Toronto's newest light rail line was destroyed by a winter storm on Boxing Day, disrupting service several times throughout the day as the city battled snow and hail.
Just after 7am on Friday the line was closed between Driftwood and Humber College stations due to debris on the line. A couple of hours later there were communication problems between Tobermory and Humber College.
At one point, around 10am, the entire line was closed and had to be replaced by shuttle buses due to “multiple switching problems” along its route.
At approximately 11 a.m., the TTS reported that service on the line had resumed.
However, it only took a couple of hours for the line to go down again. This time, a mechanical problem between Humber College and Martin Grove stations stopped train services, forcing replacement buses.
The problem was reported just before 2pm and spread to the entire line shortly after. The issue was reportedly resolved around 5 p.m.
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A TTC spokesman said there were problems with switching signals, a problem the line has faced before in cold weather. They suggested the city transit agency had few details about what went wrong.
“It is our understanding that there are switching issues that Metrolinx and their maintainer are responding to,” they told Global News. “That's all we know.”
The Finch West LRT opened in December to complaints about speed and technical problems. It was built by provincial transit agency contractor Metrolinx but is operated by the TTC.
This is the first new transport line to open in the city since the early 2000s. Concerns about the speed at which cars must pass through intersections and long waits at traffic lights have already led to a political push for signal priority and increased speeds.
The challenges also coincide with subfreezing temperatures and winter storms.
During testing last winter, Metrolinx found that problems with snow removal were causing trains to stop on the line. One official noted then that: if the line was open, customers would be stuck in transit.
Metrolinx said the issues were related to how the City of Toronto managed snow removal and that they would not be repeated this year.
The agency did not immediately respond to questions from Global News about the latest closure.
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