Expect it to take 10 minutes or so longer to get home today on GO Transit, as the heat wave warms train tracks to unusual levels.

“For safety, a slow order has been issued for trains between 2-6 p.m. today causing minor delays,” tweeted Anne Marie Aikins of Metrolinx on Wednesday.

The GO go-slow order comes as heat warnings are issued by Environment Canada and the City of Toronto, as temperatures are expected to rise above 31C.

“Sustained high temperatures beyond 30C can cause ‘sun kinks’ in steel rails,” a statement issued by Metrolinx on Wednesday says. “These bends in the rail can cause a safety issue if trains pass over them too quickly.”

The statement calls the slow-down was prompted “out of an abundance of caution.”

“As a safety precaution, there has been a temporary slow order issued for all GO Transit and UP Express trains which will result in minor delays for the afternoon commute,” GO Transit said in its statement.

That means trains during the peak heat times between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. are going to reduce their speed by about 23 kph, GO says.

“This may add an average 10 minutes to trips (longer for longer trips, but much less for shorter trips, like UP Express),” the GO statement continues.

Crews will monitor the weather for tomorrow to determine if there’ll be another GO slow.

Aikins said the slowdowns are fairly uncommon.

“We may have had one last summer,” Aikins said. “. . . I don’t think we had any the year before.”

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