Toronto Crosstown LRT | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | Arcadis

[lead82]

Tunnels are finished. I see individual stations approaching a finished state. As they get completed, the workers will be added to the remaining stations. Come spring, we will see a speed up of "finishing" such as glass and tile work.

Have you ever been to sub-divisions or condos, where the workers are still working on the buildings, while other parts get occupied? The last tend to be the landscaping.

Yes I have. Landscaping will be last for sure but looking at Yonge and Eglinton I don’t see anything close to being finished at that interchange. Same goes for Cedarvale. Yes some individual stations will be done but without the two main subway interchange stations I don’t see how the line can open in 8 months. I hope the work accelerated in the summer but they would still need to test end to end a lot. Let’s see.

 

[Therion]

I'm inclined to agree with lead82. Drove through Y/E last week and it is far, far from finished. The possibility of opening the line without a stop at Y/E was floated around here a while ago, I guess that's a possibility, but I don't see it happening. It would be a logistical nightmare to transfer everyone from another stop.

 

[W. K. Lis]

I'm inclined to agree with lead82. Drove through Y/E last week and it is far, far from finished. The possibility of opening the line without a stop at Y/E was floated around here a while ago, I guess that's a possibility, but I don't see it happening. It would be a logistical nightmare to transfer everyone from another stop.

Don't forget that the Line 1's Eglinton Station (and Eglinton West/Cedarvale Station) is still in operation. So they could open up Line 5's Eglinton Station underground, while still working on the above. They could use the current Line 1 entrances at Eglinton. Trains have already been operating in testing mode on Line 5 through both Cedarvale and Eglinton Stations.

Take a ride on the Eglinton LRT line from Laird Station to the Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility!

The final piece of track for the Crosstown was laid in fall of 2021 meaning light rail vehicles are now able to test on the full length of the line between Mt. Dennis and Kennedy. The special wraps are no longer in use as a result. The two pairs of LRV's I caught were LRV 6261 coupled with 6262 & LRV 6249 coupled with 6224.

 

[JSF-1]

I'm sure that the first dibs for light rail operators would be the current streetcar and bus operators. You can apply at link.

I wonder if the training process could be expedited partially. Since the Flexity Outlooks and Flexity Freedoms are operationally similar I would imagine that streetcar operators would have very little problem adapting to the Crosstown; and maybe even take to it faster since they don't really have to worry about vehicular traffic outside of intersections. I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of operators on the Crosstown are former streetcar operators since there skills are interchangeable here.

 

[smallspy]

^Has any timeline been announced for hiring operators ?

At some point operator training will begin. And then when they have sufficient operators qualified, they will have to run full blown stress tests for operation. One would hope that they will simulate full rush hour headways with 3-car trains and realistic dwell timings. One really ought to test winter conditions, and under real traffic conditions ie not on a weekend or at night, given there is road traffic signal integration..

Their last window for cold weather testing ends in about six weeks. If they are aiming for October, I hope they have been doing lots of testing over the past 6-8 weeks on the surface portions especially. Otherwise, the first winter could be rough. That, plus the traffic signal tweaking, could lead to the system getting a bad rep if the first few months of service don’t go well.

I may sound extreme, but this is the point in the project where the “what could go wrong” mentality ought to carry a lot of weight. Rushing the in service date while hoping for the best is not wise.

- Paul

They've been training the training staff and supervisors since November.

The TTC has started putting up notices in divisions canvassing for employees looking to change divisions. These would be for the first couple of training classes starting in April or May.

Dan

 

[felix123]

Don't forget that the Line 1's Eglinton Station (and Eglinton West/Cedarvale Station) is still in operation. So they could open up Line 5's Eglinton Station underground, while still working on the above. They could use the current Line 1 entrances at Eglinton. Trains have already been operating in testing mode on Line 5 through both Cedarvale and Eglinton Stations.

Take a ride on the Eglinton LRT line from Laird Station to the Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility!

The final piece of track for the Crosstown was laid in fall of 2021 meaning light rail vehicles are now able to test on the full length of the line between Mt. Dennis and Kennedy. The special wraps are no longer in use as a result. The two pairs of LRV's I caught were LRV 6261 coupled with 6262 & LRV 6249 coupled with 6224.

Very exciting, thanks for sharing these!

 

[W. K. Lis]

The Hurontario Line may be renamed the "Hazel McCallium Line" when it opens, in or around 2024. Planning for the formally named "Huronatario LIne" began in Spring 2020, when Hazel McCallium was still mayor (until 2014).

That means the formally named "Ontario Line" might be renamed the "Rob Ford Line".

Planning for the formally named "Eglinton Crosstown Line" (Line 5) began in 2007, when David Miller was still mayor (until 2010). Maybe they should use the "David Miller Line" for the Crosstown?

 

[Steve X]

Planning for the formally named "Eglinton Crosstown Line" (Line 5) began in 2007, when David Miller was still mayor (until 2010). Maybe they should use the "David Miller Line" for the Crosstown?

Along with the "Douglas Ford Jr. Extension". To remind everyone that, Kipling-Eglinton Station would be named Doug Ford Station

 

[Jane2021]

this article from Citynews says the Eglinton Crosstown is opening on October 9thView attachment 379777

To add on to this Anne Marie Atkins said in a podcast today and I quote “the Eglinton Crosstown is opening this year” that’s what was said in a podcast so don’t shoot the messenger

Metrolinx Press Room

Find the latest Metrolinx news, project updates and more.

blog.metrolinx.com

 

[generalcanada]

according to someone working on the crosstown, the line is opening October 9th.
I think he might be confused with handoff to the ttc and public opening though

https://i.redd.it/2svtjvgxkhi81.jpg

https://www.reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/sv40nt/_/hxeav56

 

[Aplus23]

Outside restoration work can happen quickly, it's the inside of the stations that ppl should be worried about when it comes to an opening date.

A lot of the stations are near completion or completed already on the outside, we saw from last year that the guts of the stations are tile / paint / escalators ready.... I think just lots of Makeup stuff is needed over the next 6-8months.

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

according to someone working on the crosstown, the line is opening October 9th.
I think he might be confused with handoff to the ttc and public opening though

https://i.redd.it/2svtjvgxkhi81.jpg

https://www.reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/sv40nt/_/hxeav56

Metrolinx confirmed on their new podcast that that's the current date they are aming for as the opening day.

 

[robmausser]

Metrolinx confirmed on their new podcast that that's the current date they are aming for as the opening day.

I do think that October 9th is feasible, but it will be one of those situations where a lot of the non-essential work on the stations will not be done yet, and things will feel like walking through Union station for a while, with landscaping, finishing touches etc all still yet to be complete.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Filling in the excavations with sand and soil, and then laying concrete sidewalks and asphalt paving can be done in the upcoming months. Bet there will still be people who consider not painting the traffic lane lines as being incomplete, when it is only "makeup".

 

[innsertnamehere]

I do think that October 9th is feasible, but it will be one of those situations where a lot of the non-essential work on the stations will not be done yet, and things will feel like walking through Union station for a while, with landscaping, finishing touches etc all still yet to be complete.

I think you'll see most stations being more or less done, with a few still having finishing touches done up.

It was the same thing with TYSSE - Finch West was lagging and had a lot of unfinished work still on opening day.

I suspect most stations will be fully complete, with Yonge/Eglinton in particular having a lot of finishing touches still to go.