A couple has been charged with engaging in a lewd act on a Toronto subway after another passenger complained he saw them having sex.

The two were visible to other passengers, one of whom captured a video of the episode and posted it on a website that includes "uncut" material.

The amorous pair were on a southbound train at about 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday at the Spadina station, when the complaint was made, various media reports said. A passenger reached up and pushed the yellow emergency strip. Apparently intoxicated and unwilling to stop, the couple got off the train and continued on the station platform tiles.

"I've never seen a report like this before," Toronto Transit Commission spokesman Brad Ross told a newspaper. "But that just means that nobody's been caught."

The train was halted for 14 minutes, waiting for police to arrive, evidently giving the couple time to complete the task. Officers took the pair to Mount Sinai Hospital on University Avenue, given their level of intoxication.

The subway system is a public place, the TTC spokesman said.

"There are children, of course, and other customers, and engaging in sexual activity is something you might not want to do," he was reported as saying.

"My advice to others who wish to engage in public displays of affection of this nature is to get a room."

The coupling was trending on Twitter by Tuesday morning under the hashtag #metrosexualpass.

"The words #RideTheRocket will never mean the same again," one user wrote.

Even TTC general manager Gary Webster chose to see the lighter side.

"We were just pleased it wasn't two TTC employees involved," he said, chuckling. "That was our first concern when that happened."