Wear black, and bring candles, flowers, art, or mementos is the directive being given to those who attend a Wednesday evening “memorial” for the Scarborough RT line.
On July 24, a southbound train on Line 3, as it’s known, derailed near Ellesmere Station. The incident sent five people to hospital with minor injuries and the rapid trasit line has not been operational since.
In the days following the derailment, the TTC said that the line would be offline for about three weeks as it investigates what happened, but it has yet to provide any indication that the 6.4-kilometre, six-station line will be brought back online anytime soon. For now, shuttle buses are running in place of the trains.
The Scarborough RT had exceeded its lifespan by a decade and was set to be decommissioned entirely on Nov. 19. The plan is to eventually replace transit service in north Scarborough with a new subway extension, but that could take up to eight years to happen.
Earlier this week, newly appointed TTC Board Chair Jamaal Meyers told CP24 that he is "operating under the assumption that the SRT line…will not be operating again because of the expense to fix it."
Tomorrow, from 6 to 7 p.m., Toronto transit advocacy group TTCRiders is inviting the public to join them for a funeral of sorts along with a rally to both “remember the life of the (Scarborough) RT and call for solutions,” which the group said include installing bus-only lanes for shuttles, obtaining provincial funding for free GO-TTC transfers, undertaking an independent investigation and report, and securing provincial funding and fast-tracking a dedicated busway in the old RT track.
Tomorrow’s gathering to “commemorate the RT and its community legacy” will be held at the eastern side of the parking lot of the Ellesmere RT station, which is just west of the Midland and Ellesmere shuttle bus drop off.
Scarborough MPPs Andrea Hazell and Doly Begum along with community members are set to speak at the event. Time will also be set aside for members of the public who wish to say a few words.
TTCRiders’ board member Krissan Veerasingam, who is helping organize the memorial and rally, said the gathering aims to express the “seriousness” of a train derailing in a world-class city like Toronto and how what happened last month is a “reflection of the current state of transit in this city and how we got there.”
“In (Canada’s) biggest city, we have a train derailing and I don’t think it’s any surprise that it happened in Scarborough,” he said, pointing to years of inadequate and antiquated transit options in the city’s former easterly borough.
“Luckily it wasn’t fatal, but this should serve as a wake-up call that there’s alack of investment in the city’s transit system.”
Veerasingam, who lives near McCowan Road and Eglinton Avenue East and frequently rode the Scarborough RT, said Wednesday evening’s event is also a way for advocates and transit users to keep the conversation going about the need for immediate, adequate interim replacement transit options for Line 3, notably a dedicated busway, as well as more substantial future transit infrastructure options in Scarborough.
“It’s a call for action,” he said, adding while the municipality has shown some leadership on this file, the province must step up to the plate.
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Hannah Alberga and CP24’s Bryann Aguilar.
