis, as the drug was found in his belongings at the time of the accident.^[18][19][20]
• On 22 July 2012, two people were injured when a bus crashed into a building on Queen Street West at Peter Street. The bus hit a car and then a cab before slamming into the building.^[21][22]
• On 14 September 2012, before the start of service TTC employee, Peter Pavlovski was killed and another TTC employee was seriously injured after being struck by a subway maintenance train north of Yorkdale Station. Subway service was affected for the morning rush hour during the investigation because the incident left many trains stranded in the Wilson Subway Yard.^[23]
• On 27 July 2013, Sammy Yatim was shot dead by police aboard the 505 Dundas streetcar.
• On 13 August 2013, a cube truck crashed head-on into an idle TTC bus near Middlefield Rd. and Steeles Ave. E. at 11:30 am. The accident killed one person and injured 12 people.^[24]
• On 13 December 2013, the Toronto Police were called at Queen Station after gunshots were fired. The station was closed and subway service was suspended in the affected area during the investigation between 13 and 14 December 2013.
• Between 21 and 22 December 2013, a violent ice storm affected the City of Toronto (which also affected much of Eastern Canada, the Central Great Plains and the Northeastern United States). On 22 December, the TTC suspended all streetcar services for most of the day after a number of streetcars were stranded due to the thick ice on the overhead wires. The storm also affected much of the TTC's subway network. Between 22 and 23 December, all of Line 3 Scarborough was shut down by fallen tree limbs caused by the freezing rain and by other power related issues. Line 4 Sheppard was closed between 22 and 24 December due to power related issues, a number of service disruptions were also reported on TTC's other major subway lines, including Line 1 Yonge–University and Line 2 Bloor–Danforth, where some stations were closed due to power outages for several hours.^[25]
• On 29 January 2015, a brawl occurred at the concourse level of the Union subway station just after a Toronto Maple Leafs game. Two TTC Transit Enforcement Unit officers punched one man in the face several times and another man in the ribs during the altercation.^[26][27]
• On 8 June 2015, between 6:30 am and 8:00 am, the entire subway network was shut down due to "major communication issues" between TTC subway trains and the TTC's transit control centre. Hundreds of thousands of commuters were stranded during the shutdown since no shuttle buses were provided to replace subway service. TTC officials believed the incident was caused by a defective switch which drained the battery for the backup power supply.^[28]

Suicides

The TTC has long maintained a policy of not releasing suicide information and statistics to the public or the media for fear of the possibility of "copycat suicides". In 2008, the Toronto Sun launched a year-long appeal before Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner to have the TTC release information on the number of suicides and attempts between 1998 and 2007. The Information and Privacy Commissioner ordered the statistics be made available, and they were released to the public on 26 November 2009.^[29]

From 1998 to 2007, 150 people died committing suicide by coming into contact with a TTC subway train. Since 1954, when the Yonge subway line first opened, there have been more than 1,200 incidents on the TTC (including both fatalities and attempts).^[30]

After being forced to make the information public the TTC ensured that it also released information demonstrating the efforts being taken to intervene and prevent such incidents in the future.^[31] The TTC's "Gatekeeper Program" is an internal course available for front line staff to learn and identify the warning signs of someone who may be suicidal, and help them or try to prevent them from doing so on the transit system. The TTC also has partnerships with St. Michael's Hospital and other institutions to assist with both prevention programs and counselling programs for staff who have witnessed such incidents.^[32] The TTC maintains that it will continue its policy of not reporting suicides and suicide-related statistics,^[29] however in February 2010, statistics from 2008 and 2009 were released in a public report to the Commission regarding suicide and suicide prevention.^[33] On November 10, 2014, separate suicide attempts were made, halting service on two lines. Following this, platform screen doors were discussed, however the TTC does not yet have a plan for funding the $800 million required to upgrade all 74 subway stations.^[34]

Statistics

The below statistics are the subway suicide incidents and attempts from 1998 through 2016:^[35]

♦ Data obtained from Toronto Transit Commission Report that does not distinguish between attempted and completed suicides.

References

Toronto Transit Commission
Bus	Blue Night Network Fleet Routes Wheel-Trans York University Busway
Subway	Yonge–University  Bloor–Danforth  Scarborough  Sheppard  Eglinton Rolling stock Stations Signals
Streetcars	501 Queen 502 Downtowner 503 Kingston Rd 504 King 505 Dundas 506 Carlton 509 Harbourfront 510 Spadina 511 Bathurst 512 St. Clair 514 Cherry Rolling stock Loops
History	Incidents Queen subway line Eglinton West line Network 2011 Gray Coach 1995 Russell Hill subway accident 2006 strike 2008 strike 508 Lake Shore 521 Exhibition East 522 Exhibition West Transit City
Predecessors	Williams Omnibus Bus Line (1849-1862) Toronto Street Railway (1861–1891) Toronto Railway Company (1891–1921) Toronto and York Radial Railway (1898–1922) Metropolitan Street Railway (1885-1897) Toronto Civic Railways (1912–1921) Hydro Electric Railways (1922-1927) Toronto Transportation Commission (1921-1953)
Facilities	Bus garages Davisville Yard Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility Greenwood Yard Hillcrest Complex Leslie Barns McCowan Yard Roncesvalles Carhouse Russell Carhouse Toronto Coach Terminal Vincent Yard William McBrien Building Wilson Yard
Proposed	Finch West LRT Jane LRT Relief Line Sheppard East LRT Waterfront West LRT
Miscellaneous	Accessibility Fares Metrolinx The Big Move Personnel Font Trackage Transit Enforcement Unit
Italics indicate a project under construction