GO train derailment report blames overreliance on visual track inspections

A Metrolinx report released this month found that an overreliance on routine visual inspections likely contributed to a GO train derailment on February 2 at Toronto Union Station that disrupted commuter travel for days.

The derailment was caused by missing and degraded screws on railway track outside the station. At the derailment site, only two screws were installed per plate, though four are required under standards implemented last year. Screws across nine consecutive timber ties were loose, missing, or degraded. The rail shifted about 3.5 centimetres.

Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay told the agency's board that the track degradation was "a legacy infrastructure condition that developed progressively over time." The poor conditions developed sometime between an April 2025 heavy geometry track inspection—a more intensive examination—and the February derailment. The report found no indication the missing screws were identified prior to the derailment, despite twice-weekly inspections including one four days before it occurred.

The report concluded: "The combination of visually based inspections, limited inspection prompts, annual geometry testing intervals, and discretionary use of enhanced testing methods reduced the likelihood of identifying track infrastructure irregularities and progressive fastening degradation before the condition escalated into a derailment risk."

Visual inspections cannot "reliably determine the remaining holding strength or clamping effectiveness" of screws. Geometry testing happens annually, making it difficult to spot fastening degradation developing between tests. No injuries were reported in the derailment. Metrolinx said it would issue automatic fare refunds to some GO train riders after the major delays, and has updated protocols to strengthen inspections and continue checking that similar conditions do not exist elsewhere on the railway.