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TORONTO — Ontario’s Finch West Light Rail Transit (LRT) is open for business.

The new transit line, also known as Line 6 Finch West, began operating under the TTC on Dec. 7 and includes two stations and 16 stops across more than 10 kilometres.

Major construction began in 2019, with the first active work sites at the maintenance and storage facility and at Finch and Highway 400, states Metrolinx. 

Mosaic Transit Group was tasked with designing, building and maintaining the Finch West LRT project. The consortium is comprised of ACS Infrastructure Canada Inc., Aecon Concessions, a division of Aecon Construction Group Inc., and CRH Canada Group Inc.

A report by Metrolinx earlier this fall said the line’s total cost was $3.7 billion, including life cycle, operating and maintenance costs, putting the project above the initial $2.5 billion estimate. 

That same report also shows the Eglinton Crosstown LRT — a delay-plagued project also first proposed in 2007 — has incurred a cost of over $13 billion.

According to the province, the line runs on a primarily street-level track along Finch Avenue West, from Finch West Station on TTC Line 1 (Yonge-University) to Humber Polytechnic’s North Campus at Humber College Station.

Mosaic carried out a successful revenue service demonstration in October, followed by substantial completion in November.

The Government of Canada contributed $333 million toward the project, which is projected to carry 12 million riders annually by 2031.

– With files from The Canadian Press