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Finch West Line 6 LRT

Just noticed some slides from the open house on the FWLRT metrolinx site: http://www.metrolinx.com/en/greaterregion/projects/docs/finchwest/Open-House-Presentation.pdf

Why wasn't some of this work done already during the construction of Finch West station?

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Why wasn't some of this work done already during the construction of Finch West station?

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Because when the TYSSE was designed and tendered, there was no assurance that the Finch West line was going to be built. It wasn't until much later in the construction process that the funding was allocated.

It's the same reason why a subway station box isn't being built for the DRL at Don Mills and Eglinton right now.

Dan
 
I'm pleased to see this moving forward and like the concepts for the 2 underground stations well enough, though one hope's the wall finishes have a tad more flourish.

But I'm not overly keen on the surface stops. They look nice enough, but the weather protection is very limited.

There doesn't even appear to be provision for a wind break; and w/the very limited 'roof' profile, precipitation on a windy day will still be a live issue for any commuter.

I realize it costs money, but I tend to feel it would have been worthwhile at surface stations to extend the roofing structure over the wires and tracks.

This would minimize any issue in regards to precipitation for commuters and would also reduce the risk of ice build-up on the wires.

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I'm pleased to see this moving forward and like the concepts for the 2 underground stations well enough, though one hope's the wall finishes have a tad more flourish.

But I'm not overly keen on the surface stops. They look nice enough, but the weather protection is very limited.

There doesn't even appear to be provision for a wind break; and w/the very limited 'roof' profile, precipitation on a windy day will still be a live issue for any commuter.

I realize it costs money, but I tend to feel it would have been worthwhile at surface stations to extend the roofing structure over the wires and tracks.

This would minimize any issue in regards to precipitation for commuters and would also reduce the risk of ice build-up on the wires.

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These shelters look like a slight improvement to the Crosstown stop shelter.
 
These shelters look like a slight improvement to the Crosstown stop shelter.
The Sentinel one there ... maybe, but look at the Martin Grove one on Page 1.

How is that even safe? The people sat on the bench have their feet touching the narrow yellow strip? How is that safe? How to people walk past? What happens when there's a crowd waiting?

Also, interesting to see that the platforms are now only 48 metres long. So only ever single car operation. That puts a limit on capacity! Using the Ottawa number of 300 in each car, then ultimate capacity would be ... probably about every 2 minutes (can you even go that frequent with all the traffic lights ... 30 trains an hour ... 9,000 riders an hour. Perhaps that's all that's needed ...

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The Sentinel one there ... maybe, but look at the Martin Grove one on Page 1.

How is that even safe? The people sat on the bench have their feet touching the narrow yellow strip? How is that safe? How to people walk past? What happens when there's a crowd waiting?

Also, interesting to see that the platforms are now only 48 metres long. So only ever single car operation. That puts a limit on capacity! Using the Ottawa number of 300 in each car, then ultimate capacity would be ... probably about every 2 minutes (can you even go that frequent with all the traffic lights ... 30 trains an hour ... 9,000 riders an hour. Perhaps that's all that's needed ...

View attachment 190348
I’m pretty sure it’s just an issue with the perspective. But if from this angle the platform really is that small width, then it would be no worse that subway platforms next to the stairs (ie. St George) where you can only have 1 person standing and people walking by have to walk in the yellow strip. Then I would suggest to alternate the seating on the centre platforms so that the seating on the opposite direction is removed and the seat and wall were a bit pushed back.
 
Also, interesting to see that the platforms are now only 48 metres long. So only ever single car operation. That puts a limit on capacity! Using the Ottawa number of 300 in each car, then ultimate capacity would be ... probably about every 2 minutes (can you even go that frequent with all the traffic lights ... 30 trains an hour ... 9,000 riders an hour. Perhaps that's all that's needed ...

They're only planning for five minute headways at peak. Assuming two minute headways are possible, that would be 150% growth. By the time they achieve that, they could probably justify ordering new, longer vehicles or even building extended platforms. But that's a lot of riders! That's a shorter headway than the Spadina streetcar with larger vehicles.
 
The Sentinel one there ... maybe, but look at the Martin Grove one on Page 1.

How is that even safe? The people sat on the bench have their feet touching the narrow yellow strip? How is that safe? How to people walk past? What happens when there's a crowd waiting?

Also, interesting to see that the platforms are now only 48 metres long. So only ever single car operation. That puts a limit on capacity! Using the Ottawa number of 300 in each car, then ultimate capacity would be ... probably about every 2 minutes (can you even go that frequent with all the traffic lights ... 30 trains an hour ... 9,000 riders an hour. Perhaps that's all that's needed ...

View attachment 190348
I was surprised too to see they would only run single car consists. They shorten it from 60m platforms. However they state the Finch West station platform will be at least 98 meters long to fit 2 trains at once.

I highly doubt they can get anywhere close to 30 trains per hour. They couldn't even achieve that with subway trains. Theoretically not impossible if they just bunch up as long as they operate manually like streetcars.

Either way that isn't planned for the near future. They anticipate for a maximum of 2800 pphpd by 2031 and less daily ridership than the 504 King today. They only bought 17 LRVs. Assuming they'll have a maximum of 14 in service and 60 minutes round trip time (RTT), that will roughly put it at 4'20" headway. They'll have lots of room to order more trains before expanding the platforms.

The Finch West Station design bothers me. Originally planned to be a side platform station but ML has changed it to a centre platform. It seems like from surface level everyone must take 2 flights of stairs (one down to FW concourse and one up to the platform). It's definitely very inconvenient to transfer from the 41 than the current 36B Westbound stop right in front of the NW corner station entrance. It would been much better if it's just one set of stairs.
 
I was surprised too to see they would only run single car consists. They shorten it from 60m platforms. However they state the Finch West station platform will be at least 98 meters long to fit 2 trains at once.

I highly doubt they can get anywhere close to 30 trains per hour. They couldn't even achieve that with subway trains. Theoretically not impossible if they just bunch up as long as they operate manually like streetcars.

Either way that isn't planned for the near future. They anticipate for a maximum of 2800 pphpd by 2031 and less daily ridership than the 504 King today. They only bought 17 LRVs. Assuming they'll have a maximum of 14 in service and 60 minutes round trip time (RTT), that will roughly put it at 4'20" headway. They'll have lots of room to order more trains before expanding the platforms.

The Finch West Station design bothers me. Originally planned to be a side platform station but ML has changed it to a centre platform. It seems like from surface level everyone must take 2 flights of stairs (one down to FW concourse and one up to the platform). It's definitely very inconvenient to transfer from the 41 than the current 36B Westbound stop right in front of the NW corner station entrance. It would been much better if it's just one set of stairs.
They can’t really add stairs to the centre of the existing Line 1 Platform to directly connect with Line 6 platform since they’re not lined up and having all centre platforms makes it difficult for efficient vertical circulation. Bad/lack of planning indeed.
 
They can’t really add stairs to the centre of the existing Line 1 Platform to directly connect with Line 6 platform since they’re not lined up and having all centre platforms makes it difficult for efficient vertical circulation. Bad/lack of planning indeed.
Transfering from Line 1 wouldn't be as bad, It'll still be two flights of stairs. Even if it lined up, it'll still be the same height. The Line 1 platform is north of Finch. The Line 1 crossover is underneath the intersection. I hope TTC learns their lesson on fare evasion and keeps the current fare gates in place. Additionally they should have a seperate set of gates to Line 6. It'll slow everyone down a little bit it'll cut down on cheaters without having to station inspectors there like Spadina. They also should to implement tap out like Vancouver does.
 
If that becomes necessary, extending the street level platforms will be somewhat tedious, but certainly not insanely expensive.

Might not be needed for a very long time, but it is nice to know they are making the Finch West underground LRT platforms 98 m long. The only concern is the platform length at Humber College terminal (that length is not stated in the document).
 
even the ion lrt platforms are long enough for 2 car sets (i know theyre the shorter flexities but still) why are the lines inside the city the victim of halfassery despite the fact that people will actually use them in large numbers from day 1. if and when this line gets extended east and west i could totally see it requiring coupled lrvs during rush hour
 
even the ion lrt platforms are long enough for 2 car sets (i know theyre the shorter flexities but still) why are the lines inside the city the victim of halfassery despite the fact that people will actually use them in large numbers from day 1. if and when this line gets extended east and west i could totally see it requiring coupled lrvs during rush hour
Those ion platforms will only be 60 metres, compared to these 48-metre ones that can be extended to 96. With the underground ones 96, extending the surface ones isn't as big a deal - clearly it's been protected for that. And who knows if they'd ever need it. With the 2031 EA demand less than 3,000 per hour (and wasn't the peak-point near Yonge?) then that can be done with only 10 cars an hour - one every 6 minutes. So you'll be able to triple the the projected capacity easily, but just running every 2 minutes - which could be decades away.

And really, if that isn't enough, and they need 96-metre trains in 50 years time, do we really want that, or would building a parallel LRT on Sheppard or Steeles be the first choice?
 
If that becomes necessary, extending the street level platforms will be somewhat tedious, but certainly not insanely expensive.

Might not be needed for a very long time, but it is nice to know they are making the Finch West underground LRT platforms 98 m long. The only concern is the platform length at Humber College terminal (that length is not stated in the document).
Humber College Station would be below grade, not underground. It will be like 69 St West Station on the Calgary C-Train with an open top. When they do extend it, they can go back and extend it easily without interfering with the rest of the station.

Extending surface platforms would be simple. They'll do all the roadwork and extending the curb with the LRT open. Then they can take a summer closure to extend the platforms. It's like how the TTC reworked the 510 Spadina platform and planned for 504A on Roncy platforms.
 
Finch will have a CBTC system installed; same implementation as Vancouver Skytrain uses.


I expect the intended use is to eliminate bunching (guarantee vehicles remain X minutes apart) by adjusting vehicle travel speed.
 
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