Office of the Chief Executive

As we head into the final weekend of FIFA World Cup 2026™, we can take great pride in what we have accomplished together.

Over the past several months, the TTC has helped showcase Toronto on a global stage, delivering safe, reliable transit during one of the largest events in our city’s history. The professionalism and teamwork demonstrated across this organization have been exceptional. The detailed planning, dynamic delivery, and impressive co-ordination and collaboration demonstrate what we can do when we come together as One TTC.

Operators, Station staff, Supervisors, Instructors, Maintenance employees, Transit Control, and many others have delivered exceptional service that has kept Toronto moving during this historic event.

Complementing the work of our frontline staff has been our Special Event Ambassadors. Approximately 600 employees volunteered, covering more than 1,600 shifts across the network. Many stepped away from their regular responsibilities to help customers and visitors navigate the city. From Finance, Communications, Legal, Engineering, Human Resources, Operations and more, volunteers came from across the organization. Your dedication helped create a welcoming experience for thousands of fans and visitors from around the world.

Thank you to everyone across the TTC for everything you have done to plan and deliver world-class service for a world-class event. This achievement reflects the commitment, collaboration, and pride that define our organization. Thank you for helping make FIFA World Cup 2026™ a success for Toronto, our customers, and visitors from around the world.

As we celebrate that success, we are also looking ahead.

This week at Kennedy Station, we announced one of the most significant investments in the future of the TTC in a generation. We awarded the contract for Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) on Line 2 Bloor-Danforth to Hitachi Rail Canada. This marks the start of a major modernization program that will transform how Line 2 operates for decades to come.

Line 2 is one of Toronto’s most important transportation corridors, carrying hundreds of thousands of customers every day. The signalling system that guides trains today has been in place since the line opened in 1966. Now, we are preparing the line for the next generation.

The award of this contract represents a generational transformation of Line 2. Together with the new subway trains planned for the line, this investment will improve reliability, reduce signal-related delays, increase capacity, and support more frequent service. Customers may never see this technology, but they will experience its benefits every day through a better, more dependable transit system.

Projects of this scale are not only about technology. They are about people. Over the coming years, employees across the TTC will play a role in delivering this project. Just as previous generations built the system we rely on today, we now have the opportunity to build the TTC that future generations will depend on.

As Toronto continues to grow, our transit system needs to grow with it. Projects like this help ensure we are not only meeting the demands of today, but planning for the needs of tomorrow.

Thank you to all staff involved in this project. Together, we are building a better transit system for Toronto.

If you have other suggestions on how we can continue improving the employee experience at the TTC, I encourage you to reach out directly.

The World Cup will soon come to an end. The work of building the TTC’s future continues.

This week’s CBTC announcement is a reminder that some of the most important work we do creates benefits that will be felt for decades. I am excited about what lies ahead and grateful to be building it with all of you as One TTC.

With gratitude and resolve,

Mandeep S. Lali
​Chief Executive Officer
​July 17, 2026