Toronto Eglinton Line 5 | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | Arcadis

[crs1026]

A reasonable guess, the vehicle ages slower when it is not in active use, but it still ages somewhat. The rate of aging should be in the range of 35% - 50% of the active-use rate of aging.

In case of ECLRT vehicles, the aging is not critical at this point, but is not negligible and needs to be accounted for in the long-term fleet replacement plans.

There will be components whose aging is time-based - meaning these deteriorate and need maintenance whether the tram is used or not - and other components whose aging is use-based - meaning they will be fine until the heavy wear and tear of daily service sets in.

Five years is long enough to need a renewal program to start replacing some of those time-based components. Plus, the testing in aggregate probably now represents a year of use, so there is some wear and tear already accumulated. If the contractor has been laying off this maintenance, figuring it isn't accumulating prior to handover.... I imagine there are reliability issues already showing up. TTC may not be perfect, but I bet they know tons about how fast Flexities age and which components need fixing soonest.

And in the end, rust never sleeps. Trams that have been sitting in the yard may not have mechanical wear and tear, and will have minimal exposure to salt... but penetration of ground moisture will have been happening even without the cars going anywhere.

- Paul

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Guessing they are trying to fix any problems on Line 5 to avoid "slow zones" when it opens. However, if they opened Line 5 today, wouldn't the operation of be similar to current Line 1 & Line 2 with their "slow zones"?

If so, open Line 5 with the "slow zones". The experience would be "normal" for TTC users.

 

[6ixGod]

What I find particularly interesting is how not a single politician at City Hall or Queen’s Park (either side of the aisle) is actively demanding an independent investigation. That’s because Crosslinx Transit Solutions includes SNC-Lavalin and EllisDon…..two companies deeply tied to Ontario’s political elite across party lines.

SNC-Lavalin has a proven record of illegal political donations and federal ethics scandals. EllisDon’s leadership has long-standing ties to the Ontario Liberals and documented influence over key labour legislation. Even Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives have been influenced by EllisDon donations.

These firms profit from delays under the public-private partnership model, where every hold-up means more billable hours and more public money drained….all with zero accountability. The endless delays and silence from politicians reveals a system rigged to protect these entrenched interests, not the public.

And don’t expect to hear the names SNC-Lavalin or EllisDon mentioned on CP24 or most local news outlets.

Honestly, I can’t stand CP24….it’s a total joke as a news source. They never dig beneath the surface or investigate the real reasons behind issues. Instead, they serve up shallow, sensational stories and treat Toronto like some backwater town. They get way too hyped whenever a celebrity or outsider visits, acting like it’s front-page breaking news. Meanwhile, the screen is cluttered with a chaotic mess of weather updates, stock tickers, traffic cams, and flashing banners….so many distractions it’s impossible to focus on anything meaningful.

Real investigative journalism? Forget it. It’s all style over substance, and that complacency helps keep these political and corporate interests safely under the radar.

 

[BrenWilson]

The NDP generally makes a headline about wanting more answers every time it cycles through the news. Asking for a public or independent investigation while the PCs sit in a majority is just a pointless move, iirc Toronto council asked for one last year.

 

[Northern Light]

Sadly, a serious injury this afternoon, with a pedestrian hit by a train.

 

[Steve X]

Sadly, a serious injury this afternoon, with a pedestrian hit by a train.

View attachment 672284

If you look at the article on cp24: https://www.cp24.com/local/toronto/...red-after-being-struck-by-lrt-in-scarborough/

You can see the train is stopped in the middle of the grassy medium. People have been casually jaywalking like trains don’t exist. This would be the first of many future incidents if this behaviour continues. Hopefully the TTC won’t implement a 30 km/h zone for this behaviour.

 

[PL1]

.... People have been casually jaywalking like trains don’t exist. This would be the first of many future incidents if this behaviour continues. Hopefully the TTC won’t implement a 30 km/h zone for this behaviour.

Agreed. Similarly, I hope they don't erect a barrier to pedestrians crossing

 

[Northern Light]

Agreed. Similarly, I hope they don't erect a barrier to pedestrians crossing

Eglinton is generally no wider than Spadina or St. Clair West, both of which see lots of pedestrians crossing mid-block, one of whom is me, from time to time.

In general, the vast majority manage this without endangering themselves or others.

There is a skill and an awareness required when doing such a thing, and you have to know your own abilities or decide to cross at a light, just as with any road.

You also need to judge your ability to have a plan B or fallback, because the best of us sometimes misjudge an approach speed or our own crossing time............so where will you stand and wait if that happens.

For all of that, I don't want to victim blame here, there is one person clinging to life in a trauma hospital and an operator who is likely badly shaken.

My sympathy and best wishes to both.

 

[Thaboss]

If you look at the article on cp24: https://www.cp24.com/local/toronto/...red-after-being-struck-by-lrt-in-scarborough/

You can see the train is stopped in the middle of the grassy medium. People have been casually jaywalking like trains don’t exist. This would be the first of many future incidents if this behaviour continues. Hopefully the TTC won’t implement a 30 km/h zone for this behaviour.

At worst they could add barriers but they better not "slow down" the thing.

 

[Northern Light]

Ha. That would be funny if we treated LRTs like we treated cars.

Let's use VisionZero logic...

The pedestrians are never at fault. The cyclists are never at fault. The cars are always to blame (or in this case the LRTs)

That is not Vision Zero logic at all.

Therefore....

No LRT must run faster than 6 km/h.

Why do you post things like this? Its really obnoxious and you can do way better.

I'll defend you against the everyone must take transit set; but only if I don't have to defend others from nonsense your making up.

What roads have a 6km/ph speed limit? None.

The limit on side streets in 30km/ph by default, 40 on major roads, and some major roads remain as high as 60km/ph.

Just really not funny; and rather tasteless give that someone is at risk of dying today.

 

[Northern Light]

VisionZero logic believe that even one death is too many.

Therefore we must do EVERYTHING possible to reduce the speed of cars to make sure there isn't even a single death.

Which is ludicrous.

Because no matter how much you slow cars down people wills till jaywalk and cyclists will still swerve into traffic without warning.

But VisionZero doesn't care and therefore we have speedbumps on almost every side street.

We have childishly lows speed limits. 60km/h roads are 40km/h. 50km/h roads are 30km/h.

And then we have speed camera handing out tickets for as little as 9 km/h over.

So no, I can't do better. It's nuts.

And I'm merely poking fun at that by saying, what if we applied similiar logic to LRTs!

Good day sir!

I will not carry this on indefinitely.

But I will state two things clearly.

Your 'facts' are simply wrong.

And there are times you shouldn't tell a joke...

That person clinging to life is someone's son or daughter, someone's mother or father, someone's sibling or best friend or spouse.

If that person were your wife or your child .....and someone else was poking fun .....how would you feel about it? Right..

 

[toronto647]

Sadly, a serious injury this afternoon, with a pedestrian hit by a train.

View attachment 672284

This will add an extra 2-4 weeks in investigating why this happened at least by Metrolinx and TTC. More delays

 

[crs1026]

The Eglinton line has very long stretches between pedestrian crossovers. If this were a road, we would be increasing the number of crosswalks and ensuring no long stretches between them. And building refuge islands.

Vision Zero blames the road design, not the driver or the pedestrian. We have designed an LRT as if there is no need for pedestrians to cross it safely. Maybe that's the problem.

- Paul

 

[Northern Light]

The Eglinton line has very long stretches between pedestrian crossovers. If this were a road, we would be increasing the number of crosswalks and ensuring no long stretches between them. And building refuge islands.

Vision Zero blames the road design, not the driver or the pedestrian. We have designed an LRT as if there is no need for pedestrians to cross it safely. Maybe that's the problem.

- Paul

I agree w/the sentiment Paul.....

But I would point out Eglinton IS a road.

Not meaning to be silly, just saying.

***

I would also note, the nearest traffic light west of Pharmacy is only 222m away, meaning maximum walking distance to a traffic light of 111m

It is further if this was to the east of Pharmacy with a gap of ~460m, or max. walk of 230m to a light.

But as there are no intervening blocks, I'm not sure another light would be justified.

For sure, Eglinton here should have been designed better from a pedestrian and cycling point of view, and would be today. A painted bike lane does not cut it. and providing some standing space next to the tracks would make a world of sense.

Still, I would point out, Eglinton was previously 3 lanes each way, plus a turning lane in many spots. So its far safer post-LRT than it was previously. (its now 2 lanes + LRT, + left turn lanes at lights)

There is an intention to make improvements here, relatively soon. though they won't be as robust as one would like, but there is money budgeted. Some improvements will occur with redevelopment over time as well.

 

[cateran]

Assuming the LRV didn't move much afterwards, based on the image from CP24 and from using Google Street View the collision seems to have happened at the eastern edge of the intersection of Eglinton Square and Eglinton Avenue

This intersection currently has pedestrian crossings at all edges except for the eastern one
(Had to use Google Earth because Google Maps is very out of date)

Obviously we need to wait for more details to confirm but it seems possible to me that they were crossing along this edge when they were hit
The solution to me would then be to add a pedestrian crossing to this side of the intersection
I also feel in general it is silly to leave one side of an intersection without a crossing though