A TTC employee has been fired after an investigation into a frightening incident that saw an eastbound subway train speed over the Bloor Viaduct with its doors open.
The TTC said Tuesday that human error on the part of a guard was to blame for the incident, but declined to say what disciplinary action had been taken. However Bob Kinnear, the head of the union representing TTC workers, told CP24 that the employee had in fact been fired.
The incident in question happened on Line 2 at around 6 p.m. on May 27 and was captured in a video sent to CP24 by a viewer.
According to the witnesses, the doors remained open as the train was travelling east between Castle Frank and Broadview stations. According to the TTC, the train was then taken out of service at Broadview Station.
However TTC CEO Andy Byford said Tuesday that the open-door subway trip between the stations was a result of proper procedures not being followed.
“It appears a guard made an error. There was nothing wrong mechanically with the train,” Byford told reporters. “There are procedures to be followed if an operator and a guard encounter door problems. They did encounter door problems initially at Castle Frank, subsequently at Broadview. Those procedures weren’t followed so obviously that was a case of human error.”
Byford called the incident “very unusual” and said he wants to reassure people that the subway is safe.
“We carry 1.8 million people on our system each day. It’s a very safe system,” Byford said. “On this occasion someone didn’t do the job they were supposed to do, so we’ll deal with that. I want to reassure TTC riders that the train was not at fault and our train doors actually get checked every 24 hours.”
While Byford wouldn’t comment on the firing, he called the incident a “very serious issue” and said it would be dealt with as such.
However Kinnear said it is still too early to know for certain whether the employee was at fault or whether he received directions that were improper.
“The fact of the matter is that it’s transit control that gives directive to the operator and the guard in various situations. We would need that audio to see exactly what that communication was and if in fact there was a communication breakdown,” Kinnear said. “We’re not minimizing the seriousness of this incident but it’s very very important that if you’re going to take corrective action that you have all the facts.”
Kinnear said TTC staff often face enormous pressure to get trains moving when there is a problem and said the full record of communication needs to be seen, as well as the mechanical history for the train and door.
Ross said the radio communications between the crew and transit control were reviewed and the guard was not given any directive outside of normal procedure.
At a TTC Board meeting Tuesday, TTC staff said that initial investigation shows that there was a mechanical error with the doors, but proper procedures, such as removing passengers from the affected cars and putting up a barrier, were not followed.
The investigation is still ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of the week.
