It’s still unclear when the Eglinton Crosstown LRT is going to open, but Metrolinx interim CEO Michael Lindsay says he sees his team “doing the right things to prepare for this project to come into service this year.”
Lindsay made the comment while at a news conference with Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, who announced that tunnelling had begun on the final segment of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension.
The extension is expected to add seven additional stations to the 25 already planned for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
“The premier and the minister gave me a very clear mandate, and that was to open the Eglinton Crosstown when it was safe and reliable to do so,” Lindsay said, adding that he won’t be able to reveal the opening date until testing is complete.
"It doesn't make sense to rush in order to get passenger service and then run into liability issues.”
Construction began on the 19-kilometre Eglinton Crosstown in 2021 and was set to be complete by 2020. The project has struggled with significant delays and technical challenges, with the project coming in at least $1 billion over budget at the last count.
Lindsay said there has been “exceptional progress” made on the LRT, noting that once operator driving training is complete, the transit agency will begin stress tests, focusing on signal performance and how it works with civil infrastructure.
After that, they will conduct what’s called a “revenue service demonstration,” which involves simulating normal operations without passengers. This step is initially expected to take about 30 days, although Lindsay says it depends on the results of the test.
“Those tests are going to be the thing that really tells us what the safety and reliability performance of this line is going to be,” Lindsay said. “You're right to acknowledge that it's a little bit ambiguous what the total timeline will be, because what we find will dictate that somewhat.”
Lindsay took over the role of CEO from Phil Verster, who resigned in December 2024 after facing years of criticism for his handling of the Eglinton Crosstown project.
Verster has repeatedly told the public that he wouldn’t reveal the planned opening date for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT until it was three months away from operation.
