Finch West LRT opens with free rides as TTC launches ‘first new transit line since 2002′

'It's free': Mayor Olivia Chow and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria speak to CP24 on the opening on the new Finch West LRT.

Hundreds of riders lined up around the building early Sunday morning as the TTC’s Finch West LRT officially opened with free service for the day following a push from local politicians.

The one-day fare waiver, announced by Mayor Olivia Chow, capped a years-long wait for Line 6 — a project first proposed in 2007 but delayed by political debates, funding shifts and repeated construction set backs.

City officials say the opening marks a major expansion of rapid transit in northwest Toronto, where residents and businesses “endured 7 years of construction hell” to bring the line into service.

“This is our first new (transit) line since 2002. So this opening is really something to celebrate. Wow,” Chow said. “Line six is open. Toronto is moving. This is just the beginning.”

• Opening of the 2002 Line 4 Sheppard subway line

It should be noted that while this is Toronto’s newest line since 2002, the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension was an expansion project from the existing Line 1 from Downsview (now Sheppard West) north into York Region. It opened back in 2017.

Ontario’s transportation minister Prabmeet Sarkaria highlighted the crowds at today’s launch, saying “the line outside... wraps around the building.”

Political pressure for free rides

The free opening-day service followed public appeals from both a city councillor and an NDP MPP.

In a letter to Premier Doug Ford posted Wednesday, Ward 7 Coun. Anthony Perruzza urged the province to make opening-day rides free, calling it “a wonderful gesture” for residents and businesses to get moving again.

He also pointed to the federal government’s decision to cover fares when the Spadina subway extension to Vaughan opened in 2017.

The NDP MPP had also called on the provincial government to work with the city to ensure fares were waived for the launch.

Delays and rising costs

The 10.3-kilometre LRT — running from Finch West Station to Humber College’s north campus was originally expected to open in 2023. While Metrolinx did begin construction in 2019, the project notably faced setbacks and schedule slippage.

A report earlier this fall pegged the total cost of the line at $3.7 billion, including lifecycle, operating and maintenance expenses. That’s more than $1 billion over the original $2.5-billion estimate.

Just days before launch, Chow and Ford toured the completed line together.

• WATCH: Doug Ford and Olivia Chow ride Finch LRT for first time

How will Line 6 will operate going forward?

The TTC says Line 6 will run under “soft opening” conditions until spring 2026.

Key service details include:

• Line 6 operates from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.
• The LRT connects 18 stops along Finch Avenue West to roughly 30 bus routes and Line 1 at Finch West Station.
• Shuttle buses will replace LRT service nightly from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. for maintenance.
• Last eastbound and westbound trains depart around 9:49 p.m.
• Temporary TTC bus service on the 36C Finch West route ends with the launch of Line 6.

The province estimates the new line will put 230,000 more people within walking distance of rapid transit and carry more than 51,000 riders each weekday once fully ramped up.

With files from CP24’s Joshua Freeman