The Finch West LRT will shut down completely for four days over the Victoria Day long weekend — less than six months after it first opened to the public — in a move the government says is necessary ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
Provincial transit agency Metrolinx announced the transit line would be closed from 2:30 a.m. on May 15 until 4 a.m. on May 19 “to complete system upgrades to further improve system performance on Line 6.”
The line first opened to the public in December and was plagued by switch issues, forcing it to regularly close on especially cold or snowy days.
Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria pledged the Victoria Day weekend closure wouldn’t be a regular feature of the line, saying it is needed for important work.
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“There will be a variety of maintenance issues that occur over this planned period, all of them to the benefit of the passenger experience and reliability,” he told Global News.
“The switch issue is something that we saw during the winter and in the winter conditions. This will also continue to build upon the improvement of that, as well as other needed infrastructure or maintenance updates.”
The light rail route opened to some fanfare in early December as the first new transit line to be completed in Toronto since 2002.
It didn’t take long, however, to hit trouble. Freezing temperatures wreaked havoc with its switching systems, suspending service and forcing passengers onto shuttle buses.
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The line was closed for hours on Boxing Day in freezing conditions and, after a winter storm in January, stayed suspended for more than a day.
The planned closure, officials suggest, is needed before major events this summer.
Metrolinx said the timeline of the closure made sense for upgrades before an influx of visitors during June and July for the World Cup.
“By completing this work in a coordinated closure, it reduces the need for additional service interruptions, later on,” the agency wrote.
“We appreciate your patience as we complete these important upgrades to prepare the line for additional demand.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the closure is four days.
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