Incredible timing. I’m on a transit fan trip to eastern Canada right now, and I got the notification for this as I was about to board Line 5 for the first time
Always good, fun dive into transit. Loved this piece. Just hoped off Line 5 - at the York Woods Public Library watching FIFA. I live in BC but I am here working for the the summer. I cross TO on this thing most days and for the price, I am very satisfied. It's not the Skytrain, but as a commuter I can't complain. I too noticed the odd arrangement at Leslie. I like the trains. Nicer than Skytrain Mach5. And they have staff - so safer than the Skytrain.
The mess at Leslie was thanks to one member of Leaside property owners and one person who owned a condo on Leslie. They demanded a station
They have also created a traffic mess as the bridge was supposed to have been widened but wasn’t so now eglinton backs up like crazy. Too many cars for the short left turn lanes
But absolutely there needs to be trains that turn at laird or don mills. Line 1 could also use some than turn at Eglinton TTC always resists this but somehow other cities do it all the time
Good article and good medium-long term suggestions for the line. Would like to say I'm not a fan of genAI being used for the concept images. I'd rather have crappy MS paint sketches that are at least made by a human.
Why is that? I would far prefer something that looks semi-plausible, and in this case I've contributed loads of visuals of transit to the internet - much of this is likely to be drawing on that and other public images. Peoples general willingness for something low fidelity is lower than you think!
Would also like to add: if they extend the line east, it should be an extension of Line 5, not a completely separate line that requires a transfer at Kennedy.
Nice article. Regarding ordering new trains, I don't think you had to go as far as generating AI images. I think what you're suggesting is basically replacing the existing LRV's with narrow-gauge metro vehicles, much like we have in Montreal.
Ah, I didn't catch that detail. Thanks for clarifying the difference. It makes me sad that there won't be an easy way to convert the line into a metro in the future.
Glad you mentioned the ridiculous "Guideway Intrusion Detection System". I would love to see how much that cost as a proportion of what full platform screen doors would cost. I'd also wonder if Metrolinx bothered to examine whether anywhere else had used this kind of system, as that could be yet another example poorly supported decision-making.
I am sure it cost almost as much as screen doors where they are done most affordably. GIDS is not new, used in several places, but a bad solution for the future methinks. Skytrain has a different system with the same purpose that seems to work better.
I have used this line to get out to the Mount Dennis station and have really been happy with it. It's a lot faster than going across Eglinton on the bus. My biggest complaint is that it isn't running to Renforth, yet. A lot of people commute from the west and it's a nightmare if you have to get to Renforth from Mount Dennis station. A very long, slow ride. I'm told that they are working on it, so I suppose I will hopefully be alive and using transit by the time they actually get it done.
Yep, you did. But, for whatever reason, they still aren't in operation. Having the tunnel dug is one thing. It seems it's the operational part that isn't happening, or they are still working on. Believe me, I have used line 5 a few times to visit a friend. I still have to catch the bus across Eglinton to get to and from Mount Dennis. Not to mention that having line 5 actually finished and running would be a wonderful thing when the Bloor/Danforth line is shut down for repairs on the weekend. The other thing that transit could do is actually have all the GO stations along Lakeshore open in weekends when the Bloor/Danforth line is shut down. But, hey, that makes too much sense. (Seriously, although the GO train has to pass all the stations, they don't actually stop at Kipling and a few others on weekends)
Very thoughtful, as always. Off topic, neither here nor there, and I have no connection to the auction house or any other personal financial interest in this, but kind of cool what I came across today for the TTC fan base: https://hibid.com/lot/306259775/toronto-transit-commission-destination-roll?ref=lot-list. You’d need some definite wall space to display!
Incredible timing. I’m on a transit fan trip to eastern Canada right now, and I got the notification for this as I was about to board Line 5 for the first time
I hope its a good trip!
"GÜNTERSTITAL"
I love.
Always good, fun dive into transit. Loved this piece. Just hoped off Line 5 - at the York Woods Public Library watching FIFA. I live in BC but I am here working for the the summer. I cross TO on this thing most days and for the price, I am very satisfied. It's not the Skytrain, but as a commuter I can't complain. I too noticed the odd arrangement at Leslie. I like the trains. Nicer than Skytrain Mach5. And they have staff - so safer than the Skytrain.
I am surprised you prefer the trains. I find the screens, art, seats and seating layout, as well as walkthrough design much nicer.
The mess at Leslie was thanks to one member of Leaside property owners and one person who owned a condo on Leslie. They demanded a station
They have also created a traffic mess as the bridge was supposed to have been widened but wasn’t so now eglinton backs up like crazy. Too many cars for the short left turn lanes
But absolutely there needs to be trains that turn at laird or don mills. Line 1 could also use some than turn at Eglinton TTC always resists this but somehow other cities do it all the time
The turning of trains is hard because TTC's MO is running many vehicles but chaotically. Makes precision turnbacks with sensible headways very hard.
Good article and good medium-long term suggestions for the line. Would like to say I'm not a fan of genAI being used for the concept images. I'd rather have crappy MS paint sketches that are at least made by a human.
Why is that? I would far prefer something that looks semi-plausible, and in this case I've contributed loads of visuals of transit to the internet - much of this is likely to be drawing on that and other public images. Peoples general willingness for something low fidelity is lower than you think!
At Leslie the tracks should have been built on the south side of the road, it would have fixed the entire issue.
Yep
Yes to PSDs.
Would also like to add: if they extend the line east, it should be an extension of Line 5, not a completely separate line that requires a transfer at Kennedy.
Its apparently difficult because of the layout at Kennedy and the extension of Line 2, we shall see!
Nice article. Regarding ordering new trains, I don't think you had to go as far as generating AI images. I think what you're suggesting is basically replacing the existing LRV's with narrow-gauge metro vehicles, much like we have in Montreal.
Not really, the issue is that we are still limited by the low platform height!
Ah, I didn't catch that detail. Thanks for clarifying the difference. It makes me sad that there won't be an easy way to convert the line into a metro in the future.
Glad you mentioned the ridiculous "Guideway Intrusion Detection System". I would love to see how much that cost as a proportion of what full platform screen doors would cost. I'd also wonder if Metrolinx bothered to examine whether anywhere else had used this kind of system, as that could be yet another example poorly supported decision-making.
I am sure it cost almost as much as screen doors where they are done most affordably. GIDS is not new, used in several places, but a bad solution for the future methinks. Skytrain has a different system with the same purpose that seems to work better.
I have used this line to get out to the Mount Dennis station and have really been happy with it. It's a lot faster than going across Eglinton on the bus. My biggest complaint is that it isn't running to Renforth, yet. A lot of people commute from the west and it's a nightmare if you have to get to Renforth from Mount Dennis station. A very long, slow ride. I'm told that they are working on it, so I suppose I will hopefully be alive and using transit by the time they actually get it done.
You are told? I made a video about the tunnels which have been finished for sometime, and that was years ago!
https://youtu.be/LpQ0IN7QF4o?si=g0yZi-pof8mDKrBH
Yep, you did. But, for whatever reason, they still aren't in operation. Having the tunnel dug is one thing. It seems it's the operational part that isn't happening, or they are still working on. Believe me, I have used line 5 a few times to visit a friend. I still have to catch the bus across Eglinton to get to and from Mount Dennis. Not to mention that having line 5 actually finished and running would be a wonderful thing when the Bloor/Danforth line is shut down for repairs on the weekend. The other thing that transit could do is actually have all the GO stations along Lakeshore open in weekends when the Bloor/Danforth line is shut down. But, hey, that makes too much sense. (Seriously, although the GO train has to pass all the stations, they don't actually stop at Kipling and a few others on weekends)
Very thoughtful, as always. Off topic, neither here nor there, and I have no connection to the auction house or any other personal financial interest in this, but kind of cool what I came across today for the TTC fan base: https://hibid.com/lot/306259775/toronto-transit-commission-destination-roll?ref=lot-list. You’d need some definite wall space to display!
Very very cool. I wish we had a museum for this stuff that was not in the boonies.