Flooding (and a little sewage) shuts down Yonge subway from Osgoode to Bloor
Dramatic flooding at Union Station has shut down the Yonge Street subway from Osgoode to Bloor stations. Apparently, the mixture of rainwater and sewage (ick!) is causing signal issues (also, there’s two feet of water inside the station and spreading into the PATH, which doesn’t make for a pleasant commute). The TTC’s website says buses are currently en route to shuttle passengers along the corridor, and that the flooding also has 510 Spadina and 509 Harbourfront streetcars turning back at the Spadino Loop. Thanks for nothing, rain. [Toronto Star]
Update: The TTC has confirmed that there will be no subway service between Osgoode and Bloor stations for the remainder of the evening rush hour; 104 shuttle buses are running between the stations in the meantime. The water has also blocked access to the Union GO Terminal through the PATH—head onto the platform from York or Bay (or just ask Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet for directions, as they appear to be down there).
I believe the reports are that storm sewers have overflowed. This is not the same as “sewage”, which is a completely separate system. There is no icky sewage problem at Union Station.
Except that in the old city of Toronto the sewage and storm drain systems are interconnected. During heavy rain events the sewage system spills over to the storm drain system. Hence the ick factor. In fact, during heavy rain events much of the sewage flows completely unfiltered directly into Lake Ontario.
wouldnt happen with light rail (: