Riders call for better subway safety after woman pushed onto TTC tracks
Posted April 18, 2022 7:04 pm.
Last Updated April 19, 2022 12:39 pm.
A woman’s near-death experience after being pushed in front of a TTC train on the weekend has renewed calls for safety barriers to be installed at the edge of all subway platforms.
But the request comes with a $1.23-billion price tag.
“There’s a lot of excitement around [the new subway line]. There’s not the same excitement for investing in the infrastructure upgrades and maintenance that we need to maintain a safe and accessible transit system,” said Shelagh Pizey-Allen with the transit advocacy group TTCriders.
Toronto has long considered the protective doors, which separate platforms from the track until trains arrive. But the devices are not included in the TTC’s 15-year capital plan. Pizey-Allen told CityNews only $12 billion of the $37-billion, multi-year capital plan has been secured so far.
“That’s what this is really about. We need to see stable funding for the TTC from all levels of government.”
RELATED: Suspect wanted for attempted murder after woman pushed on tracks at Yonge subway station
TTC spokesperson Stuart Green told CityNews stations would need to operate on the new automatic train control system.
“The doors on the train need to line up with the doors on the platform, and the only way that happens is with the automatic train control systems that stop them at the same position every time,” he said.
While most of Line 1 has been upgraded with automatic train control and a study for Line 2 is currently underway, Green noted retrofitting all of the existing platforms would be a massive undertaking.
“It means in some cases we’re going to have to operate on a single track or shut down stations entirely to do those retrofits,” he said.
Pizey-Allen acknowledged retrofitting is a bit tricky.
“But there are a number of new subway stations being built right now in Toronto for the Ontario Line and for the Scarborough subway extension,” she said. “One question we have is are platform-edge doors being included right from the get-go?”
With files from Shauna Hunt
