Most UP Express train cars 'condemned' after thermal cracks found in brake discs: union
Most of the fleet servicing the UP Express has been removed from operation after thermal cracks were discovered in the vehicle brake discs, according to the maintenance and operators’ union and confirmed by several sources, leaving Metrolinx with only four train cars in service for the rail link connecting Pearson International Airport to downtown Toronto.
“80 per cent of the fleet grounded, it’s certainly possible that those four units are impacted,” said Gregory Vaughan, General Chairman of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Division 660, which represents GO and UP Express train operators and maintenance staff.
Metrolinx, however, is adamant the trains – which remain in service – have passed all safety inspections.
The public transit agency first announced on Monday evening the UP Express would be down to 30-minute service on Tuesday “because of limited availability of equipment due to unexpected maintenance.”
On Friday, the Crown corporation indicated delays "due to an equipment issue" would be “until further notice.”
”Over the course of regular inspections this past weekend, our team discovered hairline cracks in the brake discs on some of our UP Express trains,” Metrolinx said in an emailed statement. “In the interest of safety, we immediately removed the affected trains from service and proactively inspected the rest of our fleet.”
Sources confirm to CTV News Toronto 14 of 18 train cars in the fleet were found to have thermal cracks in their brake discs. Two trains of two cars each remain in service, limiting operations to 30-minute intervals, and forcing a quick staff changeover to maintain schedule.
Vaughan says a health and safety meeting with Alstom—which maintains and services the trains under contract to Metrolinx, and is also the employer of the train operators and maintenance staff—was abruptly cancelled on Thursday.
The company, based in France, has not returned communications since, Vaughan told CTV News on Friday.
A formal correspondence was sent by the union, Vaughan said, “to provide documentation showing when the four units in operation were last inspected, and found to be free of the defects that led to the rest of the fleet being condemned.”
Alstom has not answered that request, he confirmed.
CTV News Toronto has reached out to Alstom for comment.
Brake discs are a form of braking system that have been in wide use in motor vehicles, trains, and aircraft for decades, since their invention in the 1890s.
Their life expectancy depends on the materials used, and are routinely serviced and replaced, said mechanical engineer Solomon Boakye-Yiadom, an assistant professor in the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University.
The UP Express began operation in 2015.
The trains taken out of service have been described by the union and sources familiar with the situation as “condemned”—terminology Baokye-Yiadom says is unusual in this mechanical engineering field from his experience.
“Does it mean it’s under repairs, or is it just written off?” the engineer said.
Repairs are underway, Metrolinx confirmed.
“We are doing everything we can to get the affected trains safely back into service as soon as possible,” the Crown corporation told CTV News Toronto.
Thermal cracks result from fatigue after the discs are repeatedly heated—sometimes to above 700 degrees Celsius—and cooled during braking. It is a major cause of braking failure, said Boakye-Yiadom, as the system takes on more load attempting to halt momentum.
“As soon as you cause a very little crack initiation in the structure, know that subsequent loadings are going to cause these cracks to expand and grow,” he said. “And that’s where it gets dangerous.”
Metrolinx says all trains, which remained in service, have passed inspection since the thermal cracks were discovered last weekend. Yet, the four UP Express train cars that remain in service have not been heading to their usual yard at night, several sources say, where they are routinely inspected.
Instead, they are being yarded at a location near Lakeshore Boulevard East and Cherry Street.
“It’s a public safety concern,” a source told CTV News Toronto.
Vaughan agrees.
“I’m going to continue to press [for answers],” said Vaughan. “Not just for the safety of my people but the travelling public.”
“This is safety, we don’t negotiate, and we don’t mess around when it comes to safety.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From AI running wild to collapsing ecosystems, government report outlines future disruptions
From artificial intelligence running wild to collapsing ecosystems, a new Canadian government report outlines 35 disruptions that could rattle the country in the near future.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Toronto Blue Jays fan struck by 110 m.p.h foul ball offered tickets, signed baseball by team
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
Matthew Perry's death is being investigated over ketamine level found in actor's blood, reports say
An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
Police in Ontario say suspects charged in armed home invasion near Toronto part of 'larger criminal network'
Police in Ontario say a group of suspects charged in an armed home invasion north of Toronto last year were driving a vehicle stolen in a carjacking in Calgary just one month earlier.
Stolen septic truck swerves through traffic, spike belt needed to stop it: Manitoba RCMP
A 29-year-old woman has been charged after police say she stole a septic truck from a Manitoba community and drove erratically on the highway.
Orphan orca's extended family spotted off northeast side of Vancouver Island
Members of a killer whale pod related to an orphan orca calf that escaped a remote British Columbia tidal lagoon last month have been spotted off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.