Service resumes on Orange line after water main break causes shutdown
Service on a central stretch of the Metro's Orange line has resumed after a flooded station caused a shutdown on Thursday morning.
Trains are rolling again between Lionel-Groulx and Berri-UQAM stations, but they are not yet stopping at Square-Victoria–OACI station.
A city water main break sent firefighters and officials scrambling to contain a flood of water spilling into that station earlier in the day.
Firefighters received a call at 5:45 a.m. about water rushing into a building at the corner of de la Gauchetière Street and Beaver Hall Hill.
The water also infiltrated the Metro station, leading the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) to shut down the portion of the Orange line between Lionel-Groulx and Berri-UQAM stations.
The leak, located under Viger Avenue, was capped just after 9 a.m., over three hours after the first call came in.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said there are two city water mains in the area, as well as private pipes, which made it difficult to identify exactly where the water was coming from.
"Our hope was to re-establish service on the Orange line as quickly as possible, but the station is very deep, so it's a challenge to get the water out," Plante said.
Six firefighter teams are working to pump the water out of the station and the nearby building.
STM general director Luc Tremblay said that none of the electrical equipment in the Metro was damaged by the flood.
Viger, between Bleury Street and Beaver Hall Hill, will remain closed as city workers investigate the cause of the break.
The incident has left 207 homes and six businesses without water.
