First Look: Alstom LRV Arrives for Toronto’s Finch West LRT
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive EditorThe first Alstom Citadis Spirit light rail vehicle has arrived for the C$2.5 billion (US$1.95 billion) Finch West LRT project in northwest Toronto. The 11-kilometer (6.8-mile) line is slated to open in 2023.
The new line is a P3 of Infrastructure Ontario; Metrolinx; and Mosaic Transit Group (MTG), a joint venture of ACS Infrastructure Canada Inc., Aecon, and CRH Canada Group Inc. that has a DBFM (design, build, finance, maintain) contract. There will be 18 stations, with an underground interchange at the Finch West station (connecting to the Toronto Transit Commission Line 1 Yonge-University subway) and a below-grade stop at Humber College (see map below). Trains are expected to run every 5-7 minutes during peak hours.
The second of the two LRVs to be delivered this year is expected in the fall, according to Metrolinx. Alstom is supplying 18 LRVs for the project, plus 44 for Hurontario LRT, which is scheduled to open in fall 2024. Each LRV has a seated passenger capacity of 120 and maximum passenger capacity of 292.
Energization of a portion of the Finch West LRT line is slated for later this year to allow for vehicle testing, according to Metrolinx.
TTC will operate the Finch West LRT line. Thales is providing a SelTrac™ Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) signaling system. Last December, MTG awarded Bombardier Transportation—now Alstom, following its takeover of Bombardier earlier this year—a 30-year contract to maintain the LRVs as well as the wayside track and catenary systems.
