Serious testing underway with TYSSE opening on the horizon

With Downsview Park Station at 98 per cent complete and inching steadily closer to the finish line, the TTC invited the media on a technical tour on Jan. 23. The walking tour was a chance to showcase the state-of-the-art facility, but also an opportunity to talk about the intensive testing and commissioning of systems scheduled in 2017 ahead of the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension grand opening in December.

“This isn’t just any subway extension. This will be a Wi-Fi-, PRESTO-, Automatic-Train- Controlled-subway extension,” said CEO Andy Byford. “It really will be state of the art from day one.”

With overall construction more than 90 per cent complete, the focus in 2017 turns to testing and trial operations of facility management, communication and railway electrical and control systems, with the next key milestone being the electrification of the third rail by April 1.

“In April we start testing power, tunnel and station ventilation, train radios, SCADA system, backup power, communications network and the 101 other things it takes to run the railway safely – testing each individual component one by one,” said Acting COO Mike Palmer.

Here are some of the highlights from the technical tour:

• The Jan. 21-22 Line 1 closure between Wilson and Dupont Stations for ATC installation and testing saw one train trialled in automatic mode on Jan. 21.
• ATC is scheduled to be operational between Downsview and Dupont (Phase 1) in the fall, and will be operational along the Spadina Extension (Phase 2) when it opens in December. ATC is on target to be fitted along the entire Line 1 by the end of 2019.
• Four new substations have been built to power the extension with three of those already energized and operational. The fourth substation is scheduled to be energized with AC power this week and with DC power in late March.
• A Lidor (or laser) scan was recently completed along the entire length of track. Laser measurements were taken to confirm station and tunnel clearances. In a couple of weeks a Toronto Rocket train will be towed by work car throughout the length of the extension to further confirm all clearances and to verify communication with signal beacons along the track.

Downsview Park Station is the first station north of the current Downsview terminus (to be renamed Sheppard West later this year) on the 8.6-km Spadina Subway Extension. It’s located at the north edge of Downsview Park. It faces the south side of Sheppard Avenue West, centred under GO Transit’s Barrie Train Line. The other five stations are (as of the end of 2016):

• Finch West: 91 per cent complete.
• York University: 92 per cent complete.
• Pioneer Village: 96 per cent complete.
• Highway 407: 96 per cent complete.
• Vaughan Metropolitan Centre: 96 per cent complete.

The full 2016 Construction Year in Review is available at the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension website and on the TTC intranet.

The Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension project is jointly funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, the City of Toronto and The Regional Municipality of York.