UP Express trains resume service one day after entire fleet pulled from service

UP Express down to only 2 working trains: sources Sources tell CTV News Toronto that 14 of 18 UP Express trains are out of service after thermal cracks were found in vehicle brake discs.

The UP Express has resumed service between Union Station in downtown Toronto and Pearson International Airport after pulling its entire fleet from service on Saturday due to cracks found in brake discs.

Metrolinx said in a statement issued Saturday evening that the UP Express, which connects the airport with the major downtown rail hub, will resume 30-minute service between the two sites while making all stops beginning Sunday at 6 a.m

On Friday, most of the fleet servicing the UP Express had been removed from operation after thermal cracks were discovered in the vehicle brake discs, according to the maintenance and operators’ union, leaving Metrolinx with only four train cars in service for the rail link connecting Pearson International Airport to downtown Toronto.

”Over the course of regular inspections this past weekend, our team discovered hairline cracks in the brake discs on some of our UP Express trains,” Metrolinx said in an emailed statement to CTV News Toronto.

“In the interest of safety, we immediately removed the affected trains from service and proactively inspected the rest of our fleet.”

At the time, Metrolinx was adamant the four remaining trains had all passed safety inspections. By 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, they had also been pulled from service.

The UP Express says it has now “made some necessary repairs” to its trains.

With files from CTV News Toronto's Andrew Brennan