Excitement and cheer filled the air across the newly-launched Line 5 on Sunday as Torontonians braved the cold to get on the first trains.
The controversial Eglinton Crosstown LRT launched 15 years after construction first started. But it’s already had a few bumps, as a mechanical issue struck just 30 minutes into the launch.
The TTC said on social media that there were delays at O’Connor Station due to a mechanical problem. Thankfully, service resumed just minutes later.
The TTC said the launch wouldn’t have the same fanfare — or merchandise — seen at last year’s Finch West LRT opening. But that didn’t stop crowds of people from packing in the new platforms at Kennedy and Mount Dennis stations.
Bundled in parkas and toques, the first Crosstown riders chanted, “Line 5, Line 5, Line 5,” as they waited to get onboard.
“It symbolizes the end of the suffering that every single person in this city has gone through,” said Toronto resident Rockwell Cui. “And finally for us to have more lines than just four.”
He said he camped outside Mount Dennis since 9 p.m. Saturday to celebrate the city’s “big milestone” that will last for generations to come.
‘A historic moment’: Toronto reacts to Eglinton LRT opening
It’s a big moment for TTC employees, too. As a group of workers saw the excited crowd, one employee joked to CBC News that they’re ready to head into battle on the first day of war.
Despite the delays and frustration around Line 5, the first trains set off to the sounds of cheers — with the westbound train even heading out a minute early.
Gavin Elliott, the operator of the first train out of Kennedy, said he transferred over to end his career on the new line.
“Been an honour to be the first operator, the first guy, to christen the line with passengers,” he said, adding he’s worked 27 years with the TTC as a streetcar and Line 1 operator.
As people squeezed on board, he said he was nervous, but excited to give people a smooth first ride.
At each stop, passengers waved across screen doors and applauded the train’s progress. The inaugural journey was a squishy one too, as people squeezed in for the historic finish.
The Eglinton LRT took even longer to build than you think
But it wasn’t all fun and games during the trip. Riders kept watch on how fast trains were going and how many red lights stopped the surface portion of the ride.
It took the inaugural train 55 minutes to travel from Kennedy to Mount Dennis — 19 kilometres across the city. That’s about the same time it took to get across Line 6, roughly 10 kilometres, when it was first launched.
Among the flock of puffer jackets was transit lover Marcelo De Oliveira Medina, who said the new line will cut his weekly commute to his dad’s house from an hour-and-a-half to just 30 minutes.
“It’s incredible … Line 5, I’ve been waiting my whole life for it,” he said, adding he was just 2-years-old when the project launched.
The first westbound train left Kennedy Station at 7:30 a.m., with the eastbound train at Mount Dennis Station following suit at 7:37 a.m.
The TTC confirmed a phased start to service on Line 5 earlier this week — and that it would be free of charge on its first official day.
The phased rollout means service will be on a limited schedule for an undisclosed amount of time, running from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Saturday and from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays. Trains will eventually go until 1:30 a.m. when the line runs at full service.
Some fun is brewing along the line as the first trains headed back in the opposite direction.
The Lady Godiva Memorial Bnad was onboard — the misspelling is intentional — entertaining riders with an assortment of music, featuring a kazoo.
The soft launch means the TTC didn’t have free merchandise for first day riders. So Chris Drew took matters into his own hands and made buttons to give out to commuters on the inaugural Kennedy train.
One button even had a throwback reference to the short-lived Transit City plan.
In 2007, then-Toronto mayor David Miller introduced the infamous Transit City plan, an ambitious idea to create a network of seven LRT lines in the city.
But the plan wasn’t exactly sound and it soon “became a political football” between parties, said transit advocate Steve Munro. That project was eventually scrapped by former Toronto mayor Rob Ford.
Though the network was eliminated, the Eglinton project persisted with a ground-breaking ceremony held at Mount Dennis in 2011, with promises for a completed line by late 2020.
But even back then there was uncertainty around whether the project could be completed by the “very aggressive [finish] date,” according to a 2011 CBC News interview with former TTC general manager Gary Webster.
Premier, mayor attend ceremony to mark opening of Line 5
“And when Metrolinx got hold of it, you had project bloat,” Munro said. “You had consultants coming out of your ears and it ceased to be the scale of project that originally had been conceived by the city.”
As of last fall, the project had amassed a price tag of over $13 billion, according to a report from Metrolinx, an increase from the $11.78 billion projected in 2018.
Munro said any challenges with the new line will only proceed to impact Torontonians reliant on transit.
“Eglinton may open, it may be beautiful and wonderful and everything we ever dreamed of,” he said.
“But the problem is if it ain’t, it’s another big black eye [on Toronto’s transit system] and it just sets us back even further.”
The city and TTC are installing “enhanced” signal priority systems, which will go live before the end of February, said Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.
