‘Massive inconvenience’: TTC CEO apologizes after work car fire at busy station wreaks havoc on morning commute

A Toronto Transit Commission sign is shown at a downtown Toronto subway stop Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) CEO Mandeep Lali is apologizing to customers after a fire on a work car shut down service at Canada’s busiest subway station Tuesday morning, and he’s promising to take another look at the TTC’s work fleet.

“As the busiest hub on our subway system, I recognize the massive inconvenience this posed to our customers and for that I apologize,” Lali said in a statement Tuesday.

The fire broke out at Bloor-Yonge Station sometime before 5:30 a.m. According to Toronto Fire, one of the TTC’s repair cars caught fire at the eastbound platform of the busy station.

TTC crews managed to put out most of the blaze before firefighters arrived on scene, Toronto Fire said. Crews then worked to clear smoke from the station.

No injuries were reported.

Because of the fire, Line 1 trains were not stopping at the station for nearly two hours, with shuttle buses running between Rosedale and Wellesley stations.

On Line 2, service was shut down between St George and Broadview stations because of the fire. The TTC said customers would also experience wait times of up to 10 minutes between Kipling and St George stations.

By around 7:30 a.m., the TTC said regular service had resumed.

“While we don’t know exactly what caused this malfunction at this stage, I have asked the team to get me a full and detailed explanation as soon as possible so we can try to prevent this from happening again,” Lali said.

“Given some of the recent issues with work cars over the past two years, we introduced a comprehensive inspection process for that fleet. In view of this incident, I am asking for a further review of that program.”

Lali thanked TTC and fire crews for their help, as well as customers for their “patience and understanding.”