GO train delays end in Toronto after police break up rail blockade
After a day of train cancellations and commuter chaos, full service has been restored on GO Transit lines running out of Toronto.
Demonstrators acting in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en and Tyendinaga First Nations re-occupied transportation routes across the country yesterday after Ontario Provincial Police moved in to arrest a group who had famously been halting train service between Toronto and Montreal for a number of weeks.
Toronto police enforced an injunction to remove dozens of people from train tracks near Jane and Dundas Street West overnight last night, while officers in other parts of the GTA have been doing the same to clear the way for trains running on tracks further west of the city, which had also been stopped due to new protests yesterday.
Demonstrators in Toronto were forcibly carried off of the tracks around 3 a.m.
After providing protestors w/ an injunction & encouraging a peaceful departure, @TorontoPolice began moving protestors from rail tracks in the area of Lambton Arena. Most protestors were cooperative; arrests were made when necessary
— Toronto Police (@TorontoPolice) February 26, 2020
Metrolinx experienced disruptions "throughout the entire system" yesterday, though most service resumed by the end of the day, with some trains rerouted on detours to bypass blockades.
Some commutes in and out of Union Station were impacted, along with service in other parts of the GTA, including to and from Guildwood GO, Hamilton GO, West Harbour GO, Niagara Falls GO and St. Catharines GO stations.
Blockades east of Hamilton ended during evening rush hour yesterday after an anarchist collective demonstrating for Wet'suwet'en and Tyendinaga cleared out following discussions with local police, who had an injunction from CN Rail.
INDIGENOUS PROTESTORS REMOVED from commuter rail lines 3 am, GO Trains running on time around Toronto. Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Milton. Demonstrators hauled away by police, then immediately released; 3 arrested. Delays, no service for 300,000 commuters yesterday. CBC screengrabs pic.twitter.com/ySJwYvFY9r
— Lance.Chronicle (@ChronicleLance) February 26, 2020
According to Metrolinx, passengers traveling to and from Milton GO station can expect normal train service to resume today.
Milton #GOtrain passengers: There is regular service on your line today and GO trains will be using their regular routes from Union Station. Stay up to date with the latest information by clicking https://t.co/FCxkTd812W
— GO Transit (@GOtransit) February 26, 2020
Elsewhere in Ontario, similar demonstrations continue in Caledonia, where portions of Highway 6 remain closed.
EM-Part of Highway #6 in Caledonia remains closed this morning due to an ongoing solidarity demonstration . Police are warning commuters to avoid the highway between Argyle Street South and Green Road. The intersection of Highway 6 and First Line has since re-opened pic.twitter.com/GIMNHCRJsB
— Jewel 92 (@Jewel_92) February 26, 2020
The weeks of rallies and blockades — which started after the RCMP started removing Wet'suwet'en land protectors from their own unceded territory in northern B.C. to make way for work to commence on the contentious Coastal GasLink pipeline — have made international headlines as political, social and economic tensions across the country continue to heighten.
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