If my commute time is going to triple, I'd really prefer it happen on the way to work...

You know your commute isn't going to go well when you come in and the entire schedule is red.   Fatality on the tracks at Port Credit.  Frig.   Updates say trains will go to Long Branch and then passengers will be bused to Clarkson, where they can get back on the train for the rest of the trip.  Announcement came in just before 3, saying 3-4 hours before normal service resumes.  Frig.  I was aiming for the 3:43 train.

So that meant one train had already been through since the tracks had been closed.  Okay...   Usually Mum and I sit in the farthest train to the west as that's where we park, but because of this we moved more to the middle of the train thinking it'd put us closer to the station.   We is smart.

Until they announce on the train that anybody getting off at Long Branch (like 99.999% of people, since very few get off in the few stations before that) will want to be at the west end of the train.  Fail.  We decided to stay put -- we had seats and the train was full.   Sure enough, within a few minutes the train was *packed*, standing room only, as everybody was trying to get to the west end of the train.  There was no passing our car.

So all good, away we go.  Then the train stops in the middle of nowhere and we get to just hang out.  About this time I reach out to those I was supposed to teach tonight to give them the heads up the odds aren't great.

Train eventually starts moving and we pull into Long Branch. Which is a *tiny* station.  Impressively said station was immediately next to our car.  For the win!  Out the window we could see the insane line for the buses -- oh yeah, ours wasn't the first train.  Frig.  And the people leaving our train are moving very slowly...   Why?  Because there appears to be only one set of stairs off the platform.

There are announcements that our train will be turning around and going back to Union and could we *please* all stay to one side of the tunnel so people trying to get ON the train could get through.  The announcer was not up to handling the situation at all, so there was a fair amount of confusion, but people were being remarkably patient.

This was about 1/3 of the line.  You can see the one lone bus in the distance...

More of the line...  It actually went all the way out of the parking lot.

So seeing this, I was *very* grateful my amazing dad offered to come pick us up (Mum and I were commuting together due to vehicle issues).   I can't even imagine how long it'd take to get through that line loading all those people onto one bus at a time -- esp as there wasn't a line up of buses.   Usually I'm a pretty patient traveler, but given the current temp and my lack of appropriate clothing, it would've been pretty brutal.  Some cabby's were getting smart and showing up.

They did eventually decide they were going to let some trains through -- but nobody seemed to know which ones or what track.  So the bus line dispersed as all the people who'd gotten off the train went back through the tunnel to get back on.   But Mum and I waited for the nice ride home :)

Had to go back to the GO station to pick up my car, but did eventually make it home, very cold and very late.  Turn on the fire and change into comfy clothes for the rest of the evening.  I sense nothing productive will be happening tonight ;)