James Pyo

Yesterday, I went for a ride on the new Line 6 LRT. During the weeks leading up to the light rail line’s much-anticipated grand opening, there had been a lot of discussion among critics about its slow speed due to the lack of signal priority. Nonetheless, I decided to make my way up to Finch West to experience it myself.

In a city where the construction of new transit infrastructure can take multiple decades, the opening of a new line tends to be a pretty big deal. As shown in the pictures, the first day of operation for Line 6 was quite busy.

In terms of my conclusions from the journey, I’ll make the following points:

• There seemed to be a lot of stoppage. So not exactly the fastest. Metrolinx, TTC and the City should contemplate transit signal priority.
• There’s not much to see along the corridor, although there is a lot of density in the form of high-rise apartment buildings that offer some peace of mind that it’s not just going to be another “train to nowhere” like Line 4 had been for many years.
• It should score high on accessibility given the availability of elevators and the wide width of ramps at Finch West and Humber College stations. I saw a lady with a rolling suitcase get on and off effortlessly due to the low floor of the vehicle and manageable platform gaps.