Line 5 Eglinton

Line 5 Eglinton was originally conceived as the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, a partially underground light rail line, announced in 2007 by Toronto mayor David Miller and TTC chair Adam Giambrone. It was part of the Transit City plan, which included the implementation of six other light rail lines across Toronto. The original version of the line would have run from Pearson Airport along Silver Dart Drive to Convair Drive. The line would have then turned southwest to a bridge over Highway 401 to reach Commerce Boulevard on the other side, where it would run south to reach Eglinton Avenue and the east end of the Mississauga Transitway. The rest of the line would run east along Eglinton Avenue, including a portion along which the proposed Eglinton West subway line would have been built. The line would then traverse the city, connecting with Line 1 Yonge–University, Line 2 Bloor–Danforth, and Line 3 Scarborough.

There were 43 stops planned for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, 13 of which would be underground.[10] Surface stops would be spaced on average 500 metres (550 yd) apart and the underground stations would be 850 m (930 yd) apart on average, as constructing numerous underground stops would be costly. The average speed would be 28 kilometres per hour (17 mph),[11][12] compared with the existing bus routes along Eglinton that have an average speed of 16 to 18 km/h (9.9 to 11.2 mph).[13] The line would terminate at Kennedy station to the east in Scarborough where it would meet Line 2 Bloor–Danforth, the proposed Scarborough Malvern LRT and the Stouffville GO train line. The expected cost was CA$4.6 billion.[14] As a result of provincial funding cuts, construction of the line was divided into two phases: Phase One would end at Jane Street, and Phase Two would terminate as had been planned at Pearson Airport.

Miller's successor, Rob Ford, announced the cancellation of Transit City on December 1, 2010, the day he took office.[15] He proposed an alternative titled the "Eglinton–Scarborough Crosstown line", which put the 19-kilometre (12 mi) line along Eglinton Avenue completely underground. The line would have then followed the route of Line 3 Scarborough, thus forming a single line continuously from Black Creek Drive to McCowan. The cost would almost double to $8.2 billion and, compared to the original plan, 18 fewer stops were planned, including the elimination of the connection to Pearson Airport. Most of the additional cost would have come from putting 12 additional stations underground and for converting the Scarborough RT.

On February 8, 2012, in a special meeting, Toronto City Council, led by Karen Stintz, voted 25–18 to override Mayor Ford's modifications to the project.[16] The vote reinstated the original proposal to only construct the portion between Laird Drive and Keele Street underground while the remainder of the line is built along the surface.[16] On November 30, 2012, the environmental assessment was revised, such that the east tunnel portal location would be moved from east of Brentcliffe to east of Don Mills;[17] however, this was reversed in May 2013 after receiving community feedback.[18] In January 2013, Toronto City Councillors from Scarborough put forward an alternative plan to proceed with the construction of the Eglinton Avenue portion of the line as planned, but to exclude the Scarborough RT from the line. In July 2013, plans for an "Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown" line were abandoned, thereby reverting the entire line back to the plan that had been conceived under Transit City.[19][20]

Under Mayor John Tory, Toronto city council approved two extensions for Line 5 Eglinton, to the east and to the west, on March 31, 2016.[8] These extensions may be subject to further optimization such as additional grade separations and fewer stops.[21]

Eglinton West LRT
Airport extension Link Train Pearson Terminal 1 Union Pearson Express Silver Dart Convair Highway 401 Mississauga Transitway Renforth Highway 427 Mimico Creek Martin Grove Kipling Islington Royal York Scarlett Humber River Jane Mount Dennis to Kennedy

In a later phase, Metrolinx had planned for the Eglinton Crosstown to be extended westward from Mount Dennis along Eglinton Avenue West to Toronto Pearson International Airport. However, during the 2014 Toronto mayoral election, John Tory proposed SmartTrack, which would have included a heavy rail transit line established along this section of Eglinton Avenue.[22][23] In 2016, the City of Toronto released a feasibility report that found this proposal would have significant capital costs ranging from $3.6 billion to $7.7 billion. In comparison, extending the Eglinton Crosstown as approved would cost $1.3 billion. It was also found that a light rail transit line had higher ridership than a heavy rail line.[21]

The City of Toronto's Chief Planner recommended the extension of the Eglinton Crosstown line (referred to as Crosstown West) to Pearson Airport in lieu of establishing SmartTrack on Eglinton Avenue, based upon negative community impacts, higher costs, and lower projected ridership associated with a heavy rail corridor.[21] On January 19, 2016, Tory agreed with the analysis and supported Metrolinx's original plan of extending the Crosstown.[24] Tory has included the Crosstown West as a light-rail component of his SmartTrack plan.[25]

In June 2016, the estimated completion date was 2023.[26] The estimated cost to build the Eglinton West LRT is $2.47 billion of which the City of Toronto contributes $1.18 billion, the federal government contributes $822.9 million, and the City of Mississauga and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority would be asked to contribute $470 million for the portion of the line in Mississauga. Approvals for the financing were still to be secured as of November 2, 2016.[27]

Public meetings for the extension, renamed the Eglinton West LRT, began November 13, 2017.[28][29]

The 2010 Environmental Assessment for Transit City originally planned an entirely at-grade light rail line running west from Weston Road and Mount Dennis station. However, by October 2017, the City was considering grade separation using fly-overs and fly-unders at six intersections: Martin Grove Road, Kipling Avenue, Islington Avenue, Royal York Road, Scarlett Road, and Jane Street with surface running between stations.[30][31][32]

On November 21, 2017, City staff recommended just 10 stops along Eglinton West between Mount Dennis station and Renforth station on the Mississauga Transitway. The most recent recommendation drops the stops at Rangoon, East Mall, and Russell / Eden Valley.[33][34]

At a City executive committee meeting on November 28, 2017, City staff recommended building the extension without any grade separation. City staff had concluded that a fully at-grade extension would provide better access for transit users and have fewer environmental impacts. Grade separation would have little improvement on traffic because the at-grade option would use signal coordination; however, grade separation would require fewer restrictions on left turns. There would be no difference in development potential with either option. However, because of feedback from the public and local politicians, Mayor John Tory recommended more study on grade separation.[32] A fully at-grade extension was estimated to cost $1.5 to $2.1 billion. Grade separation would add an extra $881.9 million to $1.32 billion to that cost.[32]

In April 2019, Ontario premier Doug Ford, the brother of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, announced a plan for transit in the Greater Toronto Area. This included the planned extension of Line 5 Eglinton west to Pearson Airport with a section of the line built underground from Royal York to Martin Grove. The estimated cost of this development was $4.7 billion.[35] In February 2020, Metrolinx released an initial business case analysis of the project with four options, including three which were below-grade.[36]

Metrolinx also released in February 2020 a cost–benefit analysis showing that the $4.4 billion project cost of an extension with nine underground stops would be greater than the estimated benefits of $1.4 billion over 60 years. While Premier Doug Ford expressed his preference for an underground LRT extension, an extension with only surface stops would cost about $2.1 billion. Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster said the estimate of benefits, which includes reduced travel time and cars on the road, was conservative and may improve over time.[37]

As of 2020, the extension is expected to be completed between 2030 and 2031. West of Mount Dennis, the line would emerge from a tunnel and become elevated for stops at Jane and Scarlett and in order to cross the Humber River. It would travel underground between Royal York and Martin Grove. The line would then become at-grade for a stop at Renforth station connecting with the Mississauga Transitway, then would run north along Commerce to an elevated bridge which will carry the line over Highway 401. The line would become elevated again for a stop at Convair serving the GTAA headquarters and the aircraft and airfield maintenance areas, then at-grade for a stop at Silver Dart serving some car rental facilities. The rest of the route to Pearson is not finalized as of 2020, but the line is intended to terminate at the proposed Pearson Transit Hub located north of Terminals 1 and 3.[38]

Metrolinx hopes to start work on the tunnel launch shaft in the second or third quarter of 2021, with tunneling beginning in the second or third quarter of 2022. The launch shaft will be located adjacent to Renforth station while the extraction shaft will be located 500 metres (1,600 ft) west of Scarlett Road. The underground stations will be built with the cut and cover method. A tunnel boring machine (TBM) will be used for tunnelling the 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to Renforth.[39]

Eglinton East LRT
to Mount Dennis to Kipling Kennedy Kennedy GO Midland Falmouth Danforth McCowan Eglinton GO Mason Markham Eglinton/Kingston Golf Club Guildwood Guildwood GO Galloway Lawrence Kingston/Morningside West Hill Highland Creek Ellesmere Military Trail/UofT Scarborough Pan Am Sports Centre Future extension to Malvern

To complement the planned extension of Line 2 Bloor–Danforth to Scarborough Town Centre, the City of Toronto drafted a plan to extend Line 5 Eglinton further east into Scarborough to terminate at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus.[40]

The 12-kilometre (7.5 mi) extension would connect with Eglinton GO Station and Guildwood GO Station and pass through "neighbourhood improvement areas" (often low-income areas) such as Eglinton East, Scarborough Junction, Morningside, Scarborough Village and West Hill.[41] The extension would add 18 new stops east of Kennedy station and serve an estimated 43,400 additional riders per day (a ridership similar to that of Line 4 Sheppard subway).[42]

The extension follows the alignment of the Scarborough Malvern LRT, which was proposed as part of Transit City.[43] In 2010, the Scarborough Malvern LRT was cancelled by Mayor Rob Ford, despite being approved by Toronto City Council and the Government of Ontario in 2009.[44][45]

In early 2016, the plan for the Scarborough Malvern LRT was revived and rebranded as "Crosstown East"[41] before being renamed again to "Eglinton East" in 2017.[46] As of November 2017, the project is mostly unfunded with the cost estimated at $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion, with an estimated completion date of 2023.[46][25]

At a November 2017 public meeting, city staff presented the possibility of extending the Eglinton East LRT by six stops to Malvern Town Centre. The Malvern extension would be 4.2 to 4.7 kilometres (2.6 to 2.9 mi) long.[46] The extension to Malvern Town Centre would have seven stops: at Pan Am Drive, Sheppard/Morningside, Brenyon Way, Murison Boulevard, Sheppard/Neilson, Wickson Trail, and Malvern Town Centre.[47]

In April 2019, Doug Ford announced a plan for transit which included the Eglinton West LRT, the Scarborough Subway Extension, the Yonge North Extension and the Ontario Line. The Eglinton East LRT was not included and was left off the map.[48]

On July 28, 2010, Metrolinx ordered four tunnel boring machines (TBMs) from Caterpillar at a cost of $54 million.[49] Each TBM is 10 metres (33 ft) long, 6.5 metres (21 ft) in diameter and weighs 400 tonnes (390 long tons; 440 short tons). They bore 10 metres (33 ft) per day, 16 to 20 metres (52 to 66 ft) below the surface.[50] The TBMs were named Dennis, Lea, Humber, and Don. The names were chosen by Jason Paris, a moderator of the UrbanToronto blog and web forums. Dennis is named after Mount Dennis, Lea is named after Leaside, Humber is named after the Humber River, and Don is named after the Don River. The names Dennis and Lea combined allude to the poet Dennis Lee.[51][52] By the time all four machines reach Yonge Street, enough dirt will have been removed to fill the Air Canada Centre (renamed Scotiabank Arena in 2018) to the height of the CN Tower.[53]

In October 2011, the first part of tunnel construction began with the construction of a launch shaft for tunnel boring machines at Black Creek Drive.[54]

On November 9, 2011, in Keelesdale Park, Mayor Rob Ford and Premier Dalton McGuinty officially broke ground on the new project.[55]

In May 2012, TTC staff released a report saying that completion of the Eglinton Crosstown was unlikely by 2020 and that a more realistic in-service date would be 2022–2023. The main reason given was that the project management had been transferred from the TTC to Infrastructure Ontario which uses the Alternative Finance and Procurement strategy. That strategy would use a private contractor to complete the project, effectively requiring that contractor to redo all design work already completed by the TTC.[56] The TTC also warned that Metrolinx's aggressive timeline would lead to severe construction-related disruptions to communities and traffic because large stretches of the Eglinton Avenue would have to be torn up concurrently to meet deadlines.[7]

In January 2013, Infrastructure Ontario issued a request for qualifications to shortlist companies to construct the line. A request for proposal was expected in mid-2013.[57]

On February 22, 2013, TBMs Don and Lea arrived in Keelesdale Park.[58]

In June 2013, the TBMs Don and Lea began tunnelling on the line. Traffic on Eglinton Avenue near Keele Street was reduced to one lane in each direction.[59]

On November 12, 2013, Metrolinx awarded a contract to construct the eastern portion of the Crosstown to a joint venture between Aecon Group Inc. and ACS Dragados Canada Inc. to construct the eastern portion of the line between Yonge Street and Laird Drive.[60]

In March 2014, work began to clear utilities and trees on the south side of Eglinton Avenue just east of Brentcliffe Road in order to set up the eastern launch shaft. For two and a half years, traffic around the excavation site will be reduced from two to one lane in each direction. West of the site, more lane restrictions would go into effect to construct head walls (below-ground walls that form the ends of each subway station) at the future Laird, Bayview and Mt. Pleasant stations. There will also be lane restrictions for two years near Hanna Road to build an emergency exit near Leaside High School.[53]

By April 2014, the TBMs had arrived at Caledonia station.[61] In April 2014, The Globe and Mail reported that the two western tunnel boring machines were excavating "approximately 1,000 cubic yards of spoil", per day.[62]

For the year prior to May 2014, the two TBMs Dennis and Lea had been excavating and installing concrete tunnel liners at a rate of approximately 10 metres (33 ft) per day.[63] The tunnels are lined with precast concrete liner segments. Six 2.5-tonne (2.8-ton) segments form each ring.

In early December 2014, Dennis and Lea arrived at Eglinton West station.[64] Dennis stopped to allow Lea to catch up, so that they would arrive at Eglinton West station at the same time.

On the weekend of April 18–19, 2015, the boring machines, Dennis and Lea, were lifted out of a shaft west of Allen Road and moved about 100 metres (330 ft) to a shaft just east of Allen Road.[65]

In April 2015, merchants along Eglinton Avenue West were complaining of lost revenue (up to a 35% dip in sales), because construction was discouraging customers with snarled traffic, limited parking options, reduced foot traffic and dusty sidewalks.[66]

By September 2015, the TBMs Don and Humber arrived for assembly in the shaft at Brentcliffe Road before starting to drill the 3.25-kilometre (2.02 mi) section west to Yonge Street.[7][53]

On September 24, 2015, Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca issued a statement saying the Crosstown would not operate until September 2021, in order "to mitigate disruption to the local community and infrastructure as much as possible." The earlier plan had been to open in 2020 with tunnelling and station construction to start in 2012.[67] Infrastructure Ontario has awarded the Crosstown construction contract to Crosslinx, a consortium led by SNC Lavalin. It will take about four years to build the stations, 15 of which will be underground.[7]

On September 29, 2015, TBM Don started to bore the north tunnel from the Brentcliffe Road launching site westward towards Yonge Street. TBM Humber will start boring the south tunnel approximately one month later.[68]

On November 3, 2015, Del Duca announced that the contract awarded to Crosslinx Transit Solutions to complete the Crosstown and maintain it for 30 years will cost $2 billion less than originally estimated.[69]

Future site of Forest Hill station; the House of Chan façade unintentionally collapsed, injuring several passersby.

On March 10, 2016, a ground-breaking ceremony was held at the site of Keelesdale station, the first station to be started for construction along the Eglinton Crosstown line.[70]

In February 2016, work began on the extraction shaft for TBMs Humber and Don, which are digging the eastern segment of the line.[71] However, the hole in the street there will be much smaller than the one near Leslie Street.[53]

On April 18, 2016, at the location of the future Forest Hill station, the façade of the former House of Chan restaurant and the scaffolding that was holding it up collapsed, injuring seven people.[72]

On May 10, TBMs Dennis and Lea, which had been boring the western segment of the line, completed their work by reaching Yonge Street.[73] Dennis and Lea bored 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi), installing 25,647 precast concrete tunnel segments to construct the 4,279 rings to line the twin tunnels.[50]

On August 17, TBMs Don and Humber, which had been boring the eastern segment of the line, completed their work by reaching Yonge Street. Don and Humber bored 3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi), installing 26,178 precast concrete tunnel segments to construct the 4,363 rings to line the twin tunnels.[50]

On September 1, Bombardier Transportation, which is producing cars for the line, failed to meet the delivery deadline for the pilot vehicle.[74][75] As a result, Metrolinx filed notice to terminate the contract with Bombardier.

On November 3, 2016, Metrolinx file a "notice of intention" to cancel its contract with Bombardier for the Crosstown's rolling stock.[74][75][76]

Cutting face of TBM Don being extracted

On February 10, 2017, Bombardier filed an injunction, seeking to compel Metrolinx to stick with their contract.[75][76][77] Metrolinx responded that Bombardier did deliver a prototype for testing, as required by the contract. However, Metrolinx claimed that the prototype was so incomplete that it would not power up.[78]

Between March 13 and 17, the TBMs Don and Humber were removed in pieces from the extraction shaft on Eglinton Avenue just east of Yonge Street.[79][80]

In July 2017, construction crews began preparation for constructing the eastern at-grade portion of the line[81] by removing the median in the roadway.[82]

On August 9, the first piece of track, a turnout, was installed at the Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility in Mount Dennis. The facility was scheduled for completion in late 2018,[82] but construction is now expected to be complete in early 2019.

In December, Toronto City Council approved 10 stop locations for a possible future extension of Line 5 Eglinton west to Peel Region[83] dubbed the "Eglinton West LRT". The 2017 Council-approved locations are Silver Dart, Convair, Renforth, Martin Grove, Widdicombe Hill, Kipling, Wincott, Islington, Royal York, Mulham, Scarlett, Jane, and Mt Dennis.[84]

In July 2018, Crosslinx, the construction company building the LRT line, sued Metrolinx, claiming that utility work prior to construction exceeded timelines Metrolinx had specified. Crosslinx sought to extend the 2021 deadline for the opening of the transit line by one year.[85][86] In August 2018, Metrolinx submitted a filing with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to dismiss the lawsuit. This was based on an agreement with Crosslinx to resolve disputes only after construction has been completed.[87] The lawsuit was settled by Metrolinx in September 2018 under undisclosed terms.[88] It was revealed by the Auditor General of Ontario that one of the terms included an additional $237 million to be paid to Crosslinx for an assurance to meet Metrolinx's 2021 deadline.[89][86]

In October 2018, the Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility was substantially complete.[90]

By December 2018, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) of track had been installed. The line requires 47 kilometres (29 mi) of track in total.[90]

On January 8, 2019, Bombardier delivered the first Flexity Freedom vehicle to the Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility, which, according to Metrolinx, was "substantially complete and ready to receive the vehicles" by this date.[91]

Laying rails at the O'Connor stop

In January 2019, the first concrete pour for the surface section occurred at the location of the future O'Connor stop at Eglinton Square. Before being encased in concrete, conduit pipes were laid to support communications and power cables for the Crosstown's stations and stops.[92]

From July 1 to late August 2019, Leslie Street at Eglinton Avenue was closed for the installation of tracks and infrastructure at the intersection. During this time, the TTC 51 Leslie bus route turned back at Leslie and Eglinton at a temporary bus loop. The temporary closure allowed work to be completed in one section instead of two, thus eliminating joints in the road and track. This provided a higher quality result, reducing future maintenance. The closure also reduced the construction period at the intersection from six months to two.[93]

In November 2019, Crosslinx informed Metrolinx that it expected the line not to be completed before May 6, 2022, and that the construction costs would total $12.58 billion, an increase of $330 million over previous estimates. The main problems reported were defective caissons (underground watertight compartments) built in the 1950s at Eglinton station, groundwater at the Avenue station site and construction difficulties at the CP Rail bridge adjacent to the Mount Dennis station.[94]

On December 14, 2019, testing began between the Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility (EMSF) and the Western portal using Flexity Freedom vehicles, initially testing track clearances at slow speed. On December 17, Crosslinx conducted an inaugaral run with staff and guests from the handover platform at the EMSF to the elevated guideway over Black Creek Drive. At that time, overhead wire had been installed between the EMSF to just short of the Keelesdale platform.[95][96]

As of the end of January 2020, Crosslinx has laid 50% of the line's track.[97]

In February 2020, Metrolinx announced that the line would not open until "well into 2022", a delay from the previous target of September 2021.[98] This is despite Metrolinx reaching a costly settlement with Crosslinx last year, paying the consortium $237 million to commit for a September 2021 deadline.[94] Metrolinx cited reasons for the delay: Crosslinx had started work nine months late, and had been slow to finalize some aspects of the design. Also, at Eglinton station, pipes embedded in concrete built in the 1950s were discovered in a position that impeded excavation for the Crosstown under Line 1 Yonge–University.[99]

In early March 2020, the provincial government announced it would provide $3 million in aid to local merchants negatively affected by Crosstown construction near their businesses. The Ministry of Transportation and Metrolinx would also look into an earlier, partial opening of the Crosstown line.[100]

By March 2020, Crosslinx had installed the first passenger-waiting shelter on the surface section of the line at the Pharmacy stop. The shelters are pre-fabricated and hoisted into position on the LRT boarding platform.[101]

On March 9, 2020, Crosslinx began work to extract tunnel boring machines Dennis and Lea at Duplex Avenue.[101]

On May 4, 2020, Metrolinx reported the first test trip by a light rail vehicle (LRV) in a Line 5 tunnel. The trip was from the Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility to just short of the platform at the underground Keelesdale station. The test run was to check clearances, trackwork, and overhead power and communications; it involved several movements in and out of tunnel at speeds of up to 25 km/h (16 mph).[102]

Metrolinx expects the line to be completed for its opening date set for May 6, 2022.[98]

Crosslinx Transit Solutions, a consortium of more than 26 companies, was awarded the contract to design, build and finance the Eglinton Crosstown line and to maintain it for 30 years. The contract, which excludes boring the tunnels, is for completing all other remaining work, including the stations and the finishing work within the tunnels. Some of the members of the consortium are SNC-Lavalin, Aecon, EllisDon, ACS Infrastructure Canada, Dragados, IBI Group and Scotiabank. The contract defines a public–private partnership.[69][103]

The 30-year contract to build and maintain the line will total $9.1 billion. Capital costs will be $5.3 billion, with each of the 15 underground stations costing $80–$100 million to build and the ten street-level stops $3–$5 million each. The remainder will be for financing, lifecycle and maintenance costs.[69]

In the planning stages for Line 5 Eglinton, many stations and stops were given working names identical to names of pre-existing stations within the Toronto subway system. On November 23, 2015, a report to the TTC Board recommended giving a unique name to each station within the subway system (including Line 5 Eglinton). Thus, several stations with non-unique working names were renamed, even those which will be comparatively simple on-street surface stops (new name in parentheses): Keele (Keelesdale), Dufferin (Fairbank), Bathurst (Forest Hill), Bayview (Leaside), Leslie (Sunnybrook Park), Don Mills (Science Centre), Victoria Park (O'Connor) and Warden (Golden Mile). Despite its unique name, Eglinton West station will be renamed Cedarvale to avoid confusion with Eglinton station.[104][105][106]

Front view of Bombardier's Flexity Freedom vehicles at the Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility during Doors Open 2019

Because Line 5 will be owned by the province of Ontario and not the TTC, the rolling stock, Bombardier's Flexity Freedom light rail vehicles, will use standard gauge, not the TTC's own slightly larger gauge. Like the Flexity Outlook vehicles Bombardier is building for the TTC's streetcar system, initial work building the chassis was performed at Bombardier's Mexican plant in Ciudad Sahagún, Hidalgo, with final assembly at Bombardier's plant in Thunder Bay. As with the Flexity Outlook vehicles produced in Mexico, workers in Thunder Bay claimed the Mexican-built chassis were not built with enough precision, and that they had to be rebuilt once they arrived in Canada. Consequently, Bombardier's delivery of the vehicles was years late.[107]

In May 2017, after being unsure if a timely delivery of the Bombardier vehicle order could be relied upon, Metrolinx made a contingency order with Alstom for 61 Citadis Spirit vehicles, of which 44 would be for Line 5 and the remaining 17 for Line 6 Finch West. If the Flexity order did arrive after all, surplus Alstom vehicles would be used on other Metrolinx projects (most likely the Hurontario LRT in Peel Region).[108][109]

On October 30, 2018, Bombardier announced that the first Flexity Freedom vehicle had completed its in-house testing and would be delivered for on-site testing in Toronto in November 2018.[107] However, the first vehicle arrived late, on January 8, 2019. The contract required five more vehicles to be delivered by February 2019 with the balance of the order to be delivered in time for the route's opening.[91] As a commissioning test, each vehicle must travel 600 km (370 mi) before accepting passengers.[96]

An example of green track (along an LRT line in Linz, Austria)

Line 5 Eglinton will run underground for 10 km (6.2 mi) from Mount Dennis to just east of Brentcliffe Road before rising to the surface to continue another 9 km (5.6 mi) to end at Kennedy station.[110] A short portion of the line across the Black Creek valley will be elevated, between Mount Dennis and Keelesdale stations.

Parts of the surface route will use "green track", that is, track with vegetation growing beside and between the rails. Green track will be used between the Brentcliffe Road tunnel portal (western end of the surface route) and Birchmount Road (Birchmount stop in Scarborough) with paved gaps at intersections, surface stops and the underground Science Centre station.[111]

Surface stops will be located at accessible, signalized intersections, and will have a transparent design for passenger security. Platforms will have a sign post bearing the stop's name, a barrier along the road to protect waiting passengers, Presto machines, screens displaying the next vehicle arrival time, platform illumination and covered waiting shelters with benches and a passenger assistance intercom. The platforms will be designed for level boarding.[112][113]

As part of the Crosstown project, six stations along Line 5 Eglinton will feature eight artworks. The six stations to have a major artwork will be (from west to east) Mount Dennis, Caledonia, Cedarvale (Eglinton West), Eglinton, Science Centre and Kennedy. These six stations were chosen because they are all interchange stations having higher passenger volumes.[126]

All artworks will be integrated into station design and construction rather than being stand-alone pieces. Because of the controversy over the artwork LightSpell at Pioneer Village station, in which commuters can display messages that can violate the 2009 revision of TTC's By-Law No. 1, none of the Line 5 artworks will be interactive. The art budget is about $10 million. About $1 million of that budget will be used for digital art to appear on screens at stations along the line.[126]

Operating characteristics of the line include:

• There will be three types of train control on the line. Automatic Train Control (ATC) without a driver onboard is used within the Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility. In the underground segment between Mount Dennis and Laird stations, an on-board driver will operate train doors and push a button to depart a station, with ATC controlling the train until the next station. Between Laird and Kennedy stations, the driver controls all train functions.[127][128]
• On the surface, usage of dedicated right-of-way transit lanes separate from regular traffic[11] and usage of priority signalling at intersections to ensure certainty in travel times.[113]
• Light rail vehicles and subways can both travel as fast as 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph). However, actual speed is determined by the spacing of the stops and the dwell times at stops. Line 5 vehicles will have an average speed of 28 kilometres per hour (17 mph). As a comparison, the average speed of the subway Line 2 Bloor–Danforth is 32 kilometres per hour (20 mph).[129]
• The projected ridership of the line is 5,400 passengers per hour in the peak direction by 2031, but the capacity of the vehicles is 15,000 passengers per hour per direction.[11]
• The surface section of the line will run on a proof-of-payment system but the underground stations will have regular fare gates and staff; Presto cards will be available for use across the entire line.[130]
• Metrolinx requires 76 Flexity Freedom LRVs to operate the line.[131]
• Annual operating and maintenance costs are estimated to be $80 million upon opening of the line. However, fare revenue and the costs saved by eliminating Eglinton bus service would result in a net annual cost of $39 million.[132]
• There will a total of 12 turnbacks along the line to reverse LRT trains—seven at underground stations and five on the surface section. Avenue Station and Laird Station will be turnback stations that also have a storage track that trains can enter and exit in either direction. The storage tracks will accommodate a train in case of an emergency or change in service as well as allowing for a change of direction.[81]

Bombardier Flexity Freedom LRV on the car-wash track at the EMSF

A maintenance and storage facility is required for Line 5, given the new technology employed, track gauge and the number of vehicles ordered. The Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility will have storage for 162 Flexity Freedom LRT vehicles and have extensive maintenance facilities to keep them running smoothly.[133] The facility is being built near the line's western terminus at Mount Dennis station on lands formerly occupied by Kodak's Toronto campus[134][135][136] and near the Mount Dennis bus garage.