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The Eglinton Crosstown LRT will open on Sunday, the TTC’s CEO confirmed in a board meeting Tuesday morning.
Mandeep Lali said on Tuesday the line will start a phased opening Feb. 8 and boarding will be free for customers on the opening day. The first ride will begin at 5:40 a.m., Lali said.
The TTC will gather feedback from riders during the gradual opening before moving to full service, Lali said.
“This allows us to monitor performance, fully validate it collectively and allows upgrades we know are coming to be phased in in a controlled manner,” he said.
Improvements to Line 5’s speed and software will come in March and May, Lali said.
Construction on the rail line began 15 years ago and was initially set to open in 2020 but has been repeatedly delayed due to technical problems.
As of last fall, the project had wracked up a price tag of over $13 billion, according to a report from Metrolinx, an increase from the $11.78 billion projected in 2018.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said she is “glad the line is finally opening,” in a statement to CBC Toronto on Tuesday.
“The TTC has a century-long expertise in operating public transit, and I am confident in their ability to operate the new line provided the line itself is built well and maintained well by Metrolinx and Crosslinx,” Chow said in the statement.
The line will run along Eglinton Avenue, with 25 stops from Mount Dennis Station to Kennedy Station, according to Metrolinx’s website.
During the meeting Tuesday, the TTC’s Josh Colle said the Crosstown will travel from end to end in just under an hour, which about 47 per cent faster than the hour-and-45-minute trip by bus.
Metrolinx’s website says the line will make travel times “up to 60 per cent faster” than travelling by bus.
The line’s opening brings with it changes to 35 bus lines, 16 of which are already operating with the updates, Lali said Tuesday.
The Feb. 8 confirmation comes exactly one week after Chow and Ontario Premier Doug Ford floated the opening date, though at the time Lali was noncommittal.
WATCH | A rundown on the Eglinton Crosstown opening:
Eglinton LRT opening date: Everything you need to know
The Eglinton Crosstown LRT is set to open on Sunday, Feb. 8, 15 years after construction began, TTC’s CEO confirmed Tuesday morning.
The new Eglinton line recently had “some minor emergency brake occurrences” during testing, Metrolinx said late last week, though a spokesperson said the issues would not prevent the line’s opening.
And, Lali said, there are no “unaddressed safety-critical items” on Line 5 heading into its opening.
The opening will come nearly two months after the opening of the Finch West LRT, which logged 350 delays in its first month of service. Many of the delays were due to issues with switching technology. Switches are used to move trains onto different tracks.
The Finch West line has also been criticized for being slow, but city council approved a motion in December that aims to speed up LRT projects by giving them Transit Signal Priority (TSP) over left-turning cars at intersections.
Transit experts and advocates have warned the Eglinton line could experience similar issues to the Finch West LRT once it’s launched.
Lali told the board TSP will be activated for the new line’s opening but will be implemented on a phased rotation.
“We’ll be leveraging customer feedback, taking lessons from the Line 6, holding the right teams accountable,” he said.
