Was their free cake and orange juice? I skipped school in 2002 for the Sheppard opening.
Free crackers and bottles of water.

Also some swag, like a TTC map with the Spadina extension and buttons from each of the stations.
 
Some of the train maps today didn't get the memo.


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The good

It's a subway! Got me to Vaughan in record time.

The bad

407 may as well have been outside for how cold it was at the platform.

VMC's transfer box was giving transfers with the time 12 hours offset (e.g. 12:30 am instead of pm)

The ugly

Sheppard West (nee Downsview) looks better at 21 years old than any of the new stations except for possibly VMC.

I have a soft spot for corten and really wanted to like Pioneer Village, but the bare concrete saddle and the baffling PA box room puts this one at the bottom for me. Ditto the concrete at York U -- completely the wrong kind for the brutalism look. The platform is having efflorescence issues already.
 

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There's a circle of flourescent red spray paint (unsuccessfully buffed out) on the wall at York U station that validates that even some construction workers didn't believe that the bare concrete was the intended final finish.

Time will tell whether all this architecture can be kept clean and presentable. Who knows what challenges the nooks and crannies will present when a couple of generations of wifi have passed and the stations have to be refitted for technology X.0 + 2.

I have a serious reservation about how safe and secure these stations will be at 23:45 on some future evening. There are lots of cameras, sure.... but lots of secluded places for people to hide and wait for someone to mug. Just getting from train to street may be stressful at quiet times.

In the short term, however, it's certainly eyecatching.

- Paul
 
407 station is the most impressive but too big. I hate how so much concrete is used in the station.
 
I'm going to ride this subway extension once in my life just to see the fancy stations--not because it will take me somewhere I need to go. And isn't that the best reason to take the subway? :/
 
I was able for what every reason, to shoot a video between stations, as well arriving at VMC, since the driver door was open. Seeing a train only about 100 feet in front of us at VMC shows how close trains can get to each other using ATO.

I don't know about others, but I found the trains traveling at a higher speed once you left Sheppard W station as well between the others one. Headway was a real problem all the time I was there. Trains were 1-12 minutes apart going north, showing 3 trains time at the same time. Only showing 1 train time going south. Slow going southbound around Eglinton. Most train after I arrived at VMC were close to peak load going both ways.

VMC YRT Bus Terminal, YRT BRT Station, 407, Finch and YRT Pioneer Bus Terminal are far from being finish. I see crappy Bondfield is doing VMC Bus terminal and a reason its late along with Finch. No idea who doing the others.

Some real nice stations, but how well will they stand up over time will be known in 20 years or more. A few are so so. Don't recall 407 platform being cold.

From what I could see of 407 parking lots, looks like room to expand and YRT Pioneer Village Lots are twice as big as 407.

It became more of a zoo later in the day with VMC the worse at the beginning of the day and up to the time I left.

Shot 11 videos and 311 photos for 3 stations today.

Escalators not working on day One was not a good sign as well no elevators in place at other location. "HUGE" mistake not having 2 elevators vs the current One.

407 looks like the only new station with a washroom. Going to be a long time to see all the bus bays in service at 407.
 
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Finch West has to be my favourite station on the line. Really love the patterns and colours.

The art at Steeles West and York U wasn't working today. Apparently there was a power issue. I did see the piece at York U working during the open house, though. I felt that the reflective squares were too faint to really be noticed, unfortunately. I was disappointed.

Highway 407 is also a beautiful station. But to me, it really looks like a white elephant right now. And to some extent, so does Vaughan Centre.
 
One thing I would like to mention as a major positive is that despite losing CP24 the new screens are infinitely many times better, not only because they are larger and on clearer screens but because they show the next few trains arrival times. Are there any plans to add these style of screens to older stations?
I was wondering if the reason they are using these screens is because they don't have a contract with Onestop for the new stations yet. I love the new screens, but I doubt they'd want to give up the advertising revenue they get from the Onestop screens.
 

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