The gap between the platform and the subway car floor can be as much as 15 centimeters (or six inches) at the St. Clair station. This revelation comes as a 4-year-old child, Ava Buckareff, fell through the gap to her hips while boarding a train on Wednesday. Fortunately the girl’s aunt Esther Buckareff, quickly tugged Ava out of the gap and placed her on the train. The harrowing incident is only diminished by the terrifying prospect of what might have happened if the train had started to move with Ava still stuck between the platform and the subway car. The TTC has explained that the size of the gap in this case is related to the curvature of the northbound tracks at St Clair station. The station is offset to the east of Yonge street and the tracks swing east into the station. The last cars in the train sometimes stop while they are still on the curve, leaving a wider than usual gap. It’s another reminder of just how old our Yonge subway has become.
