Union Station back to normal after major cleanup effort follows flooding

TORONTO, Ont. – It was a smelly, wet job that took city crews hours to overcome, but service on the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line finally resumed late Friday night.

The subway had been closed between Bloor and Osgoode Stations for nearly eleven hours, after a mix of rainwater and sewage flooded Union Station.

“It’s frustrating for people, I certainly understand that frustration, but we did everything we could to get service back up as quickly as we humanly could,” said TTC spokesperson Brad Ross.

“We had a lot of people on hand, whether signal maintainers, electricians, cleaners… All of our track crew worked very, very hard.”

During the afternoon rush hour, Mayor Rob Ford surveyed the damage at Union Station and had high praise for the cleanup crew.

“City staff and agencies (were) working together to ensure that residents are safe and that services are resumed as quickly as possible,” Ford said.

“The TTC are doing an absolutely phenomenal job in controlling the situation. What happened was unfortunately but I think we’ve got things under control.”

During the flooding and cleanup a total of 104 shuttle buses were operating in both directions between Bloor and Osgoode Stations, stopping at all subway stations with the exception of Union.

As well, the 510 Spadina and the 509 Harbourfront had been turning back at Spadina Loop.

The PATH underground system was also closed at the Union GO Terminal as crews worked to contain the flooding.

GO train and bus services continued to operate on schedule. According to GO, the doorways from Bay St. into the concourse were also closed.

TTC CEO Andy Byford told 680News there was still a lot to do even after all the water was gone.

Workers had to test all of the electrical equipment, including the elevators, escalators and the tracks.  After that, because the area was flooded with sewage water, Byford said the area would have to be disinfected.

The city of Toronto says it is too early to determine the cause of the flooding.

To clear the flooding, large machines were used along the subway tracks at Union Station to pump water from the area. Below is a video taken when TTC spokesperson Brad Ross brought a group of reporters down to track level to examine the progress.

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