Delays expected on GO Lakeshore East line starting Monday due to accident investigation
GO Transit users on the Lakeshore East line will be experiencing travel delays this week as labour officials investigate an accident along the train tracks in Pickering that left a contract worker dead.
Metrolinx said it is planning to use a combination of trains and buses to run a half-hour service to all Lakeshore East line stations starting on Monday. GO trains will run between Union and Guildwood stations and between Pickering and Oshawa stations.
Metrolinx said shuttle buses will be used to transport customers between Guildwood and Pickering GO stations. The agency warned that travel times for those using stations between Oshawa and Rouge Hill and travelling to Union Station will face delays of about 30 minutes.
"Our teams have been working around the clock to sort of figure out how we can ensure that our GO train customers who use the Lakeshore East line can really get to where they're going this week, understanding that it's going to probably take longer than it usually does for those customers to get where they're going," Metrolinx spokesperson Matt Llewellyn told CP24 Sunday afternoon.
"What we can guarantee at this point is that we will be servicing all stations with by one mode, whether that's by train or bus."
Llewellyn said the Ministry of Labour has taken control of the scene and the site will be shut down "until potentially Thursday."
Customers are being advised to plan their travel and give themselves extra time. Metrolinx said there will be additional staff in stations to guide customers.
The ministry is investigating after a contract worker was killed when he became pinned under a freight car full of gravel along the tracks east of Rouge Hill GO station.
An industrial accident in Pickering left one rail worker dead. (Simon Sheehan/CP24)
The incident happened around 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Emergency crews attempted life-saving measures, but the worker was pronounced dead.
It is unknown what caused the rail car to tip over.
The train corridor was shut down this weekend for track signal work and rehabilitation work.
"Because it is under investigation by the Ministry of Labour, not too much more we can say at this point, in terms of the circumstances. What we can say is that obviously, this was an absolute tragedy," Llewellyn said.
"For us, it was devastating to hear. Our first concern as an organization is always about the safety of everyone who works on the railroad. And so, this was absolutely heartbreaking to hear."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.