The TTC has posted an internal notice that the operators’ sign-up for work in the period starting February 8, 2026 has been delayed because of the complexity of changes happening concurrently on the bus network.
The year 2026 is in the memo giving hope that the line may actually open soon.
Steve Munro 
When are the nearest service changes in February?
Steve: The January period is supposed to run to February 7. It is not clear if this will be pushed back a week to the Family Day weekend. Waiting for another schedule change could tempt fate as it is dangerously close to April 1.
LikeLike
WordPress sign-in isn’t working. Hasn’t for months, on your or Sean Marshall’s site.
It might be a pop-blocker. I am using Linux with a Brave browser, but Chrome also doesn’t ‘engage’. (Chrome is still invaluable for Google maps). I have a similar problem with TorStar’s site.
Whatever, I’m loving your stuff.
LikeLike
Complexity? Staff had an extra 5 years of delays to figure this out !
LikeLike
Given what’s going on with Line 6, the opening of Line 5 might be a “be careful what you wish for” moment for Toronto at this point.
LikeLike
Could this mean signal priority is coming by Feb 8 as the mayor wanted this in place before Eglinton opens? Hopefully for both line 5 and 6. It will be interesting to see if TTC starts promoting it within the new few weeks.
I will believe it when I see it.
LikeLike
I would suggest amending the title of this post to:
“Will Line 5 Eglinton open in February 2026?”
Otherwise there’s close to a 1-in-12 chance of being right no matter what year it opens.
LikeLike
Will the effort required to fix the schedules for Line 5 mean that any schedule fixes for 511 and 29/929 have to wait until April? I’ve observed an increase in terminal bunching, especially at Bathurst Station, as a result of faster and more consistent trip times, resulting in long waits for streetcars to enter the loop. As a straphanger it is frustrating to sit for a long period outside of Bathurst Station rather than alighting and continuing with my day.
Steve: 511 Bathurst already had badly padded travel times, and it will be interesting to see if correcting this is included by TTC in the “savings” due to red lanes. I plan to review operations on Bathurst soon, but many competing issues demand my attention. I don’t think there is any plan to adjust schedules until after the effect of the full red lane implementation to Bloor is finished.
LikeLike
Steve,
There was a Global News article published today saying that the Finch LRT was built using the same switch heaters used in Ottawa, which was something the public inquiry there warned other transit projects not to use. Do you have any insight on how the at grade section of Eglinton was built compared to Finch?
Thanks so much!
Steve: An important difference on Eglinton is that the special work segments (crossovers) are not laid in concrete to the railhead as they are on Finch. This gives more flexibility in the type of heater, but also means that moderate snowfalls don’t accumulate on the surface and clog up the switches. Whoever designed Finch with concreted track all the way made a big mistake there.
Contrast a crossover on Finch with one on Eglinton.
Also worth noting is that the Eglinton right-of-way is fenced, and Finch is not.
LikeLike
Are the switches on Finch single or double points? I can’t exactly tell from those photos.
Steve: Double.
LikeLike
Hey Steve. It is to my understanding that the bulk of the switches on the Finch line are working fine in the cold and that it’s specifically only the switches at Yorkgate Blvd, the mouth tracks to and from the maintenance facility that keep going down due to the proximity of the road and crosswalk preventing a more exposed heater. Has there been reliability issues with any other switches on line 6?
Steve: Some of the delay reports I have seen mention other locations notably the crossover at Humber College. Also, when short turns are attempted, sometimes switches at crossovers along the line do not work properly. I expect to get more delay logs soon and will publish the details when I have them.
Furthermore, the switches at York Gate are only needed for carhouse moves and they should not result in an all-day shutdown once service gets out of the yard in the morning. Also, dare I mention the need to run storm trains to ensure that the tracks are kept clear and to identify any problems before the regular service begins?
LikeLike
Now that it is the 22nd, do we know what changes they are thinking?
Steve: The schedules have not been posted yet for the February changes, and so all we know at this points is the previously announced route changes. Whether they will all be introduced, or staged in over a few months once Line 5 is known to be stable, has not yet been announced.
LikeLike
Is line 5 needed for the World Cup? If so, they should open soon so that they can work out the bugs now, so that Toronto isn’t embarrassed internationally if it fails during the World Cup and fans end up missing some games.
Also, I would like to point out that the Crosstown might have been useful during the snowstorm because it could have provided a high capacity detour out of downtown that avoided open-air sections. Riders could have ridden the Spadina subway to Eglinton West, the crosstown to Eglinton, and then the Yonge line north from there. That could have reduced the shuttle bus mayhem, had it been opened earlier.
Anyway, assuming that the TTC isn’t going for a stealth opening, it would be good if they provided sufficient advanced notice about any opening ceremonies so that people can organize protests against Metrolinx. As much as I try to be emotionally healthy about it, I still find that I’m still really angry about the Eglinton construction. They made my life miserable and ruined a year of my life. Just out of spite, I feel like I should ensure that Metrolinx feels the same misery that I had to endure. I want to deny them any sense of pride or triumph about the completion of the line. They should feel shame and embarrassment at the opening. After Metrolinx ignored all the Eglinton residents’ concerns for over a decade, I think it’s appropriate that Eglinton residents finally get their voices heard about all the destruction that Metrolinx imposed on the community, instead of projecting a false narrative to the press about how everyone is happy now. Phil Verster was careful to only reveal his public appearances to the press so that Eglinton residents could never get to him. So for this opening, it would be great if the TTC provided specific information about where the opening ceremony is and when it is so that people can organize appropriately. It would be even better if the TTC also invited Phil Verster to come, as well as construction managers/engineers from Crosslinx and AJ Ground Water, so that there’s a known place where local residents can finally “meet” them.
LikeLike
Hey, I tried. My patience has limits. I reset my password multiple times. There may be other posters unable to get the site to work. The problem appears to be in the ‘sign-in’ process. I am using Brave browser, albeit the same happens in Chrome.
Steve Saines
Steve: What site?
LikeLike