TORONTO — Union Pearson Express rail service resumed this morning (Sunday, Feb. 12) with 30-minute frequencies after all operation were cancelled Saturday, according to the UP Express website.
The trains between Union Station in downtown Toronto and the city’s Pearson Airport, which normally operate on 15-minute headways, have been operating on reduced frequencies since cracks in the trains’ brake discs were found earlier in the week [see “Toronto airport rail service halted …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 10, 2023]. Fourteen of the 18 cars in the UP Express fleet were initially reported to be affected, but all cars were removed from service Saturday.
The UP Express Twitter feed says the service “made some necessary repairs” to trains. CityNews reports parent organization Metrolinx says all trains remaining in service “have passed all safety inspections,” and that it is “doing everything we can to get the affected trains safety back into service as soon as possible.”
UP? Union Pacific? Upper Peninsula?
I heard that the UPE is going to integrate into the GO network when electrification is finished, but given that part of the route can’t carry the heavier commuter train cars, they may need to either buy train cars that are as light as these trains or rebuild the bridges to allow the GO commuter trains on it.
This reminds me of NY’s brand-new GCT-Madison station where most of LIRR’s cars don’t fit in the 63rd St tube under the East River and can’t use the new Station.
…or METRA acquiring a fleet of Wabtec MP-36s which were too heavy to be used on UP (ex-C&NW) commuter routes due to the dilapidated condition of a large portion of overpasses.