Trains running later on Eglinton LRT line as of Easter Sunday
· Toronto Sun
Just in time for Easter, the TTC is extending night service on its Eglinton Crosstown LRT line.
As of Easter Sunday, service on Line 5 will go until 1:20 a.m. from Sunday to Friday and on designated holidays, and until 12:30 a.m. on Saturdays.
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Under the longer, later hours, trains should pull into Eglinton’s stations every four minutes during rush hours and every six to 10 minutes during off-peak hours, the TTC says.
When the Eglinton line opened, trains only travelled the line until 11 p.m.
In a statement emailed to the Toronto Sun on Good Friday, Olivia Chow’s office said that Toronto’s mayor was “pleased” to announce the later hours, which “will make it easier for commuters across the city to get where they need to go.”
Service has been introduced gradually
The transit agency said in a press release that the extended hours are a “next step” as it phases in service on the Crosstown line. Introducing the service gradually since the line’s opening in February has allowed for stress testing and adjustments of schedules “based on real-world operating conditions,” the TTC said.
The city has already changed traffic lights along the line to give the LRT trains priority over left-turning vehicles at intersections, the statement said. “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,” the statement added.
Service should improve as trains are added to the route and the signal priority work wraps up, leading to more reliable travel times, the TTC said.
Mayor touts record
When the line opened in early February, Torontonians were treated to free rides , after enduring some 15 years of Crosstown construction. The line connects 25 stations, from Mount Dennis, on Eglinton Ave. W near Weston Rd., east to the Kennedy subway station in Scarborough.
The TTC’s Blue Night buses service Eglinton from 1 a.m. until train service starts, at about 7:30 a.m. on Sundays and holidays and 6 a.m. on other days.
Chow’s office said the later hours on Line 5 follow a pattern of investment in Toronto’s transit system.
“The mayor continues to make record investments to stabilize and strengthen the TTC, has frozen fares for three years in a row, and is working to make transit more affordable through measures like free rides after 40 trips per month,” her office told the Sun.
— With Toronto Sun files