Equipment Problems

I fought the urge to call in sick this morning and dragged my sorry ass out of bed. Things seemed to be going as it should as my day began. I left the house on time and arrived at the train station in plenty of time to catch my 6:52 train into Toronto. Nothing seemed awry walking through the parking lot towards the station even though the station was a train short (often times the next train does not pull into the station until my iPod is drowning out the undesirable sounds of public transportation). I was actually quite enjoying the leisurely stroll in the bright sunshine this cool morning, after all it is a Friday. I validated my ticket in the antiquated ticket machine and, after being cut off by a woman who I moved aside for moments earlier so I didn’t cut her off, I started down the length of the platform to the lead car.

After passing the end car I hear the muffled metallic sound of the speakers. These speakers are as effective as talking underwater so I did not hear enough to know what the point of this horrendous screeching was. I get to my destination and occupy a seat. Before I have time to warm up my traveling companion (iPod), an announcement comes over the train’s p.a. system, “This is the 7:11 train and it will be making all regular station stops…the 6:52 has been cancelled due to equipment problems…” Great, I now have to sit in the train for an extra thirty minutes before I am on my way and, even better, the train is going to be standing room only after the second stop. Not much I can do now.

About ten minutes prior to departure, a second announcement spouts from the train’s speakers, we are going to be making an extra stop now. Why not? I am already going to be late as it is, why not stop at every station en route????? So now the train that is usually full has to accommodate the riders of two trains and instead of making fewer stops, we are now going to be making an additional stop. Not sure how the math is going to work out here but hey, what do I know. To come to a quick end, when we arrived at Pickering station (our usual last stop before Union) the train was full and not many riders were able to jump on and at Rouge Hill (the added stop) I don’t even think the train doors opened. What the heck was the point of even stopping????

Sometimes I wonder what GO Transit is thinking. I do feel bad for the conductors though because they are the ones that face the wrath from the riders when they are not responsible for ensuring the trains are in proper working order and most of them are just as annoyed at the delays and cancellations as the passengers. It is time for GO Transit to be held accountable for major service disruptions and the only way that will happen is if we riders voice our concerns to government officials. I plan on writing a letter to my MPP, which I will post here, to highlight this issue in hopes the government will hold GO Transit accountable for avoidable delays like “equipment problems”.