Metrolinx mum on Finch LRT opening date
TTC budget anticipates August opening, but Metrolinx says it can’t confirm
The TTC's latest operating budget offers a glimmer of hope for those waiting for the Finch LRT to finally open.
The 18-stop, 11-kilometre route called Line 6 was initially supposed to open in 2021, but that got bumped back to 2023. Now, the TTC budget anticipates an August 2025 opening date, though a spokesperson declined to say more.
Metrolinx won't say whether that's accurate or confirm a new opening date.
According to a statement from the provincial transit agency, major construction is completed at all the stops and stations along Line 6 but more work is still underway.
"We continue to see progress in testing and commissioning work, a critical step for ensuring the line is safe and reliable for customers which will determine an opening date," a spokesperson said in an email.
Some residents are growing weary, says Jane and Finch Action Against Poverty member Butterfly Gopaul.
"This is about the transit system being developed way too late to accommodate the growing population that we have and in particular, these communities are Black, racialized communities," she told CBC Toronto in an interview.
Living amid a construction zone for years has been tough on residents and business owners, Gopaul said, likening the situation to the overdue Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
"It's impacting people's livelihoods, their jobs, their school — to get around in the city, to leave our neighbourhood," she said.
Despite the delays, some riders say they're excited for change.
"When this opens up it'll be a smooth, smooth commute, less time, less hassle," fourth-year Humber Polytechnic student Sara Thompson said at the school's bus terminal.
"This will be a good contribution for the future generation of this area," said Mahfuzul Chowdhury, standing at Finch West Station.
The uncertainty isn't sitting well with commuters, says TTCRiders executive director Shelagh Pizey-Allen.
"People are frustrated with the lack of information and transparency from Metrolinx and really the provincial government, which directs Metrolinx," she said.
Getting that last mile of work completed could take longer than originally anticipated. The consortium building Line 6 launched a court battle against Metrolinx last year, claiming the transit agency's deal with the TTC to take over the completed line breached their agreement.
In the lawsuit, Mosaic Transit Partners says the TTC is asking for a series of changes which is contributing to rising project costs and extensive delays.
"It really does show how the model we have to build transit using public-private partnerships is not working, if there's no transparency for the public," Pizey-Allen said.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation wouldn't say whether Mosaic's legal action threatened to hold up the project further.
"We continue to see progress in testing and commissioning work – which is critical to ensure the line is safe and reliable for customers when it opens," Dakota Brasier send in an email.