By Sean Delaney
The Finch West LRT made incredible progress in 2022.
Teams worked hard and delivered major milestones across the alignment, including testing Light Rail Vehicles (LRV) on the Finch Avenue West main line, completing concrete structural works at Finch West station and Humber College station, entering the final construction stages of the Multi-use Path (MUP) tunnel, as well as beginning at-grade cabinet and canopy installations, plus so much more.
As of the end of December 2022, 11 LRV’s have been delivered to the Maintenance and Storage Facility (MSF), with six units successfully completing testing. Finch West residents were excited to see the LRVs begin testing on the main line in the spring and will continue to see increased testing in 2023.
Teams were pleased to receive and install the ninth, and final, Traction Power Substation (TPSS) in July. With all units in place, testing and commissioning is well underway. One unit has been certified by Toronto Hydro and the City of Toronto and is electrified, with the remaining units scheduled for approval and live operation in the coming year.
Significant progress was made on the guideway and rail installation across the alignment. Teams were proud to report that 77 percent of the guideway and 42 percent of rail are in place, with an expected completion of both segments in 2023.
There is keen interest from the public regarding the MUP, near Highway 400. Most of the work on the MUP is complete, with a few odds and ends remaining to finish-up in the early part of 2023, including lighting installation and anti-graffiti measures. While the structure is 155-metres in length, the tunnel itself spans 32 of those metres and will provide a safe pathway for pedestrians to traverse the busy intersection and on-ramps safely, away from motor vehicles.
In the fall, at-grade canopy and cabinet installations began in earnest. As of the end of December, 32 canopies at four stops have been installed, with the remaining 84 canopies scheduled to be in place by the end of 2023.
Aside from providing shelter for commuters from wind, snow, rain and sun, the 3 m x 2.5 m canopies also provide night lighting to increase safety and visibility, as well as ticketing machines and route maps.
So far, eight cabinets are installed across the alignment. Cabinets on the Finch West LRT are comprised of three critical functions: normal power, uninterrupted power supply (UPS) power and COMMS, where the operating system, Scada, monitors various systems like normal power, CCTV, heat tracing, fare equipment, the HVAC system in each cabinet, plus much more.
In total, there will be 16 stops with 29 cabinets across the Finch West LRT alignment.
The Finch West and Humber College station teams had an incredible year. Each site completed concrete structural and most portal works, including rail installation.
Steel structural works at both stations are scheduled for completion in early 2023, with teams moving on to electrical, plumbing and architectural installations.
These are just some of the amazing milestones that project teams delivered in 2022. Finch West residents can expect to see even greater achievements in 2023, including the completion of the Overhead Catenary System (OCS), the MSF’s Operational Control Centre coming online, the delivery of the remaining LRV’s, as well as architectural works finishing at Finch West station and Humber College station, plus much more.