GO passengers delayed for hours after major problems on two lines

By News Staff

GO train passengers were left stranded for hours after major problems on the Barrie and Lakeshore East lines during the Tuesday afternoon commute.

On the Lakeshore East line, passengers were delayed more than three hours after a train broke down and lost power around 4:30 p.m. near Ajax and triggered significant delays along the line.

Many riders were forced to sit or stand for hours without air conditioning as GO worked to get a tow train to push the disabled train to the nearest station.

On the Barrie line, a gas leak caused major slowdowns.

Spokeswoman Anne-Marie Aikins said congestion made matters worse and led to lengthy delays for all subsequent trains during the rush hour.

CityNews viewer Chris Pang said the wait on the overcrowded Lakeshore East train was unbearable.

“The conditions on the train during this … delay were atrocious,” he said.

“Since this train was crowded as usual, for over four hours many people stood, although we all tried to take turns sharing seats … The temperature aboard was gradually becoming unbearable. Many people seemed flush, and a pregnant lady started to feel faint.”

Pang said many passengers had to scramble to arrange child care.

GO Transit said it is going to compensate all Lakeshore East passengers who were stuck. The company is still determining the dollar amount but say it will be equivalent to more than one trip.

Barrie delay

Meanwhile, a gas leak at the Aurora GO station halted train service on the Barrie line during the evening rush, stranding as many as 10,000 passengers on four trains.

Metrolinx worked with police to get people safely out of the trains. There were no reported injuries.

Shortly before 11 p.m., York Regional Police said the leak had been capped. It was caused by construction, but the contraction was not related to Metrolinx.

You can check Go Transit service updates here.

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