Ontario minister defends Finch West LRT amid winter operation issues

Ontario’s Transportation Minister Defends Finch West LRT Design Choices

Ontario’s transportation minister insists that gas-powered switch heaters were not an option for the Finch West LRT. He stated that his government has built a “world-class” transit line, which is currently facing early teething problems.

Critics have raised concerns about the decision by Metrolinx and the Ontario government to use electric switch heaters for the Finch West LRT. This system was warned against in the Ottawa LRT inquiry.

Switches are essential for light rail systems to allow trains to change direction. In harsh Canadian winters, these switches can become clogged with ice and snow. This ice and snow must be melted for the switches to operate and for trains to run.

Both gas and electric heaters can melt snow and ice. However, the Ottawa LRT had to replace its electric heaters with gas heaters after facing repeated issues.

Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria responded on Tuesday morning. He stated that the route and design of the Finch West LRT made gas heaters unsuitable and potentially unsafe.

“There’s a question of gas versus electric,” he said at an unrelated TTC event. “This line runs in the middle of two lanes through many residential neighbourhoods. From a feasibility perspective, we could not proceed with the gas switches through the middle of the intersection with residential areas on both sides … from a safety perspective, as well, not something that would be advisable.”

The transportation minister described the Finch West LRT as a ‘solid line’ still in its bedding-in period. This period is a soft opening to the public when service is gradually ramped up. It is one of several lessons learned from the Ottawa LRT inquiry.

“When we started the Finch West LRT, there were challenges that could arise; that’s why we have a progressive ramp-up of service on the line,” he said. “Almost all of the issues continue to come down to the operational maintenance and procedures and processes. That will continue to improve.”

Despite this, critics accuse the government of ignoring the lessons from Ottawa and opening a transit line with similar problems.

“Metrolinx and the Ford government had more than enough time to learn from the issues that plagued the Ottawa LRT,” said Ontario NDP MPP Doly Begum in a statement. “Whatever reason they give for making the same mistakes is little comfort to the commuters who have been left stranded in the dead of winter.”

When asked about the problems on Tuesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed optimism. “You always have kinks in the rails, excuse my pun there,” he told reporters. “But once they start moving, they’ll start moving pretty smoothly. But rather than always talk about the negative, I prefer talking about the positive.”