Subway service resumes at 3 west-end stations affected by Thursday’s Line 2 fire

Subway service has resumed at three of five west-end stations affected by a fire on Thursday afternoon.

The TTC says service on Line 2 between Islington and Jane stations resumed on Saturday following extensive repairs to critical electrical systems they say are necessary to operate trains safely. Shuttle buses remain in use between Islington and Kipling stations as the repairs continue.

“The TTC apologizes for the ongoing inconvenience experienced by customers during this service disruption,” the agency said in an update on Saturday. “The transit agency also extends its gratitude to all TTC employees and contractors who have worked throughout the weekend in inclement weather to help make repairs and restore service as quickly as possible along the affected portion of Line 2.”

The TTC provided no timeline on when service would be fully restored. They indicated Friday that the suspension would be in place all weekend and possibly spill into the start of next week.

A fire at track level near Islington Station suspended service on Line 2 just before 4 p.m. on Thursday.

“When we got in to investigate, we found that it was severely damaged. So that really meant once that was damaged that we were unable to run service,” TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said. “It was a lot of cabling that was in there that was damaged and melted together and fused.”

A source tells 680 NewsRadio Toronto that the fire was deliberately set. However, a police spokesperson said they are not treating this incident as suspicious and are not actively investigating.

Green tells CityNews it’s unclear how the fire started and the cause is still under investigation.

“The investigation will look at external factors – was it deliberately set – as well as internal things, was there a short or something in our system.”

Transit officials say a planned closure of Line 1 between Davisville and York Mills stations has been rescheduled to a later date in order to ensure that all available resources are focused on restoring service on Line 2.

“The TTC is assuring customers that all available resources have been mobilized to expedite repairs on the complex systems affected by the incident,” the transit agency said in a statement late Friday. “Dedicated crews are working around-the-clock to address the damage and make necessary repairs to ensure the resumption of normal subway operations along the affected portion of Line 2.”

The TTC says there are several other travel options for commuters to consider such as the Lakeshore West GO train and the UP Express.

Files from Meredith Bond and Lucas Casaletto were used in this report