Connecting Toronto

TTC committed to safe service, workplace for all

With an annual ridership of around 540 million, the TTC has always kept safety at the forefront of every aspect of its operation.

As a former Safety Director, I understand and embrace the concept of due diligence, in other words the need to constantly review our arrangements for safety, to ensure that we are taking every possible measure to keep employees, customers and other road users safe.

While the TTC has a very good safety record, there can never be room for complacency so we constantly look for ways to minimize risk. This is why, earlier this week, the TTC went to court to present evidence in our plan to introduce random drug and alcohol testing for safety-sensitive and designated Executive positions — including my own.

This week also marked the fifth anniversary of the attempted robbery at Dupont Station that resulted in the shooting of one of our Collectors. With due diligence again to the fore, we took immediate steps to better protect our frontline employees and we offered a $25,000 reward — still on offer — for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the assailant.

Riders can do their bit to help the TTC stay safe. Unauthorized access to the track causes delay and puts perpetrators at huge risk, and we will continue to treat such reckless behaviour with the gravity that it deserves.

By working together and drawing on the professionalism of our employees, we can keep the TTC at the forefront of safe transit operators.

Line 4 Sheppard

This weekend, March 4-5, Line 4 will be closed as TTC crews undertake track work along the entire line. Shuttle buses will operate, stopping only at subway stations along the route.

While the TTC does much of its subway maintenance work at the end of service each night, it continues to require weekend closures to complete important state-of-good-repair work, like replacing track and maintaining switches. One weekend of work during a closure is equivalent to about five weeks of nightly work.

Regular service resumes Monday at 6 a.m.

501/301 Queen

Starting Saturday morning at 5 a.m., track repairs at Queen St. E. and Kingston Rd. will require streetcars on the 501/301 Queen route to divert throughout the weekend.

Streetcars will turn back at Queen St. E. and Connaught Ave. A shuttle bus service will run from River St. in the west, to Neville Park Loop in the east.

Regular streetcar service will resume on Monday at 5 a.m.

Last weekend, while Line 1 was closed between St George and Downsview stations, TTC crews were able to complete the following work on our new Automatic Train Control (ATC) system:

• Initial testing of trains on the new system between Downsview Park (TYSSE) and Wilson stations
• Installation of a combined 747 metres of junction box cable
• Testing of switches and other signalling equipment 

When installation is complete in 2019, ATC will result in a more modern and reliable signal system that will allow for a 25% increase in the number of trains operating on Line 1.

For more information on signal systems, ATC and scheduled subway closures, visit the Service Advisories page at ttc.ca, and watch the new “Modernizing the signal system: 2017 subway closures” video on our YouTube channel.

All 69 TTC subway stations have Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). These can be used by anyone in the event of a cardiac emergency, and are used in combination with CPR to help restore heart rhythm when a person goes into cardiac arrest. Defibrillation, when used with CPR, can improve cardiac arrest survival by more than 50% if delivered in the first few minutes.

Name: Eugene Ivens 
Position: Overhead Linesperson
Years of service: 10

I love spending time hiking and being outside, so back when Istarted with the TTC 10 years ago as an Operator, I remember seeing streetcar overhead crews working and I thought their jobs were interesting — Iactually didn’t even know the job existed before Isaw them. After that, I took an electrical course to qualify for the job, and joined the Overhead department seven years ago. As a team, we get to work on a part of the system that people rely on, and this job allows me to see so many different parts of the city. On top of that, there’s a real sense of teamwork and camaraderie in this department which I value.