Metrolinx officials say operational control of the yet-to-be-opened Finch West LRT has been transferred to the TTC, marking a key step in launching the system.The provincial transportation agency confirmed on Monday that the TTC transit control centre at the Hillcrest Yard assumed responsibility for operations over the weekend. Until this period, there had been a gradual increase in TTC driver training as Mosaic Transit Group, the private-sector consortium responsible for building and maintaining the line, continued its work. During an unrelated news conference on Friday, Metrolinx president and CEO Michael Lindsay teased the transfer of responsibility.“I think it’s fair to say, love that system, but it’s a little bit more simplified than Eglinton,” he said.Related:Finch West LRT project marks completion of stations and stops, but work still ongoingHumber College station construction mostly done, but Finch West LRT opening date unclear“It essentially runs in a dedicated right-of-way, the signalling technology is more proven, the vehicles are a little bit more simpler, so we actually think that we’re going to get ready to cut to [revenue service demonstration] on the Finch system in the weeks ahead as well, hopefully by the end of the calendar month of September.”Officials haven’t released a current, projected opening timeframe.Lindsay said completion of a 30-day revenue service demonstration, a critical period that shows the Finch West LRT operates as designed, would begin the process of opening and ramping up service.His comments did come with a regularly cited condition.“I’ll add my standard caveat, which is that that is all subject to what we see in respect to the performance of the system,” Lindsay said.Related:Many Finch West LRT glass platform walls damaged for months amid ongoing line testingToronto LRT woes: Finch West lawsuit underway, Eglinton Crosstown won’t open before 2025He noted the system has seen all of the vehicles running without the maintenance and reliability issues seen on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT line.It all comes amid some uncertainty after a lawsuit was filed in 2024 over a contract dispute. In recent months, questions about maintenance came to the forefront when several cracked station shelter walls popped up in spots along the Finch West corridor.The 18-stop Finch West LRT runs mostly along Finch Avenue West between Finch West subway station at Keele Street and Humber College station at Highway 27. Construction began in 2019 and was supposed to be done by the end of 2023. The tendering process started in 2015 under the previous provincial Liberal government and a contract was signed weeks before the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario came to power in 2018.