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Toronto airport rail service halted after brake issues found throughout equipment fleet
Toronto airport rail service halted after brake issues found throughout equipment fleet (updated)
By | February 10, 2023
Union Pearson Express down to four of 18 Nippon Sharyo DMU cars, leading to drastic reduction in operations
Toronto’s Union Pearson Express rail service has been sidelined after brake disc issues were found in the service’s Nippon Sharyo DMU cars. UP Express photo via Facebook
TORONTO — Toronto’s Union Pearson Express rail service, which operates between downtown and the city’s airport, has been replaced by bus service as of Saturday, a day after CTV News reported 14 of 18 cars in the service’s equipment fleet had been sidelined by cracks in their brake discs.
As of Saturday evening, a notice on the UP Express website says “train service has been replaced by GO bus service due to required maintenance on our UP Express trains.” Metrolinx, the parent agency for Ontario public transportation, first announced issues with the service on Monday, reporting that the trains, which normally operate at 15-minute intervals, would be limited to operation ever 30 minutes “due to an equipment issue.” By Friday night, the UP Express website said trains would be running every 60 minutes “until further notice because of limited equipment availability due to unexpected maintenance,” and that in some cases, customers “will be accommodated by express bus between Pearson and Union Station.”
The UP Express service uses Nippon Sharyo diesel multiple-unit trainsets, also operated in North America by Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit. The Union Pearson cars were delivered in 2014 and entered service in 2015. It operates on a 23.3-mile, four-station route mostly following GO Transit’s Kitchener line from Union Station in downtown Toronto, with a dedicated spur into Pearson airport.
Sources told CTV that the 14 cars were found to have thermal cracks in their brake discs. Metrolinx, in an emailed statement, said hairline cracks were found during the course of regular inspections. “In the interest of safety, we immediately removed the affected trains from service and proactively inspected the rest of the fleet.”
{snip}
By | February 10, 2023
Union Pearson Express down to four of 18 Nippon Sharyo DMU cars, leading to drastic reduction in operations
Toronto’s Union Pearson Express rail service has been sidelined after brake disc issues were found in the service’s Nippon Sharyo DMU cars. UP Express photo via Facebook
TORONTO — Toronto’s Union Pearson Express rail service, which operates between downtown and the city’s airport, has been replaced by bus service as of Saturday, a day after CTV News reported 14 of 18 cars in the service’s equipment fleet had been sidelined by cracks in their brake discs.
As of Saturday evening, a notice on the UP Express website says “train service has been replaced by GO bus service due to required maintenance on our UP Express trains.” Metrolinx, the parent agency for Ontario public transportation, first announced issues with the service on Monday, reporting that the trains, which normally operate at 15-minute intervals, would be limited to operation ever 30 minutes “due to an equipment issue.” By Friday night, the UP Express website said trains would be running every 60 minutes “until further notice because of limited equipment availability due to unexpected maintenance,” and that in some cases, customers “will be accommodated by express bus between Pearson and Union Station.”
The UP Express service uses Nippon Sharyo diesel multiple-unit trainsets, also operated in North America by Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit. The Union Pearson cars were delivered in 2014 and entered service in 2015. It operates on a 23.3-mile, four-station route mostly following GO Transit’s Kitchener line from Union Station in downtown Toronto, with a dedicated spur into Pearson airport.
Sources told CTV that the 14 cars were found to have thermal cracks in their brake discs. Metrolinx, in an emailed statement, said hairline cracks were found during the course of regular inspections. “In the interest of safety, we immediately removed the affected trains from service and proactively inspected the rest of the fleet.”
{snip}