Construction is pretty much complete on the long-delayed 25-station 19-km Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT), but ongoing preparations continue as the agency approaches the revenue service demonstration (RSD) phase, which involves an advanced form of field testing for the LRT system before it officially opens (of which, there is still no official opening date for the Crosstown LRT).
Updates about the LRT were shared at Metrolinx’s latest board meeting held last Thursday, with progress on the operations of the Eglinton and Finch West LRT lines highlighted in a report by Steve Levene, chief operating officer, rapid transit at Metrolinx. The report states that as they move toward RSD, the focus remains on ensuring that all required preparations are completed, including construction, testing, and commissioning.
“For the last few months, Metrolinx has been holding detailed Operational Readiness Control Room meetings that have been instrumental in ensuring alignment across all business units and with the TTC,” the Sept. 12 report stated, adding that, in these meetings, teams collaborated to identify opportunities to condense timescales for the project and address emerging challenges.
They’ve made significant strides, including readiness testing through “Day-In-The Life tabletop exercises” (this involves team members simulating a day-in-the-life of operating the Eglinton LRT). The report said that this is to strengthen their readiness and response capabilities and ensure alignment with organizational objectives.
To enhance customer experience, customer journey maps have also been conducted on both lines, identifying opportunities to improve and refine different aspects of the LRT journey.
“These ongoing efforts underscore our dedication to operational readiness, ensuring a seamless transition to RSD and a successful Day 1 launch,” the report noted.
As we previously reported, although the Crosstown LRT doesn’t have an official opening date, it seems that the agency wants to avoid a premature opening, perhaps to prevent it from turning into a disaster.
In Metrolinx’s June 27 Board of Directors meeting, Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster noted that, when they get to substantial completion, there will be “a bedding-in period” of about two to three months, making sure that they iron out all operational issues that may exist between maintenance teams.
“[We’ll] make sure that on opening day, we run a service that is punctual [for] the customers and the market’s expectation[s],” Verster said back in the June meeting.
It seems like the public will be notified a few months in advance of the opening.
“We are not declaring an opening date yet, but we will declare an opening date three months in advance of that first day of service when we expect to run our first trains,” Verster added.
Once operational, the Crosstown LRT will link to TTC Line 1 at both Yonge and further west at Cedarvale, while also connecting with three GO Stations and 54 bus routes. It will include 25 stops between Kennedy in the east and Mount Dennis in the west, spanning 19 kilometres (with more than 10 kilometres running underground). It will also run up to 60 per cent faster than current travel times.
