Boarded at Weston this morning about 11am. We were trying do decide whether to go up to Pearson or go south to Union, hang around a bit and then take the UPX to Pearson, get off, hang out a bit and get back on to our starting destination at Weston. Mistake we made was to go south to Union on the train. We get off and see the long, long line up that went on forever. We were trying to get to the TTC and kept walking yet continued going past the long line-up. We were told it would be a 2 hour wait (but I guess that would depend where along line you were).
We decided to hop onto subway to get to Dundas West and hop on UPX there. We get to TTC station at Union, no person manning the station box, we could not make a purchase for tokens. There were people that had i think Presto cards but they appeared to be having issues also. We finally just went through (without paying) got on subway and got off at Dundas West. I had heard about the lack of signage at Dundas West and can confirm. I saw a sign pointing down meaning we had to go back down the stairs we came up from, presuming to walk to the other end of platform but not sure because we also saw other signs on the upper level but at that point my husband asked a TTC attendant and they told us to walk outside and gave direction on how to get to UPX. I sincerely hope there is another way between the subway and the UPX besides having to go outside. As someone else had reported, elevators at the UPX entrance at Dundas West was out of service. We walked up the flights of stairs and minutes alter got on-board and actually got seats. We decided at that point to stay on and get off at Pearson. Once at Pearson, we basically got off and back on train on the southbound train again which as empty at this point. Got seats and got off again at Weston Rd.
Positives:
This certainly is a Premium service with the WiFi, outlet for charging cell/laptops, washroom, luggage, comfy high seating, large windows, storage plus on-board attendant.
Now I can understand a train in Europe that goes between cities and trips can be 2 hrs, having washroom and on-board attendant because they do come around to check to see if passengers paid. But on a 25 min trip, washrooms are not needed. Is an attendant needed? Well I am not sure how it normally works to get on-board the UPX from Union. Does an attended check to see you have paid before getting on-board? If yes, no attendant is needed inside.
Will this ever become a commuter Line? Well not using the same premium UPX trains, But I can obviously see using the tracks for commuter service. As part of (dare I say it) SmartTrack, You should not just have the line running to Union. Off course the line would not be as express anymore but still pretty express as there would only be a handful of stations added to the line before Union.
I was pretty sure to count the cars and there were 3 cars attached for the train. So how many would all 3 cars holding combined standing room only? I suppose a normal TTC subway would not fit the tracks (I have already heard the platforms are not long enough). Would the LRT trains for Crosstown fit?
