The TTC board is calling on Toronto's auditor general to investigate the SRT derailment

The TTC board voted unanimously to call on Toronto's auditor general to investigate the Scarborough Rapid Transit (SRT) derailment.

It comes after TTCriders, a membership-based transit advocacy group, filed a complaint with the auditor general, urging the city to review safety concerns related to a derailment that sent five people to the hospital last year.

File a complaint

On April 3, TTCriders filed a complaint with Toronto's auditor general about maintenance issues related to the July 2023 Line 3 derailment. The group is concerned that issues surrounding the derailment will undermine public confidence.

“The Scarborough RT derailment was shocking enough,” said Chrissan Weerasingham, TTCriders board member.

“It is sad and unacceptable that the TTC has been warned of some of the factors contributing to a derailment in early 2023.”

Focusing primarily on data from four independent consultant reports that investigated the SRT derailment, the organization identified eight critical questions in the complaint.

The TTC “quietly” released the reports in February, according to TTCriders, who also said records showed the transit agency was alerted as early as 2023 to problems with the priority of defects and SRT inspection procedures.

“We believe the Scarborough RT should never have derailed, and we want to make sure a derailment never happens again on the TTC,” said Shelagh Pizey-Allen, director of TTCriders.

In a statement to the Observer, TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said “the safety of our customers and employees is the TTC's top concern. We will only launch this service when it is safe to do so.”

According to the TTC, the cause of the derailment was faulty bolts. In a statement, Green said, “The TTC and CEO Rick Leary proactively engaged the services of four independent consultants to fully investigate and evaluate the derailment on the night of the incident. Maintenance and good repair are an integral part of ensuring the safety of our system and are always relevant.

Other advocacy groups are also expressing concern about the derailment.

“CodeRedTO has very serious concerns about the transparency of the TTC … providing accessible reporting on the state of maintenance and good repair,” said Cameron McLeod, executive director of CodeRedTO, an independent, volunteer-led group.

“This is a huge concern, not just for the Scarborough RT line, but for all lines and TTC equipment.”

Although CodeRedTO is not part of TTCrider's complaint, they support their campaign's efforts.

“If we're going to put all our eggs in the rapid transit basket, we need to be able to rely on the rapid transit that we create and that we operate,” McLeod said.

“If we can only rely on photos and ribbon cuttings and can't count on a train, streetcar or bus being on time in a few years, that means our transit system is too fragile.”

History of line 3

The TTC approved the SRT in 1977 to serve Scarborough's expanding population and officially opened for service in 1985. The line started at Kennedy Station and went on to include stations in Lawrence, Ellesmere, Midland, Scarborough Town Center and McCowan.

The SRT was designed to operate for 25 years, but was 13 years past its intended service life. In a 2006 report, city staff warned Toronto City Council that SRT vehicles would need to be replaced due to “gradual deterioration in service reliability over the coming years.”

In 2021, the TTC board voted to replace the SRT with express buses due to service challenges for trains and other parts of the system. The Toronto Transit Commission confirmed in June that it will decommission the line on November 19, 2023.

On July 24, 2023, Line 3 derailed, sending five people to the hospital. On August 24, 2023, the TTC announced that it would not reopen Line 3. The replacement bus service is due to start operating from 26 August 2023, but Scarborough commuters say the new bus service will cause delays.

“RT is dead,” said Chloe Tangpongprush, a TTCriders volunteer.

“As far as we know, this won't happen again … we're concerned that some of the issues that caused this issue to be missed on RT, this error could be repeated in the rest of the wind.”

Board decisions

At the April 11 TTC board meeting, the board voted unanimously in favor of Council's proposal. Josh Matlow puts the matter before the city's auditor general to investigate whether RT has gone off the rails.

“We are pleased that the TTC Board unanimously passed a motion to request the Auditor General to investigate the root causes of derailments. It also speaks volumes about the level of confidence they have in TTC management,” Pizey-Allen said.

“I hope this will only encourage the Auditor General to take this complaint seriously and conduct a thorough investigation.”

It depends