Lack of Screws Led to Metrolinx Derailment
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
TORONTO - An investigation found a lack of track screws led to the derailment of a Metrolinx GO Train earlier this month.
On February 2, a Metrolinx GO train derailed near Union Station, leading to “days-long disruptions,” according to CBC. The back of the train came off the rails and hit a track switch, damaging some signaling infrastructure. Service was altered for the rest of the week as a result, namely four platforms at Union Station that had to be repaired.
According to the report, an investigation into the cause of the derailment showed missing and damaged track screws had led to the incident. Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay reportedly said, “These lag screws should be fastened by four screws in the plate. At this particular location they were fastened by two.”
In 2016, track standards were updated. The report says the lack of screws “was allowed to continue over the last decade despite ‘numerous’ inspections by Metrolinx and the Toronto Terminals Railway (TTR).” Because of the lack of screws, the track shifted three centimeters, resulting in the GO train derailment.
As a result, inspections of other areas were conducted to find other possible instances of “noncompliance,” in which there were “one or two.” Now, CEO Lindsay says Metrolinx is currently investigating its own inspection process to figure out how these issues continued.
Lindsay continued, “We will use this particular incident to think about protocols of communication at Union Station if for some remote reason an incident like this occurred again.”
