Eglinton Crosstown won’t get full signal priority before May, TTC Chair says

An Eglinton Crosstown vehicle is pictured on an above-ground section of the line during testing.

The city will be implementing signal priority upgrades to make sure the Eglinton Crosstown moves faster than the Finch West LRT, but those upgrades won’t be fully implemented until the spring, the chair of the TTC says.

“We’ve learned the lessons from Finch, and we are making sure that we don’t repeat those mistakes,” TTC Chair Jamaal Myers told CTV News Toronto at a news conference Friday when asked whether the Crosstown will be faster.

“There will be some transit signal priority upgrades that will be happening, but those upgrades will not be fully implemented until May.”

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said earlier this week that both the Finch and Eglinton lines were tested to operate at 60 kilometres per hour.

But since its opening in December, customers have experienced much more sluggish performance on the Finch West LRT. In part, that has been blamed on clog-ups where vehicles get stuck at intersections due to traffic conditions.

The city has said it is looking at giving the LRT signal prioritization so that the vehicles can move more quickly. However it is not clear when that will happen.

The Crosstown will run underground for 11 kilometres through the centre of the city. But like the Finch West LRT, it will operate on the road above-ground at either end.

In a statement, the TTC told CP24.com it is currently testing a proof of concept for transit signal prioritization (TSP) on Spadina.

“We continue to work with Metrolinx and the City on getting TSP implemented as quickly as possible,” TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said. “We have a pilot underway on Spadina to test proof of concept, and we will roll it out on LRT lines as soon as possible.”

He said he had no official date for when signal priority will be implemented for either line.

Problem fixed with emergency braking

Myers also responded Friday to a report in the Globe and Mail suggesting the opening of the Crosstown had been pushed back due to a problem with the emergency braking system on vehicles.

“Metrolinx has worked through the safety critical items that the TTC identified that would be required to open the line. However, we did find an issue with emergency brake issues. The issue has been resolved,” Myers said, noting it was identified by Metrolinx.

He added that “we are on track” toward an opening, though he stopped short at providing a date.

In a statement, Metrolinx denied that there is an emergency brake issue that would prevent the Crosstown from opening.

“Emergency braking happens on every transit line in the world - including on the TTC and GO Transit. It is an essential safety feature,” the regional transit agency said.

“The Metrolinx team has been working daily with partners at the TTC throughout the testing and commissioning phase, to identify and eliminate the causes of any unusual emergency brake applications. This is a common activity as you test and commission a new and modern signal and train control system and, has no impact on the start of revenue service for Line 5.”

A source previously told CP24 the line would open on Feb. 8. However public officials have offered lukewarm endorsements of that date, with TTC CEO Mandeep Lali even saying this week it would be “irresponsible” to give a firm opening date at this point.

Officials also said this week the line will operate at reduced hours after it first opens.

TTC officials were gathered with federal officials at the Greenwood Yards to tout a deal that will see new subway trains purchased from Alstom to replace the aging Line 2 fleet.