Despite frigid temperatures and the absence of an official launch event, the Line 5 Crosstown Eglinton LRT opened with free rides on Feb. 8 with a party-like atmosphere.
Crowds jammed into the first train at Kennedy Station with cheers as riders jumped on in a celebratory mood.
The Line 5 LRT runs 19 kilometres, with 25 stations, from Kennedy Station to Mount Dennis Station and has connections to other subway and partner transit lines as well as connections to 68 bus routes.
The LRT took 15 years to complete, with delays attributed to the pandemic, construction issues and lawsuits.
Originally projected to cost $8.2 billion by Metrolinx, the final costs are now projected to be in the $12 to $13 billion range, as reported by the CBC.
The Crosstown stations are huge and, at some stations, require many steps beneath street level. At Yonge and Eglinton, the Crosstown arrives below the subway line.
Usually, on a typical packed subway or LRT train, fellow riders’ eyes are averted, and phones are the main source of attention. This was not the case on the opening day of the Crosstown. People were looking around, taking selfies and chatting with anyone nearby.
Yusuf Pasha, a high school student from Mississauga, was in the front car, testing out the different ways he could sit on the wide chair.
“Well, I'd say, like many of us, we’re here 'cause we're fans of urban rapid transit, but beyond that, like, I see this as a massive step forward in the TTC, and a big change in direction from the 20 or so years of stagnation in terms of infrastructure building,” Pasha said.
Gabriel Faustino, a University of Toronto engineering student who came in from Milton for the inaugural ride, had been following the development of the Crosstown.
“To keep it short, I like trains,” Faustino said. “I've taken the 34 bus a few times when I've gone out to this area, and I can definitely say that the bus is definitely a rougher ride.”
Alexandros Prokos was on the Crosstown to celebrate the long-delayed opening.
“It's very smooth, I feel that the Eglinton Crosstown LRT will be the most successful line, if not the best already, in the Toronto transit system for years to come,” Prokos said.
A few people were actually on the Crosstown to go somewhere, much to the surprise of the surrounding LRT fans.
One passenger announced he was on his way to work, prompting a flurry of questions from the fan riders.
“What stop are you getting off at?”
“Where do you work?”
The commuter informed everyone that he was saving eight minutes in travel time, which led to a further discussion on whether the eight minutes made it worth building the LRT.
A city official and a government official did not want to make any official comments, as they were unofficially on the Crosstown as observers and train fans and were not authorized to comment.
Getting to Humber from the east via LRT-Subway-LRT. Get on the Line 5 Crosstown Eglinton LRT, get off at Cedervale station (formerly Eglinton West), take the subway north to Finch West, and get on the Line 6 Finch Ave LRT to Humber.
The Kennedy Station connects to Line 2, the Bloor-Danforth subway line, and GO Transit's Stouffville Line.
Eglinton Station connects to Line 1, the Yonge-University subway line and Mount Dennis connects to GO Transit's Kitchener Line and the UP Express, which has stops at Pearson International Airport and Union Station.
The TTC’s Crosstown schedule is from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Saturday. It operates 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays and from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on holidays.
During peak periods from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, the LRT will operate approximately every four minutes.
During off-peak periods, Monday to Friday, the LRT will operate every six to 10 minutes.
On Saturdays and Sundays, the LRT will operate approximately every seven to eight minutes.
During holidays, the LRT will operate every seven to 13 minutes.
