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Seven years after construction first began, the Finch West LRT is set to carry its first riders on Sunday morning.
Toronto’s newest transit line officially opens to the public with the first ceremonial rides departing from Finch West Station at 7:20 a.m. The first official westbound train will depart from Norfinch Oakdale station at 7:33 am, while the first eastbound train will depart from Jane & Finch station at 7:47 am.
The 10.3-kilometre, 18-stop line runs along Finch Avenue West between Finch West station at Line 1 Yonge-University and Humber Polytechnic’s North Campus with connections to York Region Transit, Miway, and Brampton Transit.
The first day of riding on the new transit route will be free, and passengers will have the opportunity to collect some Line 6 souvenirs, including ride guides, vehicle cutouts and commemorative coins.
“Thank God, we are now open for business,” Premier Doug Ford said ahead of the official opening of the line on Friday.
“As they say, it takes a village. Well, it took the entire city and part of the province to get it started, but now it’s open.”
The line will operate under “soft opening” hours until at least spring, Monday through Saturday from 6am to 10pm and Sunday from 7:30am to 10pm, with shuttle buses filling the gap between 10pm and 1am.
Trains will arrive every six and a half minutes during weekday morning and afternoon rush hours and every 10 to 12 minutes at all other times.
Onboard fare payment is not yet available on Line 6 vehicles, meaning riders must pay with Presto, credit or debit card on the platform. There will also be single-ride vending machines for those paying by cash.
With the opening of Line 6, attention now turns to the much-hyped Eglinton Crosstown LRT, which passed another milestone on Friday as independent engineers verified that the line is now ready for service and the TTC has assumed “full operational control.”
It will now be up to the transit agency to set an opening date, which is now slated for 2026. Once opened, Line 5 will be under the same operating restrictions as the Finch West Line, at least until spring.
Construction of Eglinton Crosstown began in 2011 and was scheduled to open in 2020, but has been repeatedly pushed back due to various legal, construction and testing issues, as well as COVID-19-related delays.
With files from Nick Westol and Meredith Bond