It has been just over a month since the TTC began the phased opening of Line 5 Eglinton. After years of construction, the city is finally learning how this new transit artery actually breathes. While the speed of the underground sections is a massive upgrade for the city, the first few weeks of full-scale use have highlighted several areas where the experience still feels like a work in progress.

Operations

The performance of the line is currently a tale of two different environments. In the tunneled segments, the trains run exceptionally well, providing the high-speed transit midtown has long required. However, the street-running segments are a different story. The service is noticeably slower on the surface, where trains are frequently forced to wait for favorable signals at far-side stops.

More concerning is that “bunching” issues have already started to develop. It is becoming common to see service that is much more frequent in one direction than the other, suggesting that the line’s rhythm is still being adjusted following the February launch.

Infrastructure

Trains

The new vehicles offer a generally comfortable ride, though the interior layout has its drawbacks. The seating configuration feels somewhat tight during busy periods. From a passenger flow perspective, it would have been a significant improvement if the trains were fully walkthrough, allowing riders to move easily between cars to find space.

Stations

The new stations are massive in scale, yet they feel curiously unfinished. Despite their large footprints, they lack concessions or retail spaces. Navigating these hubs can also be a challenge; the transfer between the new platforms and the existing Eglinton Station on Line 1 is notoriously circuitous.

On the surface, the stops are placed very close together, which contributes to the slower pace of the outdoor segments. Maintenance also remains a hurdle—even a month into service, some elevators are still out of service and many bus terminals are missing the electronic screens that show when the next bus is arriving.

(Visual) Design

The visual identity of the line feels inconsistent. The maps found on the trains are the full Metrolinx versions, which use a different design language than the maps found on the Finch LRT. For a city trying to build a cohesive network, all TTC-operated transit vehicles should have a unified look to avoid confusing the riding public.

Management

There is a persistent feeling that the management of the line is fragmented. Currently, the relationship between the TTC, Metrolinx, and the private contractor feels disjointed, particularly when it comes to public relations and daily operations. In my view, there should be a joint agency between these three groups to ensure the line operates as a single, cohesive unit rather than a collection of separate contracts.

My Experience

In my own day-to-day use over the past month, I find that I am generally able to get where I am going in a reasonable amount of time. However, the experience varies wildly depending on when you travel. During rush hour, the platforms—especially at major stations—and the trains themselves are becoming very crowded. While the line is still well-used during non-peak times, it isn’t nearly as overwhelmed as it is during the morning and evening crunch.

I also have a few personal “knit-picks” regarding the atmosphere on board. The trains have the same strange announcement formation issues that the Finch LRT does, and the constant safety announcements about holding the handrails are unnecessary and quickly become annoying. While the platform announcements were frequently overlapping and useless early on, I noticed they seemed to have fixed that issue around February 24th.

The Eglinton Crosstown has already become an essential part of the city’s transit map. It is successfully moving people across midtown in a way that the old bus system never could. However, for the line to truly succeed, the focus must now shift toward fixing the surface delays, streamlining the transfers, and creating a more unified identity for the riders who rely on it every day.