Wed Feb 22, 2012
Local News

Fact Sheet: What’s up with those Yonge subway closures?

Everybody loves to gripe about the TTC, but those taking the subway north of Eglinton have especially good reason to complain—the TTC is entering the fifth year of a massive tunnel repair project, causing the Yonge line to close at 12:30 a.m. six nights a week north of Eg, to give workers more time in the tunnel. The project started in early 2008, and was initially estimated to be done by 2010. Then it was pushed back to 2011. And then 2012. And now, says Adelio DiStefano, the TTC project manager in charge of the rehab, it’s about to be pushed back to the end of 2013, maybe even into 2014, “based on what we find.”

TAGS

post a comment

wildeyed

Somegirl and AJ sound like the same person – sharing the same agenda.
0 2

Report

7:51 am on February 23, 2012

Reply
Rick

What people fail to realize is the trains stop running at 12:30 by the time you set up a scaffold and do as much as you can,you have to start clearing the track for early morning service 5:30 comes around very quickly
5 0

Report

7:45 pm on February 22, 2012

Reply
Sam

why does it take 6+ weeks to rebuild the Kipling station washrooms?

TTC ex-GM Webster should have hired a team a private contractors – they do it in a week!

Someone send l Mihevc and Stintz- to read these comments…
10 4

Report

5:43 pm on February 22, 2012

Reply
AJ

I too have an inside source with insight on TTC processes.

Ever wonder why it takes a year to fix an escalator?

They have the parts, and personnel to install them but for every broken escalator, they have to order 1.5 the parts and find ways to prolong the installation.

TTC is organized crime at its finest!
12 9

Report

5:04 pm on February 22, 2012

Reply
LaryOly

Let’s see…

The current problems are caused by the fact that the original construction was done “cheap & quick”, with substandard materials, compared to those used in the tunnels on other parts of the TTC line.

The Sheppard Subway was built “cheap & quick”, with bare concrete walls left in the station areas, so as not to have to pay for the extra tiling.

What do you think will happen to the Sheppard tunnels (and, for that matter, the tunnels being built under Eglinton), in 4- years’ time?
2 7

Report

5:00 pm on February 22, 2012

Reply

LaryOly

That should read, “in 40 years’ time”.
2 3

Report

5:01 pm on February 22, 2012
construction worker

It is quite entertaining to see how everyone thinks they are an expert in construction methods, materials, engineering design standards, cost benefit ratios and budgetary concerns.

I agree with the “macbook in the lake” principle. Its easy to type a criticism about the people that actually get stuff done. Now if you will excuse me I have to stop looking at this nonsense and go get something done.
8 5

Report

5:13 pm on February 22, 2012

JB

ahhhh…The TTC, otherwise known as Toronto’s largest organized crime family.

This city and this system is so corrupt, and we just sit back and let them rob us at every chance they get.
12 19

Report

4:42 pm on February 22, 2012

Reply
somegirl

Do you remember how long those overhead TVs took to get “turned on” in the subways? I had an inside source tell me that they were ready to go long time ago, but due to the way the TTC works, they _had_ to take a certain amount of time to do something. So, even though everything was ready to go, they had to find ways to sabotage their own work so it would take the “right” amount of time to install.

Sounds like efficiency? Not to me.
21 11

Report

3:38 pm on February 22, 2012

Reply

AJ

The Sheppard line cost just under $1 billion and took eight years to build. It’s 5.5km long and has 5 stations.

The Chunnel took 6 years to build and cost relatively the same. It’s 50.45 km long and doesn’t need any stations because we can’t breathe that deep under water without apparatus.

Also notice how they don’t call it the Rocket anymore? Think the moose and deer crossings at Summer hill station causing the train to stop for 15 min in the tunnel has impacted their “rocket” characteristics?
4 9

Report

5:22 pm on February 22, 2012
A T

Correction: the Chunnel cost UK£4.65 billion (or C$7.3 billion) in 1985, or UK£11 billion (or over C$17 billion) today. Please — if one wants to invoke costs, get ‘em right or don’t bother.
11 0

Report

7:19 pm on February 22, 2012

iiitronic

Like this info

Getting down with some reality. We’re addicted to modular right now

Semi skilled labour/fast/easy to build/cheap

Fixing this stuff is a nightmare. Deal with this type of construction all the time

Walking into any building less than 10 yrs old gives me a rash

And it’ll take genius’ to fix it. Want a challenge? Throw your Macbook in the lake, buy a toolbelt, and go practise some construction somewhere

Get into it

It’ll bend your mind
9 8

Report

3:13 pm on February 22, 2012

Reply
somegirl

Ever see TTC inspectors standing at a street car stop (sometimes more than 1 per stop) waiting for the street cars to go by and chat with the driver, and log something in their paper binders? Well, that’s for street cars driving by.

Now, imagine how many “inspectors” are just standing around in those work tunnels, logging ever so diligently into their books. Everything about the TTC is old, the technology, the procedures, the way of thinking. That is why everything on the TTC takes forever.
14 21

Report

3:09 pm on February 22, 2012

Reply

NIMBY

Do you know why those inspectors are talking to the streetcar operators? Do advise them of traffic delays, advise them of any re-routing, ask how the equipment is handling, checking why that particular car is running behind schedule, etc. etc. etc. Now that you are enlightened, you may want to amend your comments.
10 8

Report

5:24 pm on February 22, 2012

ttc sucks

if it takes from 2008-2014 they are averaging just over 3m (~10 ft) per night (eglinton to sheppard is 6.1km).. sounds very slow to me
21 4

Report

2:57 pm on February 22, 2012

Reply

Hmm

You do realize that if they’ve inspected 50% of the liners in 4 years and have identified 760 for repair already (122% of the original estimate), that we can assume by the time they finish it’ll take another 4 years (or longer) with another 760 or so to repair.

If you’re wondering why it’s “slow” think about the fact that if they’ve repaired 760 liners in about 6000 hours of work, it takes them approx 7.9 hours to identify and repair a damaged liner on average.

Don’t think in terms of distance … it’s not really a fair measure here. Just use time for inspection and repair.
1 1

Report

10:05 pm on February 22, 2012
anon

I guess you forgot that there are two sets of tunnels so that would be 12.2 km.
0 0

Report

10:57 pm on February 22, 2012
hmmm indeed

I don’t see why it isn’t a fair measure, but OK let’s say it is. They have 50% of the liners inspected, and have repaired 760 (great!). You forget, though, that they’ve identified another 960 for repair… So that means, they still have 50% to inspect, and 2680 to repair (760 + 960*2).

They’re less than half done, and they’re already late.

Good job.
0 0

Report

10:05 am on February 23, 2012

rj

Like everthing else, they think there is no bottom in the bucket and the unions don’t help either–one day the bottom will drop OUT!!!
18 19

Report

2:47 pm on February 22, 2012

Reply