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The 1995 Russell Hill accident is Toronto's first and only subway accident. The accident involved 2 trains and was caused by a mixture of Driver error and poor maintenance. The accident occurred between Dupont and St.Clair West stations on Line 1.
The driver of the first train had passed a red light and the trip cock did not engage the trains emergency break as it had become worn out with age and poor maintenance. The train rounded a blind corner and slammed into the train ahead that was waiting at a red signal. This incident was a real wake up call to the TTC as the system had been slowly falling apart since the 80's. After the accident the TTC immediately re-organized its maintenance system and increased funding to "State of good repair".
While the TTC got the message loud and clear, politicians didn't as not long after the Provincial Conservatives would cut the provincial subsidy for Public Transit leaving the TTC as the least funded public transit operator in North America. While the city and the TTC have managed to hold the system together and we haven;t had a major accident since, it is still nonetheless on the decline as the Province refuses to pay for anything that isn't "pretty" and ends in ribbon cutting. State of Good Repair is just not sexy to politicians.
