Toronto’s Rail Network Grinds to a Halt as CN Railway Connection Falters

Toronto, widely known for its efficient public transport system faced unexpected disruption on October 3 after the CN Railway experienced a network-wide system failure caused by an internet collapse at Canadian National Railway Co. resulting to a widespread inconvenience for commuters.

The network outage rendered the railway’s communication and signaling systems inoperative. The outage had an immediate impact on train services, particularly GO Transit, a commuter rail network that serves the Greater Toronto Area.

According to Metrolinx, the agency running a sprawling rail and bus service between Toronto and its environs trains running on Go Train Network were almost halted. The agency says services are slowly returning to normal but trains would run less frequently than normal into and out of Union Station.

CN Railway which is responsible for managing rail corridors in the region including Union Station revealed it was experiencing an internet connectivity problem.

“While there is no indication of a cyber-security issue, the cause of the outage is currently under investigation,” said CN’s spokesperson, Jonathan Abecassis.

“GO trains, VIA trains in and out of Union Station, as well as CN’s customer service portal, all of which require an internet connection to CN’s servers, are currently impacted. CN apologizes for the issue. We are working to get all services up and running safely and efficiently,” added the spokesperson.