Toronto Eglinton Line 5 | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | Arcadis

[Steve X]

I agree actually, and what 'value' did we get? Likely 4 billion dollars over budget. We'll know more when the next Metrolinx quarterly update comes out.

My first ride was from Avenue, the deepest station. I was gobsmacked at the number of escalators it took just to reach the concourse. But the true depth of Avenue is not crazy deep (~30 metres). I've been in much deeper metro stations. The problem is that each set of escalators is too short. The shafts dug to reach the station box are too narrow to accommodate longer, less steep, faster escalators. It's a no brainer to use the elevator for Line 5 (if it's working).

I don't know what'll happen with Line 2's extension, but I hope they didn't make the same mistake.

Lack of furniture, also very mind boggling. The only excuse I can think of for no washrooms and no seating is to dissuade the homeless from setting up shop.


Aesthetically? Not amazing, but not bad IMO. But someone please explain why they're two storeys tall for seemingly no reason? And despite some being massive, why is there no provision for retail?View attachment 725872

I do think the taller glass building design improves the counterphobic appearance and allows more sunlight to reach inside. The white wall encloses the ventilation system that occupies up to the second story. So parts of that building out be that tall anyways.

 

[smallspy]

If I had bad knees, I don’t think I’d want to use the underground portion of Line 5. That’s how bad the accessibility is. I couldn’t imagine using this thing multiple times a day with bad knees.

I have bad knees, and I use the Crosstown every day. In fact, I use the stairs every day in an effort to strengthen them.

Dan

 

[hw621]

I haven't ridden the line, but I kept hearing long wait time for trains ranging from 15 minutes to up to 27 minutes. What is the frequency of trains? Isn't it supposed to be 5 - 7 minutes, or did I miss anything?

 

[nfitz]

I have bad knees, and I use the Crosstown every day. In fact, I use the stairs every day in an effort to strengthen them.

To my surprise, I found what helped strengthening my one knee was playing soccer, but with a knee brace. The knee brace seemed to make it work, otherwise it was making even worse from the playing. I don't notice my knees anymore hiking around the city.

Though putting on a knee brace to climb out of the depths of Line 5 would be annoying.

I figure the increased amount of time I spend walking on Gerrard because of the lack of streetcars since Covid is certainly helping my fitness. I'm glad TTC and Metrolinx are watching out for me!

I haven't ridden the line, but I kept hearing long wait time for trains ranging from 15 minutes to up to 27 minutes. What is the frequency of trains? Isn't it supposed to be 5 - 7 minutes, or did I miss anything?

Some of that, is that's often what the meaningless displays are showing, while reality is different. I suspect that the reports are very disproportionally biased to the bad news stories.

 

[McGillicuddy]

I haven't ridden the line, but I kept hearing long wait time for trains ranging from 15 minutes to up to 27 minutes. What is the frequency of trains? Isn't it supposed to be 5 - 7 minutes, or did I miss anything?

The next train estimates are often completely incorrect: plenty of people have reported double-digit estimates seconds before a train pulled into the station.

With that being said, during the late evening on weekdays, the service standard is 8-10 minutes, and 9-13 minutes during evenings on holiday schedules, so a 15-minute wait isn't unthinkable.

 

[Chaplinurbex]

I haven't ridden the line, but I kept hearing long wait time for trains ranging from 15 minutes to up to 27 minutes. What is the frequency of trains? Isn't it supposed to be 5 - 7 minutes, or did I miss anything?

I usually have a train arriving within 5 minutes of reaching the platform. And quite often a train pulls in just as I arrive.

 

[A 6264]

I’ll tell you guys, I had some errands to run along Eglinton last weekend. I had to navigate four Eglinton Line stations in 90 minutes with somewhat heavy bags, and between the station depth and long wait times for trains, it was not a pleasant experience. I was very exhausted and very annoyed

Don't forget, there are elevators too. They are one thing that nobody can complain about. They are larger than previous elevators, and faster, and they don't take over half a minute to align with the floor - though all elevators are good at that when they are new, and have trouble finding the floor as they get older.

 

[Mr.Tang]

The internal seat lay-out is not well designed to maximize capacity. The change in elevations and seating creates lots of bottlenecks.

 

[lowtrain]

This thread probably doesn't need another first Eglinton LRT experience but oh well, here we go. I figured the best way to experience it would be on a Good Friday with little crowds and low possibility of interruptions. I boarded at Mt Dennis station. Overall the experience was super poor, way worse than what I had expected after reading the complaints here. I think we're numbed by the failure of line 6 and are willing to accept the low points of line 5. The only good news is it feels like most of the issues are fairly easily fixable:

• the speakers are worse than I thought, saddest part is that lowering the volume would probably help. They are not only distorted but also too loud. I rarely ever get headaches, but I have a throbbing one after spending two hours on the train. There is a barrage of loud beeps, announcements, high noise floor in the underground sections, it's a torturing experience
• Noise floor in the underground sections is very high, it was difficult to have a conversation with a passenger sitting next to me, it reminded me of riding the airport subway in Istanbul, except that train was going much faster and distances between stations was far longer. Not to mention cost of that subway was around 70 million CAD per km, 10 times less than line 5.
• The time estimates on screens are essentially a random number generator
• Transit light priority does not work, I thought some work was done to enable it but almost every light turned red as we approached the intersection. It seemed to on purpose slow the train down.
• LRT slows down to 20km/h to cross any intersection and max speed never went above 50km/h on the above ground sections. Total travel time was 56 going east and 54 minutes going west.
• Ride is smooth and seats are comfortable
• Above ground section has too many stops, there is not enough density to explain it. Walmart has a stop, no frills has a stop, gas station has a stop, toyota dealership has a stop, random parking lot has a stop. Everybody gets a stop!
• Dwelling time at underground section was over one minute, above groups stops didn't have the problem.

2/10 for a transit experience, 0/10 if cost to deliver this project is taken into account.

 

[drum118]

Line 5 Eglinton train service to run later starting Sunday

April 3, 2026

Beginning this Sunday, April 5, train service on Line 5 Eglinton will be extended to 1:20 a.m., Sundays to Fridays, and 12:30 a.m. on Saturdays. These expanded service hours are the next step as the TTC and Metrolinx work towards full, regularly scheduled service on Line 5.

During this phase, trains will arrive approximately every four minutes at the busiest times of day and six to 10 minutes at off-peak times.

Line 5 Eglinton opened in February under temporary introductory service conditions. The introductory service phase allowed for ongoing stress testing of switch and signal infrastructure, fine-tuning of schedules based on real-world operating conditions, and an extended overnight maintenance window.

The TTC’s Blue Night bus service will continue to operate from 1 a.m. until the start of train service at approximately 6 a.m. Monday to Saturday, and 1 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on Sundays.

Line 5 shuttle buses continue to remain available to supplement service as required.

Earlier this year, the City of Toronto made changes to traffic signals at all intersections along Line 5 Eglinton to allow LRT trains to move through intersections before left-turning vehicles. Additional transit priority measures are in the works and will be rolled out in the coming months, further improving trip speeds and overall customer experience.

This next phase in the opening of Line 5 Eglinton will include additional trains, more reliable round-trip travel times, and the completion of transit signal priority along Eglinton.

The TTC serves as the operator for Line 5 Eglinton, bringing more than a century of expertise as North America’s third busiest public transit agency. Under agreements with Metrolinx and the City of Toronto, the TTC is responsible for operating trains, providing security and revenue control, and staffing stations to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction. The line’s infrastructure and vehicles are maintained by Crosslinx Transit Solutions (CTS) under contract to Metrolinx. As operator, the TTC works in close partnership with Metrolinx, the City, and project partners to deliver safe, reliable and efficient service, integrating Line 5 Eglinton into Toronto’s broader transit.

 

[urbanclient]

• Dwelling time at underground section was over one minute, above groups stops didn't have the problem.

If what you're saying is true, then they're adhering to the (now padded) schedule after some TSP improvements were made at 8 intersections.

I remember dwell times being reasonable on Line 5, not one minute. Look at the countdown timer on the driver's screen in the video below, it was usually ~30 seconds total stationary time for each underground station:

TSP at 8 intersections: https://archive.ph/nYcjy

 

[Thaboss]

Beginning this Sunday, April 5, train service on Line 5 Eglinton will be extended to 1:20 a.m., Sundays to Fridays, and 12:30 a.m. on Saturdays.


Earlier this year, the City of Toronto made changes to traffic signals at all intersections along Line 5 Eglinton to allow LRT trains to move through intersections before left-turning vehicles. Additional transit priority measures are in the works and will be rolled out in the coming months, further improving trip speeds and overall customer experience.



This next phase in the opening of Line 5 Eglinton will include additional trains, more reliable round-trip travel times, and the completion of transit signal priority along Eglinton.

 

[urbanclient]

include additional trains

I am assuming this means some trains will be 3-car instead of current 2-car, but I do not think that all trains will be 3-car at peak.

 

[TwoWheelPoli]

Line 5 Eglinton train service to run later starting Sunday

April 3, 2026

Beginning this Sunday, April 5, train service on Line 5 Eglinton will be extended to 1:20 a.m., Sundays to Fridays, and 12:30 a.m. on Saturdays. These expanded service hours are the next step as the TTC and Metrolinx work towards full, regularly scheduled service on Line 5.

During this phase, trains will arrive approximately every four minutes at the busiest times of day and six to 10 minutes at off-peak times.

Line 5 Eglinton opened in February under temporary introductory service conditions. The introductory service phase allowed for ongoing stress testing of switch and signal infrastructure, fine-tuning of schedules based on real-world operating conditions, and an extended overnight maintenance window.

The TTC’s Blue Night bus service will continue to operate from 1 a.m. until the start of train service at approximately 6 a.m. Monday to Saturday, and 1 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on Sundays.

Line 5 shuttle buses continue to remain available to supplement service as required.

Earlier this year, the City of Toronto made changes to traffic signals at all intersections along Line 5 Eglinton to allow LRT trains to move through intersections before left-turning vehicles. Additional transit priority measures are in the works and will be rolled out in the coming months, further improving trip speeds and overall customer experience.

This next phase in the opening of Line 5 Eglinton will include additional trains, more reliable round-trip travel times, and the completion of transit signal priority along Eglinton.

The TTC serves as the operator for Line 5 Eglinton, bringing more than a century of expertise as North America’s third busiest public transit agency. Under agreements with Metrolinx and the City of Toronto, the TTC is responsible for operating trains, providing security and revenue control, and staffing stations to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction. The line’s infrastructure and vehicles are maintained by Crosslinx Transit Solutions (CTS) under contract to Metrolinx. As operator, the TTC works in close partnership with Metrolinx, the City, and project partners to deliver safe, reliable and efficient service, integrating Line 5 Eglinton into Toronto’s broader transit.

Any word on when the LRV's can go the full 80 km/h underground? Hope that happens sooner rather than later.

 

[Amare]

I am assuming this means some trains will be 3-car instead of current 2-car, but I do not think that all trains will be 3-car at peak.

Nope, they will remain at 2-cars.