Richmond Hill GO trains pass first major rain test since 2013 flood

Trains on the Richmond Hill GO line arerunning smoothly Friday, despite fears that high water levels would disrupt service throughout the day.

Some stretches of the track are in low-lying areas and are vulnerable to flooding. In 2013, emergency services had to rescue passengers from a train on the line after a major flash flood.

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After that incident, flood alarms were installed on the line, and they got their first real test on Friday, as the bulk of the 50 to 70 millimetres of rain in the forecast fell on the city.

"There were points when the water was very close to signaling the alarms," said Vanessa Borrasa, a spokeswoman for Metrolinx, but because the rain fell steadily, rather than all at once, floodwaters surrounding the track never reached a critical level.

In any future diversion due torain, trains will skip Old Cummer and Oriole stations, adding about 25 minutes onto each passengers commute.