News   Dec 08, 2025
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Toronto Eglinton Line 5 | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | Arcadis

This is beyond farcical.

What could the hold up be now if Ford has claimed that the Crosstown is complete? I mean I know better than to believe a word that comes out of a politician's mouth, but still. To me, "complete" implies that all the testing is done and the product is ready for hand off. And even in the context of the TTC needing how ever many board periods to simulate operations before putting the line into service, that would still not bring us anywhere close to June.
 
Maybe time to think about decommission. What is the expected useful life of the line again?
Theoretically a rail car like a subway or streetcar is good for 30 years without a rebuild.

Add in one comprehensive rebuild and suddenly that number shoots up to 50-60 years. Of course, those numbers have some leeway to them.

One hopes that:

a) it's possible to rebuild these highly computerized modern machines without breaking the bank, and
b) that the countdown clock on their lifespan hasn't started yet
 
I just drove on Eglinton and saw at least 4 trains out testing.

Doing some snow testing by the looks of it.
Just remember rail vehicles’ worst season is fall not winter. Leaves is what causes them to slip, not snow.

Winter could bring some troubles to switches if they aren’t heated as well as ice storms caused overhead issues
 
Bessarion only cost $36 million and this included the whole station, escalators, elevators, two exits, an emergency hatch, a large mezzanine, etc., etc., all of this in a deeper than average station. Why the hell are they building stations in open fields at Jane & Steeles that may cost three times as much? It's (*conspiracy theory alert*) not building codes or advanced technology, it's that they artificially inflated the cost of the extension to an almost absurd degree to ensure the subway extension would never get built...and now we seem to be stuck with this plan even after Rubber Stamp McGuinty came to town on a horse named 2020.
Something called inflation.
 
Exactly I think I read something about wet leaves getting crushed to a fine powder by the train wheels and even adding sand causes wheel slip.
It seems very unlikely to me that the compressive force of a train is enough to eliminate all the water from wet leaves and turn them to dust!

It's the wet leaves themselves that causes the slip. (I'd think that the coarseness of the sand would be the factor - I'd think that coarse sand should reducing slippiness).
 
It seems very unlikely to me that the compressive force of a train is enough to eliminate all the water from wet leaves and turn them to dust!

It's the wet leaves themselves that causes the slip. (I'd think that the coarseness of the sand would be the factor - I'd think that coarse sand should reducing slippiness).

 
Wow! Fascinating! Thanks for the link.

A surprisingly complex process! I wonder if changing the formulation of the steel could eliminate this problem.
 
After further thought; Jamaal Myers "June at earliest comment" feels like carries less weight and sounds similar to Mike Colle's uninformed speculation last month. More importantly; less than a week ago Verster spoke of RSD early in the New Year, in line with the timeline @Northern Light was quoted.

Anyone else have strong views either way?
 
After further thought; Jamaal Myers "June at earliest comment" feels like carries less weight and sounds similar to Mike Colle's uninformed speculation last month. More importantly; less than a week ago Verster spoke of RSD early in the New Year, in line with the timeline @Northern Light was quoted.

Anyone else have strong views either way?

As I said on Steve Munro's blog, I feel like the comment by Jamaal Myers and the decision undertaken by the TTC Board were a cop out. I feel as though they claim "June at the earliest" to give them some breathing room with legacy fares.

My beef with Jamaal Myers is that he is somewhat beholden to Olivia Chow and her agenda. I am an NDP'r through and through but I do feel like whoever is giving Olivia Chow advice is missing the mark.

Truthfully, I would not trust much of what comes out of the TTC Board's mouth at this point. It is misinformed, maligned garbage designed to suit their narrative.
 

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