Montreal’s subway system is
returning to normal after cracks appeared last week in an
underground walkway that links the Metro to nearby buildings.
Some of downtown Toronto’s subway tunnels are even older – so who’s
keeping an eye on them? According the TTC chair Adam Giambrone, the
entire train network is checked every three days, and no extra
scrutiny has followed the Montreal incident.
He says, “We’re out there every 72 hours doing inspections,” adding,
“We have a very tight regime around how we monitor third party
agreements,”
relating to the many private buildings that lie above or next to TTC
tunnels and stations. He says, “We’ve had issues in the past. You’ll
know the one
when we had to divert trains to Museum station – that was to deal
with a third party structure.” Early in 2007, trains bypassed Bay
station to allow
underground reinforcement beneath a hotel.
It seems the TTC has been facing a long backlog of repairs across
the network – especially to tunnel liners, the concrete separating
tunnels from
surrounding earth. Giambrone says “In fact later this year you’ll
probably hear us … announce that we have to scale back some subway
service in the
late evenings so that we can do more work on our tunnels.”
The TTC now spends around $100
million per year on subway reconstruction, and to catch up with
these tunnel liner replacements Giambrone expects some sections of
subway may close earlier than usual over the next few years. As to
why more resources can’t be dedicated when the subway is normally
shut down, he says, “It’s not an issue of (assigning) more people
because there’s only so many work trains you can get out in time.”
In 1995 two TTC subway trains collided south of St. Clair West
station, killing three passengers. Some of the mistakes identified
afterward were poor condition of tracks and infrastructure. The
agency is still following up on recommendations dealing with that
crash. Says Giambrone of a heightened focus on repair, “I think if
you look at it coming out of the
Russell Hill accident, there’s a much stronger emphasis on how we do
these safety inspections.”
The transit commission has since championed “State of Good Repair”,
the philosophy that puts maintenance ahead of system expansion.
Mixing up these two priorities is a constant temptation for any
company or government that oversees infrastructure.
As for the TTC, Giambrone states that its network is monitored not
only by commission employees but outside experts and by the American
Public
Transportation Association. He adds the TTC is working with the
provincial government to ensure that capital investment in new rail
lines also
addresses future repair costs.