Toronto's new Line 6 Finch West suffered 350 delays in December alone

Finch West LRT's long-awaited opening has been anything but smooth (to say the very least), and less than two months after first launching, the transit line has already recorded hundreds of service delays amid multiple weather-related events, raising questions about the system's reliability.

The 10.3-kilometre line includes 18 stops and runs along Finch Avenue West from Keele Street to Highway 427, where it turns south to the Humber College north campus. The transit line finally opened on Dec. 7 following what officials described as a rigorous testing phase.

However, since its opening, the transit line has consistently encountered disruptions thanks to several back-to-back winter storms. Just this past Tuesday, commuters on the line encountered yet another round of delays during the morning rush hour, when frozen track switches and disabled light rail vehicles resulted in shuttle buses being dispatched.

After a turbulent start, the TTC has also now included Line 6 into the transit delay data published on the City of Toronto's Open Data portal. The data includes incidents with the date, time, location, direction of travel, delay duration, and event code.

Transit activist Steve Munro compiled and summarized the entries from the line's first few weeks, spanning from Dec. 7 to Dec. 31, and found that a significant portion of the delays were tied to equipment and infrastructure issues.

During this period, the TTC recorded 350 delay events on Line 6. According to the data, the breakdown included 56 events attributed to equipment, 25 involving brakes, 24 involving operator overspeed, 24 related to HVAC, and 24 tied to track switch failure.

Munro notes that in comparison, the streetcar network only had 819 events between all the routes, including 22 incidents related to infrastructure issues, 74 due to equipment issues, and 113 tied to diversions.

Earlier this month, TTC Chief Strategy and Customer Officer Josh Colle reiterated that Metrolinx and its contractor are responsible for addressing structural issues on Line 6.

"This is a new model in Toronto. For the last 100 years or so, the TTC designed, built, operates, maintains our lines. And so now we're in a new model that the province built and it's delivered here in Toronto. I have to say the communication is excellent between Metrolinx and the TTC, but there's certain things we cannot do," Colle said.

"We can't touch the infrastructure, and so what we have to do is lend and offer our expertise, and we continue to do that."

The TTC says the transit line is currently in its "soft launch" phase until the spring, and any lingering issues will be addressed during the interim period.