Orange and blue lines are down
Tweets at this moment are saying the metro’s orange and blue lines are down, cause unknown as yet.
Later note: Smoke bombs again. La Presse notes.
8:50: Got a Twitter reply saying “NOPE WHOLE FUCKING SYSTEM” in response to my headline “Orange and blue lines are down”. Radio-Canada notes a shortage of buses at the end of rush hour: “La Société de transport de Montréal (STM) invite donc les usagers à marcher jusqu’à leur destination.”
9:15: Bixi announces two bike reception depots downtown, one at King and de la Commune and another at St-Alexandre and Sainte-Catherine in the Gesù parking lot. Bravo to them for being so responsive.
Tweets are saying there’s smoke but it’s apparently not toxic and nobody’s had to be treated for a bad reaction to it.
I’m hearing sirens up here in Villeray. Might not be related.
photo of bus lineup on Wellington in Verdun and general reports of transit chaos.
9:34: Bixi adds depots at Place d’Armes and Victoria Square.
9:57: Tweets suggest orange and blue lines coming back up, Jean-Talon station reopening.
10:12: Tweets say metro is back except green line from Berri to Beaugrand.
Bixi continues to open new bike reception depots, one at Stanley and de Maisonneuve, another at Bleury and de Maisonneuve.
Adam 08:13 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
“La Société de transport de Montréal (STM) invite donc les usagers à marcher jusqu’à leur destination.”
I think this is one of those times that silence would have been golden.
mdblog 08:26 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
It’s times like this that it’s blissfully clear that the anarchists, activists, protesters, and revolutionaries are not fighting any problem or injustice. They in fact ARE the the problem. Their selfish acts are not justifiable in any way.
Kate 08:28 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
It’s the theatre of showing us how precarious our society really is. Attacking public transit is a pretty stupid gesture, though, whoever did it.
Adam 09:33 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
Apparently someone phoned in to CJAD to say that Charest should call in the army. I know it’s only one caller, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a growing minority that feels that way. It’s scary just how eager many people are to throw away their freedoms due to what is, in the end, a mild-to-moderate inconvenience. I suppose it has more to do with “getting” whoever is responsible than the actual problem itself.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/smoke-bombs-cripple-montreal-subway-system-during-morning-132907046.html
qatzelok 09:45 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
It’s so easy for MONEY to stage these kinds of events – both the smoke bomb and the “public” reaction. This is why we have no real freedom. False-flag terror tactics are the favored tool of the oligarchy. It feeds into the “the 99% are savages” narrative that makes them feel special and entitled.
paul 10:13 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
@qatzelok: do you have any sources for those quotes?
mdblog 10:51 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
@qatzelok, I don’t think you need money to pull this off. Besides, even if this is some sort of capitalist conspiracy, don’t you think that they have better and easier ways of keeping everyone in line than disrupting the Metro? You’re reading waaaay too much Alex Jones. Remember, at the end of the day, ultimate damnation is equal to ultimate salvation.
qatzelok 10:55 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
mdblog, I don’t watch Alex Jones at all. But I have been boycotting Hollywood/TV for a decade, so I may have lost my faith in commerce. I now believe that money has turned our societies into organized crime. Do you really have faith in capitalism? Do you really think BIG MONEY doesn’t stoop to lies and propaganda?
Adam 11:51 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
“I now believe that money has turned our societies into organized crime.”
If you’d like to shun money and only engage in barter, please, be my guest.
mdblog 12:33 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
qatzelok, I think everyone from the very rich to the very poor stoops to lies and propaganda when it suits their needs, but then again, I am a cynic. :)
Kevin 12:47 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
@qatzelok
Enjoy living in your bubble.
Tux 13:05 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
All things considered, this wasn’t so bad. I was an hour late for work. I spent the extra time reading with a coffee while I waited for the metro to show. Also, I was quite surprised that the STM actually announced that it was a smoke bomb over the PA system, usually they just refer to everything as an “incident” and everything from “burning paper bag” to “major electrical fire” as “degagement de fumée” The honesty and actual information were a nice surprise.
qatzelok 13:24 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
@Kevin: “your bubble”
Yes, so while we are learning that our government and media are in bed with the mafia, most consumers/viewers insist on believing the media to report on the government and mafia…. and I’M THE ONE living in a bubble? Why isn’t the mafia a suspect in any of these events?
Dhomas 15:52 on 2012/05/10 Permalink
@Tux wrote: “All things considered, this wasn’t so bad. I was an hour late for work. I spent the extra time reading with a coffee while I waited for the metro to show.”
I’m glad you got to enjoy it. I made the mistake of taking the “Service Provisoire” bus and got stuck in a very cramped space, where everyone who was sitting down refused to open any windows for fear of getting a drop of rain on them. Meanwhile, the whole bus was a sauna. I couldn’t even see where I was through the window because they were fogged up, and it took about an hour to get from Pie-IX to Berri, at which point I got out and walked the rest of the way to Square-Victoria. If only I hadn’t left my Bixi key with my wife today!
Spock 07:56 on 2012/05/12 Permalink
It was the students and not people with money.
I am not surprised that there is a lot of leftists opinions here. Explains why Quebec is the most heavily taxed district in NA and, even, internationally and also explains why we are so screwed economically. Just like other leftist districts worldwide.
Viva el socialisme