[Midtown Urbanist]

Having experienced a few crush loads on the train now, I am bit concerned about this line’s capacity to handle peak hour commutes.

It should have been a full subway. I think upping the frequency and adding an additional car on the vehicles is something that will be needed in the near-term rather than long-term.

 

[robmausser]

Timed the line. 57 minutes end to end.

Underground portion was very fast even without having the full speed in place. Approximately 22 minutes from Mt Dennis to Laird. Average time between stops underground (including dwell time) were 1:45-2:30 minutes.

The line is basically the St Clair streetcar once you reach the above ground portion. It really suffers at red lights, but the fact that it goes underground at Don Mills is saving it from being a disaster like Finch. It took 35 minutes to travel Laird to Kennedy. The shortest stops took 2 minutes but the longest stops that included dwell time at red lights took 4:30 minutes.

I’ve heard Olivia Chow and various TTC peeps talk about signal priority enhancements coming to the LRTs but if it is not giving the full signal priority at lights, then don’t believe it will help. It has to be actual signal priority or it is not enough. Every delay in this portion of my ride was literally due to red light signals.

It slowing to a crawl through intersections also did not help things.

They need to shut down the Leslie intersection to cars. Only let them turn west off of Leslie and come from the east to Leslie. Or build another ramp like the Celestica Lands have. Then there is zero interference until Don Valley station.

They also need to build two onramp clovers at the Don Valley Expressway so that cars don't need to cross the streetcar tracks there to get on the highway. Eliminating those two intersections will help a lot, considering they aren't even necessary intersections to have at all

 

[Allandale25]

Inaugural trip (WB)
29:30 Kennedy to Laird
Met inaugural EB at 31:30
37:00 to Eglinton
44:30 to Cedarvale
55:00 to MD!!!

Will update as continues. I have lap for every stn
*Pls note this train is nealy full, we had to wait at some stns a bit longer due to congestion. Red lights was 2 to 10. as in hit 10 reds then green, and hit 2 greens.

EDIT: i posted full lap time for all stns is a later post ~1 or 2 pages down

I was on that train!

 

[JSF-1]

Just got back from my trip on the line from Kennedy to Mount Dennis and then back. Overall I'll say it was a more pleasing experience then the Finch West line on opening day, and the journey took about an hour although it didn't feel like it (on Line 6 you could feel the minutes of your life ticking away). At least the trains I rode on the surface section moved at a decent pace and was noticeably faster then Line 6. That said there is still the issue of stopping at red lights which only highlights the need for aggressive TSP since when trains are allowed to get up to speed on the surface portion it is actually a pleasant ride. In fact there was a section between I believe Wynford and Bermundsey where we were actually moving faster then cars on the road which only proves the service can be good if the powers that be get their heads out of there asses. The underground section is exactly what it says on the can, no issue there. Overall a good first impression to me and the line can become great with only some minor changes. I won't comment on crowding since it is the first day so there are more people then what the line may usually see, that said I can see the need to run trains as 3 train MU's or increasing frequency like the TTC and ML plan but we won't know until the line has operated under normal circumstances.

On the topic of stop spacing the only arguments I would make for stop removal would be Aga Kahn and Hakimi-Lebovic and even then on my trips the Aga Kahn stop didn't feel egregious, Hakimi-Lebovic however is definitely an outlier.

 

[Islington Express Bus]

They need to shut down the Leslie intersection to cars. Only let them turn west off of Leslie and come from the east to Leslie. Or build another ramp like the Celestica Lands have. Then there is zero interference until Don Valley station.

They also need to build two onramp clovers at the Don Valley Expressway so that cars don't need to cross the streetcar tracks there to get on the highway. Eliminating those two intersections will help a lot, considering they aren't even necessary intersections to have at all

Nah, they should build a diverging diamond-style intersection. All turning traffic diverted to the north, all traffic staying on Eglinton staying on the south side of the tracks. There would still be a pedestrian crossing over the tracks, however.

 

[asey20]

They need to shut down the Leslie intersection to cars. Only let them turn west off of Leslie and come from the east to Leslie. Or build another ramp like the Celestica Lands have. Then there is zero interference until Don Valley station.

They also need to build two onramp clovers at the Don Valley Expressway so that cars don't need to cross the streetcar tracks there to get on the highway. Eliminating those two intersections will help a lot, considering they aren't even necessary intersections to have at all

They can also easily eliminate aga khan station and hakimi lebovic station. Those two station serve almost no purpose after riding the line eastbound today.

 

[hawc]

They need to shut down the Leslie intersection to cars.

They also need to build two onramp clovers at the Don Valley Expressway so that cars don't need to cross the streetcar tracks.

Eliminating those two intersections will help a lot, considering they aren't even necessary intersections to have at all.

 

[reinventingthewheel]

They need to shut down the Leslie intersection to cars. Only let them turn west off of Leslie and come from the east to Leslie.

Good thinking, let’s introduce up to 6km of necessary vehicle diversions.

Or build another ramp like the Celestica Lands have. Then there is zero interference until Don Valley station.

What an insane waste of money that would be. Magnitudes more expensive than TSP / preemptive signalling for the same results.

 

[asey20]

Just got back from my trip on the line from Kennedy to Mount Dennis and then back. Overall I'll say it was a more pleasing experience then the Finch West line on opening day, and the journey took about an hour although it didn't feel like it (on Line 6 you could feel the minutes of your life ticking away). At least the trains I rode on the surface section moved at a decent pace and was noticeably faster then Line 6. That said there is still the issue of stopping at red lights which only highlights the need for aggressive TSP since when trains are allowed to get up to speed on the surface portion it is actually a pleasant ride. In fact there was a section between I believe Wynford and Bermundsey where we were actually moving faster then cars on the road which only proves the service can be good if the powers that be get their heads out of there asses. The underground section is exactly what it says on the can, no issue there. Overall a good first impression to me and the line can become great with only some minor changes. I won't comment on crowding since it is the first day so there are more people then what the line may usually see, that said I can see the need to run trains as 3 train MU's or increasing frequency like the TTC and ML plan but we won't know until the line has operated under normal circumstances.

On the topic of stop spacing the only arguments I would make for stop removal would be Aga Kahn and Hakimi-Lebovic and even then on my trips the Aga Kahn stop didn't feel egregious, Hakimi-Lebovic however is definitely an outlier.

Aga Khan station is definitely egregious. There is nothing around.

 

[hawc]

Anything east of Don Mills has no added value to the city and its users and hence I have no intentions of every using that service east of Don Mills.

Because YOU don't need it, NO ONE needs it. Got it.

 

[jje1000]

Having experienced a few crush loads on the train now, I am bit concerned about this line’s capacity to handle peak hour commutes.

It should have been a full subway. I think upping the frequency and adding an additional car on the vehicles is something that will be needed in the near-term rather than long-term.

Maybe this calls for a low-floor metro rolling stock solution lol

 

[yurt2022]

They need to shut down the Leslie intersection to cars. Only let them turn west off of Leslie and come from the east to Leslie. Or build another ramp like the Celestica Lands have. Then there is zero interference until Don Valley station.

Yes, lets just force everyone to U turn in Scarborough making the trip even worse in that area...

 

[TDE]

Another odd thing is the non-cab ends of the LRV's have windshield wipers, and it looked like they have wiped recently

Because, despite marrying them into pairs, they do get separated from time to time and get moved in either direction in the yard, including maintenance bays, wash bays, etc. There are controls in the back for when the vehicle gets moved manually, and, of course, you need to have a clear view of where you are going. Not to mention, there are likely circle checks usually done that may involve them. And one day, if and when they ever move to it, may go to a three-car set, which means a lot more movements requiring the use of these hostler controls (IIRC that is what they were called) when moved manually.

Of course, I'm omitting the fact that these cars can run in Unattended Train Operation. I'm just speaking on the front of when they run manually, because reasons and possibilities.

 

[Mihairokov]

First impression is that stairs from platform at Eglinton are too narrow for rush and the fact there's a pillar in the middle blocking the middle stairs is exceptionally annoying.

Rode from Kennedy to Eglinton and thought it was fine. Surface stations are too frequent and red light stops too frequent but understand the latter will be addressed. Stations themselves seem fine although Eglinton is a bit of a maze. Train was too packed to really get a good feel but was lucky enough to get a seat at Kennedy. Lots and lots of very excited train folks...

 

[Mind_the_gap]

They need to shut down the Leslie intersection to cars. Only let them turn west off of Leslie and come from the east to Leslie. Or build another ramp like the Celestica Lands have. Then there is zero interference until Don Valley station.

Do people not realize, in order to have "zero interference" between the portal and Don Mills, you'll have to fence the whole ROW off.

Similar to how the Rosedale Valley bridge took its' current form over time.

Say you eliminate the intersection at Leslie, you'll still have the TTC slowing down operations because a pedestrian might cross the ROW, or an errant motorist heading south on Leslie may ram into an LRV.

This is exactly the BS I mentioned in my post yesterday.

The only solution to the Leslie conundrum at this point is either building a flyover as @Voltz said, or closing the Sunnybrook Park stop altogether, and have the LRT cross over the intersection.

From the bottom of my heart, to all those who say the intersection needs to be closed - "Go Screw Yourselves".

Kindest regards,
- 20+ year North of Sheppard, 151 linear transfer-impacted Leslie resident.

Ps. Most of the traffic on Leslie is from pople who don't actually live on Leslie.