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nfitz said:
Wouldn't the breaking and acceleration be more specific to a certain very small piece of track, for each wheel? In a bigger picture, they certainly replace the streetcar track at stops more frequently, and I'd have guessed that it would only be more so if they stopped at exactly the same spot every time. Though perhaps the software varies the stopping location by a small amount each time - after 50 years of ATC operations I guess this isn't exactly cutting edge issues.

But I'm pulling it out of my ass ...
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Similar occurrence at bus stops with asphalt depressions caused by the heavy buses.
1773928485472.png


Toronto is having to use concrete instead of asphalt to reduce that problem. Wonder if they do allow for replacement tracks at streetcars, light rail, and subways wherever they stop for the same reason?
 

Metrolinx ‘firewall’ blocking Finch LRT location data from transit apps​

From https://www.torontotoday.ca/local/city-hall/metrolinx-firewall-blocking-finch-lrt-location-data-transit-apps-12025338

Locked out of its own data, the TTC admits Google Maps and popular transit apps are forced to rely on inaccurate scheduled times for the Finch West LRT

Months after Premier Doug Ford and Mayor Olivia Chow celebrated the opening of the Finch West LRT, TTC riders still can't access accurate information about when the next train will arrive.

That’s because a Metrolinx “firewall” is blocking the flow of real-time location data for the new line, according to a recent TTC report.

Platforms like Google Maps, and apps like Transit and TTCWatch, all rely on open source data to access the real-time locations of buses, streetcars and other transit vehicles, and relay that information to their users.

The ability for riders to know how long they have to wait for a vehicle has become one of the hallmarks of a modern transit system. More than half of Toronto transit riders use Google Maps to plan their trips, according to a recent TTC survey, and one-third use Transit app. The same report calls third-party apps "critical" for riders.

However, neither platform can access real-time vehicle location data for Line 6.

"Real-time Line 6 vehicle location and arrival prediction data is owned by a Metrolinx vendor and access is limited due to firewall/security constraints," per the TTC report.

The vendor is Mosaic Transit Group — the construction consortium of ACS Infrastructure Canada, Aecon Construction Group and CRH Canada that built the 18-stop, 11-kilometre Finch LRT line in northwest Toronto.

Instead of real-time data, apps are forced to rely on scheduled times, "reducing accuracy and transparency, especially during disruptions," the report says.

That means instead of letting riders know LRT vehicles will arrive at their stop in three minutes and 11 minutes, for example, third-party platforms instead tell users what time LRT vehicles have been scheduled to arrive — even if the vehicles are delayed or otherwise operating off-schedule.
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The data issue is the latest complication for a transit line that opened in December 2025, years late and billions of dollars over budget.

Metrolinx would not explain how the data-sharing problem arose. A spokesperson said only that "Metrolinx, the TTC and Mosaic are currently working together to determine the most effective way to share real-time LRV arrival and departure data with third-party partners."

The agency did not address several other questions from TorontoToday, including what specific steps are being taken to fix the problem, who is paying to do so, whether any penalties have been levied, and when the work is expected to be complete.

Mosaic did not respond to an interview request.

A TTC spokesperson said "Metrolinx controls the flow of this data" and the "functionality was not part of the original operations contract."

The lack of location data doesn't affect how the TTC responds to service disruptions on the line, the spokesperson said.

"Our operations team has full monitoring capabilities through the signalling and train control systems in our Transit Control Centre," according to the spokesperson. "These data feeds are different, and the firewall you reference is not part of that system and has no impact on our ability to safely operate the system and manage delays."

The TTC report suggests riders could get accurate location data by the fourth quarter of 2026 — October at the earliest.
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Critics frustrated with data gap, patchwork system​


A spokesperson for Chow said the mayor agrees the data is important for transit riders and would "look into this further."

Coun. Josh Matlow (Toronto-St. Paul's), who sits on the TTC board, called the data gap "another example of the dysfunctional relationship between Metrolinx and the TTC."

"It's critical that the TTC knows basic information — such as ridership numbers, real-time delays and scheduling issues — so that it can operate the lines effectively," he said. "I don't understand how Metrolinx thinks it's in their interest to be secretive."

Andrew Pulsifer, head of advocacy group TTCriders, said he's "pretty frustrated this wasn't dealt with on day one." He said transit riders shouldn't face a patchwork system where different standards apply to different lines.

The Transit app has partially filled the gap through a crowdsourcing feature that detects when a rider boards a train and shares that information with other users, letting people see whether a train is approaching even without official data.

The app has more than 500,000 monthly users in Toronto, according to Transit app policy lead Stephen Miller. But Miller said he "would much rather have the complete, real-time data from the transit system itself."
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Monarch Butterfly said:
Similar occurrence at bus stops with asphalt depressions caused by the heavy buses.
View attachment 723169

Toronto is having to use concrete instead of asphalt to reduce that problem. Wonder if they do allow for replacement tracks at streetcars, light rail, and subways wherever they stop for the same reason?
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Back when Islington Station had separate bus bays for each route, they had those same deep ruts, which I presume were created by the buses braking, and the asphalt being kind of "rubbery".
 
nfitz said:
Good job that communists don't believe in labour unions. 🤣
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The contradiction between the communist ideology of worker empowerment and the historical suppression of independent labor unions in communist states is a core subject of political debate. In practice, communist states have typically opposed independent labor unions, replacing them with state-controlled organizations rather than empowering workers to form their own, as seen in the Soviet Union and contemporary China
.
But that's getting off topic.
 
nfitz said:
Good job that communists don't believe in labour unions.
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Either way, my first two points stand. One of the most pro-subway countries I know. And building to be time efficient and fast. I can't even imagine them building stuff like the Finch West LRT or anything similar outside of maybe one or two examples that exist that I don't know about.
 
mikey7767 said:
Either way, my first two points stand. One of the most pro-subway countries I know. And building to be time efficient and fast. I can't even imagine them building stuff like the Finch West LRT or anything similar outside of maybe one or two examples that exist that I don't know about.
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If we want to build like China, we need to copy the whole political and economic systems, and import the labor force...
 
Monarch Butterfly said:

Metrolinx ‘firewall’ blocking Finch LRT location data from transit apps​

From https://www.torontotoday.ca/local/city-hall/metrolinx-firewall-blocking-finch-lrt-location-data-transit-apps-12025338

Locked out of its own data, the TTC admits Google Maps and popular transit apps are forced to rely on inaccurate scheduled times for the Finch West LRT
Click to expand...
Wonder if the LRT location data be available on Doug Ford's phone? 😉 Would we need a judicial warrant to access to real times of light rail locations? :eek:
 
mikey7767 said:
Either way, my first two points stand. One of the most pro-subway countries I know. And building to be time efficient and fast. I can't even imagine them building stuff like the Finch West LRT or anything similar outside of maybe one or two examples that exist that I don't know about.
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I'm not sure which system you are referring to. Though hopefully you aren't including backwards tyrannical military dictatorship and the citizens that support them!
 
Signals Upgraded for Finch West Line 6: Another False Start? | UrbanToronto https://share.google/0NQt3igqXOtnNfbwH

I don't understand, if the queen streetcar can hit 50kmph for stops that are shorter than the finch LRT in mixed traffic why can't the Line 6 trains reach this speed between stops. Why do they crawl along at 30kmph?

That curve near Humber is. Nowhere near the curves that legacy system navigates on a regular basis at speeds faster than 6kmph.

Yes the vehicles are different but that cannot be why trains need to travel at 30kmph on a straight section of track.

Is this just incompetence?
 
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