Some E-Bikes to Be Banned From GO Trains Due to Fire Hazard

A man walks along an empty platform as a train strands idle at Toronto's Union Station after GO Transit and UP Express announced that trains are not running on the entire network due to a network-wide system failure on Oct. 3, 2023. Chris Young/The Canadian Press

Metrolinx plans to ban non-certified e-bike batteries in the coming months to lessen the potential for fire hazards on its GO trains.

The transit system will carry out electric bicycle inspections across the train network to ensure compliance, according to Global News. Metrolinx, a provincial agency, operates GO trains throughout the Greater Golden Horseshoe area in southern Ontario.

The ban will reportedly encompass all batteries without a “UL” or “CE” certification. The news report said the ban will address concerns about the safety of “micro-mobility devices” that use lithium-ion batteries.

Government sources indicated the policy isn’t expected to impact a large number of e-bike riders.

News of the ban comes nearly a year after Health Canada issued a warning about the misuse or modification of lithium-ion batteries in e-mobility devices. The agency said the practice poses a number of hazards, including increasing the risk of fire and injury.

“Lithium-ion batteries are more easily damaged than other types of batteries and can become hazardous in certain conditions as they are more unstable than other types of batteries,” the Health Canada advisory said.

“The lithium-ion batteries found in e-mobility devices are larger and more powerful than those found in smaller products, and incidents involving these batteries can be more severe resulting in thermal runaway.”

Thermal runaway occurs when an excess of heat builds up inside the battery due to damage, malfunction or misuse. High heat combined with the flammable contents of the lithium-ion battery can cause explosions or fires “that are extremely difficult to extinguish,” the agency said.

One such fire occurred on board a Toronto subway car on New Year’s Eve. A lithium-ion battery failure caused an e-bike to burst into flames on a Line 1 subway train, injuring three people. Police evacuated the station while firefighters dealt with the blaze.