3.5K 
Just under a hundred days since Finch West Line 6 opened to the public, a series of signal and operational changes have gone into effect. These updates follow public backlash against the sluggish speeds seen on the light rail line’s opening day. In a March 10 social media post, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow announced this first phase of improvements, with promises of further changes and even faster travel times to come.
After six years of construction and over two years of delay from the project’s initial opening date, the Finch West LRT opened on December 7, 2025. A great deal of fanfare was organized for the opening of this long-awaited project, which was first proposed in 2007 by then-Mayor David Miller. Following the unveiling of a ceremonial plaque at Humber College station, Mayor Chow and Premier Ford took a "first ride" on the LRT on December 5, two days before the formal opening to the public.
Following years of optimistic projections about the improvements in speed and reliability that the multi-billion dollar LRT would bring, the reality of service following opening day was anything but fast or reliable. Operating at a molasses-like average of 11.2 km/h, travel times from end to end of the 10.3 km alleged rapid transit line averaged 55 minutes.
If this sounds slower than the pace at which one could jog the route, it is: multiple social media users took to racing the LRT, with jogger Mac Bauer beating the transit line end-to-end with 18 minutes to spare.
The interminably slow operations not only failed to meet the public's expectation of what a new Toronto rapid transit line should provide, but also fell far short of estimated travel times produced during the design phase of the project. Published by Metrolinx in 2009, the Sheppard-Finch Rapid Transit Benefits Case estimated average speeds of 22 km/h and a route runtime of just 28 minutes.
In the face of this embarrassment, on December 16, 2025, City Council quickly adopted a motion directing city staff to collaborate with the TTC and Metrolinx to increase speeds on Finch West Line 6, the existing streetcar network, and the then yet-to-open Eglinton Line 5.
Specific changes to signalling, such as placing the through movement of LRVs ahead of left-turning vehicles in light cycles, were targeted. In addition, a number of the "slow zones" the TTC had implemented upon taking over operations on the line were supposedly under review for change: these zones had seen Line 6 trains reduced to a crawl while in intersections, below overpasses, and along street segments of any significant grade.
Last week — nearly three months later — Mayor Chow took to Reddit to announce the implementation of the first phase of transit signal priority intersections. This initial alteration to traffic lights along Line 6's alignment shifted the timing of the dedicated left-turn signal for motor vehicles: instead of occurring prior to the LRVs' movement through the intersection, the left turn now occurs after the rail transit vehicles and through traffic have gotten their green light.
To see the impact of this much-discussed signal upgrade, UrbanToronto rode and timed Finch West Line 6 on Saturday, March 14 at midday, with relatively light traffic on the roads.
Starting at Humber College station, the line's western terminus, the LRV departed the open-trench station with little urgency. It seemed to constantly halt and accelerate as the vehicle's wheels loudly ground along the track. Along this segment of Line 6, which operates entirely off-street and free of any grade-crossings, travel speeds never exceeded 18 km/h. As the LRV dipped and turned eastwards under Highway 27, movement slowed to an excruciating 6 km/h.
Once east of Highway 27, Line 6's right-of-way transitions into the median of Finch Avenue and arrives at its next stop at Westmore Drive, a mere 600 metres from Humber College station. This first stop approach was undertaken extremely slowly, with speeds through the intersection of Westmore Drive and Finch Avenue West topping out at 23 km/h.
On the subsequent wholly flat 800m straightaway, the LRV never exceeded 38 km/h, despite speed permissions for the LRT corridor being 60 km/h. These themes—crawling through intersections below 25 km/h and rarely exceeding 40 km/h at any point—remained the norm during the remainder of the ride.
Despite these almost comically slow speeds, and private vehicles on the road constantly whizzing by at double or triple our rate of travel, the LRV rarely hit a red light. Thanks to this light timing, combined with the now seemingly universally implemented left-turn preemption, there was a significant reduction in total travel time compared to prior rides.
Down 14 minutes from the December trip time of 55 minutes, this end-to-end trip took 41 minutes. Averaging out to 15.07 km/h—34.58% faster than initial operations in December. The change represented a notable improvement, but this still rendered the LRT deeply uncompetitive for those with alternate travel options: a drive along the corridor took only 22 minutes during the same period, and average operating speeds stood at less than half the typical 29-32 km/h seen on the existing subway network.
While the line remained far from the fastest mode of travel on Finch, the improvement was promising. It seemed highly likely that by regularly reaching 60 km/h along straightaways, total travel time could be further reduced to between 30 and 35 minutes. This notion was gradually wiped away, however, on the return westbound trip, this time originating at Jane and Finch station and heading back to the western terminus at Humber College. Now a few hours later in the day, vehicle traffic had picked up, both on Finch Avenue itself and the intersecting north-south arterials.
Moving west, travel felt more similar to operations on opening day, with multi-minute waits at red lights occurring at nearly every signal. Speeds on straightaways and through intersections were as slow as before, and the sensation of the wheels grinding on the rails was constant. Ultimately, this shorter 8.15 km trip took 37 minutes, resulting in an average travel speed of 13.22 km/h. This was barely faster than the speed of travel on opening day, despite the lack of crowding and boarding delays present for the first day of revenue service.
Chow has promised further improvements, most importantly the altering of light cycles to ensure green lights as LRVs approach intersections. These improvements cannot come soon enough if this multi-billion dollar project is to offer any real value, or if the tens of thousands of people living and working along the corridor are to see a genuine improvement in their daily commutes. Unless average operating speeds of at least 18 km/h can be maintained during all periods, regardless of congestion, Northwestern Toronto's new "rapid transit" line won't consistently run faster than the mixed-traffic bus it replaces. To achieve this, the TTC must be taken to task over the cripplingly slow operational standards in place on the line, and full, unconditional transit priority must be implemented by the City's Transportation Services at every one of the LRT's grade crossings.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database files, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Line 6 Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
* * *
UrbanToronto has a research service, UTPro, that provides comprehensive data on development projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe — from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
| Related Companies: | Arcadis, entro, LEA Consulting, LiveRoof Ontario Inc, LRI Engineering Inc. |
