AlvinofDiaspar said:
Yeah it's reported on the GO Transit subreddit - the descriptions are somewhat disturbing, so proceed with caution.

Anyways, the narrow platforms is the bane of most issues with station and yet our decison-makers in their infinite wisdom chose to do nothing about it when rebuilding. This is at least partially on them.

AoD
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Keep in mind, they were at one point designed for postal use.

I agree though, as sad as it is this was bound to happen eventually.
 
Richard White said:
Keep in mind, they were at one point designed for postal use.

I agree though, as sad as it is this was bound to happen eventually.
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Keep in mind, we spent a billion plus (and counting) on this damned thing, presumably to bring it up to specs. I must be mistaken.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Not going to happen - there was other instances of people getting killed before.

AoD
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That's true, there was the backpack incident.

I will say though that sometimes incidents have a way of being a call for action.

If the narrow platforms present a safety risk, albeit a small one it is possible that they may be temporarily closed for review.
 
Richard White said:
That's true, there was the backpack incident.

I will say though that sometimes incidents have a way of being a call for action.

If the narrow platforms present a safety risk, albeit a small one it is possible that they may be temporarily closed for review.
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The problem is most if not all the platforms have narrow sections - both due to track geometry (they aren't straight across the length of the station) and the stairwell placements. If you use it as a criteria for shutting platforms down - you might as well close the station. The real solution should have been a complete rebuilt but lord knows we decided to do the nothing about the platform level when we had the chance to do so, and here we are.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Yeah it's reported on the GO Transit subreddit - the descriptions are somewhat disturbing, so proceed with caution.

Anyways, the narrow platforms is the bane of most issues with station and yet our decison-makers in their infinite wisdom chose to do nothing about it when rebuilding. This is at least partially on them.

AoD
Click to expand...
From the Reddit post the speculation seems to be this person fainted and fell onto the tracks as the train was approaching, so I'm not sure if larger platform width would have necessarily made a difference.

Platform screen doors really would be the solution, but the cost and making something compatible with the current rolling stock would be prohibitive imo.
 
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bearcat said:
From the Reddit post the speculation seems to be this person fainted and fell onto the tracks as the train was approaching, so I'm not sure if larger platform width would have necessarily made a difference.
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You have to wonder, though, if that person just happened to pass out at one of the narrow parts of the platform. We’re always advised to stand well back of the platform edge, but there are many spots at Union where this is not possible.
 
Richard White said:
Keep in mind, they were at one point designed for postal use.

I agree though, as sad as it is this was bound to happen eventually.
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Union was not "designed for postal use" - CN's express depot flanked the west side of the station while CP's was on the east. The current Union Station (the third such building using that title) was designed for long distance passenger use and the narrow platforms reflect this. It was never envisioned as a 'commuter station' a hundred years ago because 'commuting' wasn't a thing.
 
The goods loading platforms were for baggage, express freight and mail – many passenger trains had mail cars – so yeah, they were used for that purpose with elevators connecting to the express buildings and to the Bay Street side of the station, where there were postal facilities before GO Transit built the original Bay Concourse. (It was attached to the postal station where the arena is now.) They were separated from the passenger platforms. GO uses both these days.

And there were “commuter” trains operated by CN; these were local trains making frequent stops from Hamilton, Barrie, Oshawa, Lindsay/Stouffville, and Kitchener on a commuter-friendly schedule; GO just replaced these with more frequent service and higher capacity trains. CP and later VIA had one from Peterborough too. But you’d never have more than a few hundred passengers on any one train back then. GO can carry many times that.
 
ProjectEnd said:
Union was not "designed for postal use" - CN's express depot flanked the west side of the station while CP's was on the east. The current Union Station (the third such building using that title) was designed for long distance passenger use and the narrow platforms reflect this. It was never envisioned as a 'commuter station' a hundred years ago because 'commuting' wasn't a thing.
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But about half the platforms were designed for baggage, goods, postal services, etc. I think the wider ones were for passengers.
 
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