‘It was chaos’: Hundreds stranded on Toronto GO Train as delay spans hours

Transit riders voiced their collective frustration after hundreds of people were left stranded on a packed Lakeshore West GO Train late Friday with a delay spanning hours.

GO Transit first notified the public of a police investigation on track level just after midnight, which suspended service between Toronto’s Union Station and Mimico GO.

Just over an hour later, around 1:15 a.m., transit officials confirmed a fatality, noting the investigation near Exhibition GO was completed.

Parmjit says she lives in Mississauga and attended the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). She was one of many stuck on the train at the time of the investigation and tells CityNews that at midnight, she had received no information while on the train.

“We reached Port Credit station at 3 a.m. for what should have been a routine 30-minute ride,” Parmjit said.

Hours later, shortly after 2 a.m., and despite officials announcing that the investigation had been completed, Parmjit said the train still wasn’t moving, that people remained stranded, and that some were suffering from medical episodes.

“One man near our coach was lying on the ground and visibly uncomfortable,” she said.

The woman, who was at TIFF with her husband, says she understands the tragic circumstances and noted how poorly she felt the updates were communicated to everyone on board.

“It was unbelievable how little information was provided to us,” Parmjit said. “Someone came on telling us we would get moving in three minutes. Those three minutes turned into hours. I couldn’t believe it.”

Another person voiced their displeasure on Twitter, claiming not to have received any updates for three hours.

“There was no reason we couldn’t have been safely escorted off the train within the first hour [of the delay].”

Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins tells CityNews it wouldn’t have been possible to escort people off the train due to where it had stopped. She confirms the death happened on track level, just west of Exhibition GO, and elaborated on how it took crews some time to clear the scene.

Crowds were more prominent on Friday due to events in the city, notably the Rolling Loud concert, which has multiple venues, including Echo Beach and Ontario Place. Metrolinx says as many as 1,500 people were at Exhibition GO around 11 p.m., and the train was at total capacity.

The train had barely left the station when it was forced to stop due to the fatality investigation. Aikins said transit officials reported that many people were intoxicated, making some riders uncomfortable.

One GO Train rider, who asked not to be named, tells CityNews they witnessed two people urinating in their coach during the delay. Other passengers say they saw people smoking marijuana and were trying to unsafely force themselves off by prying open the doors.

Some people called 911, demanding they be let off the train and urged transit officials to send GO buses.

“Because of where the train had stopped and a large number of people on the train at that time, it would have been impossible to send buses to that area of the tracks,” Aikins said.

Parmjit says she didn’t notice anyone inebriated where she was sitting, speaking to how composed everyone was given the tumultuous situation.

“They were true Canadians in that they were unbelievably patient. We all sat there for hours waiting for what would come next.”

Medical episodes, including seizure, reported on train

People claiming to have been on the train during the lengthy delay have reached out to CityNews with various allegations, ranging from passengers not being offered water and people laying on the ground in distress.

According to a news tip, one passenger suffered a seizure when the train was immobile, alleging that it took medical staff onboard over 15 minutes to respond.

Aikins confirms that someone on the train suffered a seizure, admitting that medical personnel struggled to respond due to the emergency alarms going off every five minutes from others wanting to get off the train.

In response to the allegations that bottled water was not provided to passengers, Metrolinx spokesperson Suniya Kukaswadia says it would be challenging to supply personal care to all 1,500 people onboard the train at the time.

“We also did not have ready access to that many water bottles,” Kukaswadia said.

“However, following every serious incident, staff conducts a thorough review of all actions implemented to determine any lessons learned.”

Another woman on the Lakeshore West GO Train at the time of the delay says she didn’t make it home until 4 a.m. after getting on the 10:55 p.m. train at Union Station.

“People are sick, people needed water, and it took four hours to get us [going],” the woman tweeted.

One GO Train rider subjected to the long wait tells CityNews passengers were removed from two separate trains, and by the third time, a majority of people were “angry and decided to spend more money on an Uber.”

Kukaswadia says that once the train was released, crews determined several doors had been opened by customers and needed to be secured before the train could operate and proceed.

“We appreciate our customers’ patience during a difficult time. All feedback from customers will be reviewed.”

Lack of communication an issue, GO Train passengers say

Another Twitter user, who claimed to be on the train, said announcements were few and far between.

“Especially during the last hour after the investigation was concluded,” she said online. “Our car was patient, but lack of info and crowding made everyone frustrated.”

Kukaswadia says it can take time for the site to be updated with information about impacted transit trips, thus resulting in longer delays than anticipated.

“Safety is our top priority,” Kukaswadia said. “Emergency personnel were on scene, and we worked with them to get passengers moving as soon as it was safe to do so.”

Parmjit says she and her husband, along with others who sat nearby, agreed that more consistent updates would have been appreciated.

“We knew that it was likely going to take some time, but that wasn’t properly explained to anyone on board,” she said.

“I can see why some were actively trying to get off the train. The only updates I got were from the news and traffic, which I can appreciate.”

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