Fight onboard Toronto subway sparked delays, mass crowding at Union Station on New Year's Eve

A fight onboard a subway train in Toronto on New Year’s Eve sparked a series of transit delays that led to mass crowding at Union Station, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) said in a statement.

“It was a maze,” Glen Garner told CP24 on Tuesday. “There was absolutely no room to move.”

• Download our app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green told CP24 Tuesday that the fight broke out just after 12:30 a.m. on New Year's Day, “the busiest time of the night with revelers leaving downtown festivities.”

As a result, the affected train was taken out of service for approximately 10 minutes and riders were evacuated onto the platform. Entry to the platform from the GO side of the Union Station concourse was also paused.

“This is standard procedure when crowds of this size are present to ensure everyone at platform level is safe,” Green said.

It was at the same time that tens of thousands of people were trying to take advantage of the free holiday service offered by the TTC and Metrolinx.

“Even the smallest delay with this many people will have trickle-down effects, and that's what we saw on New Year’s Eve,” Green said.

According to those at the scene, Union Station was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with many unable to maneuvre freely. Garner ended up on the wrong subway, he said, delaying his return home by more than two hours.

“I wound up taking the subway north because I couldn’t get in and I wound up at Finch [West],” he said. “I was stuck out there for two and a half hours waiting in the freezing cold.”

Another rider, Patrick D’Cruz, said the scene was “chaotic.”

Despite the crowds, Green estimated that tens of thousands of riders moved through the system without incident between 12:30 and 2:30 a.m. on Monday.

The commission had planned for increased service, he said, and employed five to six times more staff than usual.

“It’s important to note that Union Station is a shared space and we can only speak to the TTC’s operations,” he said.

“While we don’t believe all of the crowding seen on social media was directly related to the TTC delay, the TTC, the City and Metrolinx will be meeting later this week to review the events,” he said.

Social media users were quick to share videos and photos of the crowding, one of which shows riders attempting to enter the subway as the doors close on them.

Another user called the situation “ a gong show,” sharing a video of a Union Station lobby packed shoulder-to-shoulder.

In a TikTok shared Monday, Union Station's lower hall can be seen at a standstill, with crowds overflowing into various exits.

@daniellalopessb tiktok please do your magic and find the girl with red jacket 🥲 hope she got home safe after this mess at union station #newyear #toronto #unionstation #canada #2024 #2023 #nye #newyears ♬ Everybody - Nicki Minaj

When reached for comment, Metrolinx said that operations at Union Station can be "directly impacted by TTC service changes as additional people waiting for the subway creates a backlog in the Bay concourse like last night."

The agency added that it hoped everyone "was able to get everyone home safely" despite the crowding.

With files from CP24's Courtney Heels and CTV News Toronto's Mike Walker.