Cayenne pepper strewn at the Place-d’Armes train station forced the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) to halt operations on three lines during rush hour on Tuesday morning.
The incident happened just before 8:30 a.m. when many Montrealers go to work.
“An unpleasant cayenne pepper-like substance was broadcast on the Place-d’Armes station. It is necessary to stop operations on the adjacent sections and evacuate several stations within a certain radius around the event to allow emergency ventilation of the tunnels and stations,” STM told QMI agency.
The orange line was interrupted between Snowdon and Beaubien due to the need for emergency ventilation, while the section between Beaubien and Montmorency was halted with one injured/ill person at Crémazie station due to the intervention of the emergency services.
The yellow line and green line also had to be completely disrupted for about 24 minutes to evacuate the uncomfortable substance and breathe fresh air into the affected stations and tunnels, STM said.
Montreal police, for their part, confirmed that some people were harassed by cayenne pepper and treated at the scene.
At around 9 a.m., the STM announced the gradual resumption of operations on the orange line.
A queue that stretched all the way to the top of the stairs on the Vendôme metro! I need 5 trains before I can take a subway! Long live the whims of public transport! pic.twitter.com/6VEQ2BQ5c2
— Tristan Mac (@tristanmac00) February 14, 2023
Not really ! 😜 We are still several hundred passengers in a stationary metro in Jean-Talon with the doors open for 11 minutes….
— Olivier Hernandez (he/him/him) (@OlivierHer) February 14, 2023