TORONTO — Toronto’s Union Pearson Express rail service, which operates between downtown and the city’s airport, has been replaced by bus service as of Saturday, a day after CTV News reported 14 of 18 cars in the service’s equipment fleet had been sidelined by cracks in their brake discs.
As of Saturday evening, a notice on the UP Express website says “train service has been replaced by GO bus service due to required maintenance on our UP Express trains.”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.”
The UP equipment is operated and maintained by Alstom under a contract with Metrolinx. Gregory Vaughan, general chairman of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Division 660, which represents maintenance workers, told the news service that a health and safety meeting with Alstom was “abruptly cancelled” Thursday, and the company has not returned communication since. He said he has asked for documentation on when the four units still operating were last inspected, but has not received that information, but Metrolinx says the cars have passed all inspections. An updated CTV story reports the remaining equipment was also removed from service by 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The CBC reports Metrolinx did not indicate how long the rail suspension would be in effect.
— Updated and revised at Feb. 11 at 8:50 p.m. CST with complete suspension of UP Express service.
Cracks in disc brakes — back 50-some years ago (pre-Amtrak), I recall a conversation about cracks in the disc brake disks. Some railroads would replace the discs as soon as cracks appeared and this meant pressing wheel off to replace the discs. But, at least one railroad (I think it was the SP) would drill a hole at the end of the thermal crack and thus stop the crack from expanding.
This (your last sentence) is done for cracks in steel structures.
Charles- You are correct in saying that this an ugly looking train. This is how the world today builds things. No thought to streamlining or having graceful lines and apperance. I might say that not only this train but also the diesel locomotives of today are downright ugly and boxy looking. The same goes for today’s automobiles. Its a far cry from the beautiful streamlined autos of the 50s and 60s and the same goes for today’s trainsets. I realize that we have to be modern and up to date with things but designers could at least show artistic taste and sense when designing new trains and autos and anything else that the public has to look at and use.
Joseph C. Markfelder
Wondering if the Union Pacific is getting their royalties for the use of UP?
Is it just me? I think that’s the ugliest train in the world. So So So ‘seventies. Haven’t seen anything that bad since the AMC Pacer in olive and gold racing stripes.