Georgetown commuters delayed by act of vandalism on GO rail line

Vandals were responsible for a three-hour delay on the GO Transit Georgetown line Tuesday evening. Hundreds of homeward-bound commuters were delayed for as long as three hours after a GO Train struck a 45-gallon drum filled with ice, water and debris on the Georgetown line, according to officials. The train, which left Union Station in Toronto at 5:45 p.m., struck the drum around 6 p.m. just as the train was pulling into the Etobicoke North station, according to GO spokesperson Stephanie Sorensen. CN, which owns the tracks the GO equipment runs on, is working with local police to investigate the crime. "This could have caused a derailment," CN spokesperson Mark Hallman said. Sorensen said GO officials are upset by this "criminal act". GO trains are equipped with cameras on the front and back, and GO officials will be forwarding the video to the police and CN, said Sorensen. The drum struck the undercarriage of the cab car and got tangled underneath the train, which had been slowing as it prepared to off-load passengers. The cab car and tracks sustained damage. GO Transit sent a fleet of seven buses to pick up passengers and shuttle them to Georgetown. The next train, leaving Union Station at 6:45 p.m., was scheduled to go only to Bramalea, but GO Transit extended that trip to Georgetown. Passengers, however, were delayed three hours getting to Georgetown, the last stop on that line.