A Toronto man accused of pushing three teenagers at a west-end subway station, sending two onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train, has been charged with attempted murder.

Adenir DeOliveira, 47, appeared in a Toronto court on Saturday and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. He will remain in police custody until his bail hearing.

DeOliveira is charged with three counts of attempted murder and two assault charges.

Toronto police allege two teens were deliberately pushed onto the tracks in front of an eastbound train at the Dufferin subway station at about 4:50 p.m. on Friday.

"Totally unprovoked. We didn't know the guy," a third teen who was pushed but did not fall off the platform told CBC News.

A court order was also issued on Saturday preventing the naming of the victims or their relatives.

The youth said the group of teens didn't have any interaction with the man who pushed them.

He was pushed by the man but was able to regain his balance and did not fall off the platform and onto the subway tracks. Two of his friends, however, did tumble into the path of a train.

One of the teens, 14, was able to crawl under the platform, and pulled his friend, 15, along with him, out of the way of the approaching train. But his friend's left foot was clipped by the train.

Some of the teen's friends chased after the man believed to have pushed the boys.

A ticket collector and another bystander were allegedly assaulted by the man and joined the pursuit. They were able to apprehend a suspect a few blocks away from the station and hold him until police arrived and arrested him.

Injured teen celebrating birthday

The father of the injured 15-year-old told CBC News on Saturday that reports the boy's foot and toes were crushed are untrue.

"He's doing well. He's in good spirits. He had some surgery last night on his foot," the father of the injured boy said.

His son had just turned 15 on Thursday and was out celebrating with a group of four friends from elementary school on Friday afternoon.

The father said his son surviving the incident is the best birthday gift anyone in the family could have received.

The father said there are some concerns about blood supply to his son's foot that are being examined by medical staff. But the family has been told any damage will be cosmetic.

TTC studying barriers

Pushing incidents have occurred on Toronto's subway system previously, including in 1997, when a woman was killed after being thrown in front of a subway at Dundas station, according to the Toronto Transit Commission.

"We're just grateful these children were not killed and we wish them nothing but a speedy recovery both physically and mentally," said TTC spokesman Brad Ross said, adding it was a rare and isolated incident.

"I can not imagine the fear and the complete terror that they must have felt at that time. The act of that 14-year-old to pull his friend over and to think so quickly is quite impressive," Ross said.

Every subway platform in Toronto has yellow tactile tiles that indicate the edge of the platform.

Other safety measures include an intercom to the collectors, a video camera and pay phone.

But the mother of one of the teens said the TTC should be looking at installing a barrier system after Friday's incident.

"Occasionally when these matters happen — and they don't happen frequently at all — we're asked questions about platform screen doors," said Gary Webster, chief general manager for the TTC.

Webster said the transit commission is studying installing a barrier system at its 69 stations but that it would likely cost more than $6 million.

Each day, more than 1.5 million rides are taken via the Toronto subway system.

With files from the Canadian Press