The years-delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT will miss its most recent target of opening to the public in September, Metrolinx has conceded, with focus turning to see if it can open in October.
At an unrelated event on Friday, Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay said testing of the line continued but revealed it was not yet ready for its final 30-day pilot, which must take place before it opens to the public.
“The target that we had for passenger service in September, unfortunately, is not going to be achieved,” he told reporters. “Hopefully, it’s just a matter of weeks before we’re starting (revenue service demonstration),”
The long-delayed light rail line was started under the previous Liberal government and has continued construction for seven years under the Progressive Conservatives.
Its opening date was repeatedly pushed under former Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster, until it was removed altogether. Instead, the agency said it would announce an opening date three months before service begins.
Now, under new leadership, Metrolinx appears to have reduced its notice period to one month and is aiming for October, although neither Lindsay nor Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria would say for sure.
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“Since it’s not September, now we’re hoping it’s October. It really is about week-over-week, looking at what vehicle numbers tell us about the performance of this system.”
Sarkaria acknowledged residents were growing tired of the delays.
“It’s frustrating, absolutely, there’s no argument about that,” Sarkaria admitted when asked if the government should apologize for the delays. “The construction, the delays. But look, we’re committed to building a system that is going to be safe and reliable.”
The previous opening date of September, which Premier Doug Ford had also touted, was based on the light rail line beginning revenue service demonstration toward the end of August.
That phase means the project is complete and is essentially a dry run of the line without opening it to the public. Trains would run on a full schedule and stations would operate as normal, although passengers would not be able to use the line.
Metrolinx has said it wants to achieve a full month of revenue service demonstration before it opens the line. It had aimed to begin that in late August, but failed to do so.
“When we’re ready to trigger RSD in partnership with the TTC, it will start that 30-day test,” Lindsay said on Friday.
“After which, if it passes, we’re ultimately going to ramp up passenger service.”
The Finch West LRT, which is also without an opening date, is now on the same timeline as the Eglinton Crosstown, according to Lindsay.
Asked if he thought the Eglinton route could still open this year, he replied: “We hope, yes.”
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