Ontario transportation minister says there’s a ‘possibility’ Eglinton Crosstown LRT opens before 2026

Councillor Josh Matlow is calling on Metrolinx to be more transparent after they said the opening of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT is closer than ever. CP24's Cour

After nearly 15 years of construction, delays, lawsuits, and rigorous testing, the Eglinton Crosstown LRT may be closer to opening than it has ever been.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria’s office said that the revenue service demonstration—a key 30-day test that officials have underscored is crucial to the line’s opening—is complete.

“Following the same process used for the Finch West LRT, the project will now move toward substantial completion, at which point it will be fully transferred to the TTC,” a spokesperson for Sarkaria’s office said.

Sarkaria’s comment comes after he said the line was “so, so close” to opening on Monday, which he said marked the final day of the test.

Construction on the nearly $13-billion, 19-kilometre east-west track began in 2011 and was scheduled to open in 2020. However, the project has been derailed by delays, the COVID-19 pandemic, lawsuits against Metrolinx, and safety issues.

Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay said Monday that over the course of the next week, the line will undergo a “finer resolution of minor deficiencies,” in a timeline similar to that of the Finch West LRT, which will open Dec. 7.

“We will then work with partners at the TTC, as we are doing each and every day, to think about the ramp up of passenger service and the first date that we put passengers on this system,” Lindsay said.

It’s unclear when exactly the line will open, and if customers will get to ride it before the end of 2025, as officials had hoped.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford was asked about the project at an unrelated news conference last week and said the delays had been driving him “crazy.” At that time, he insisted that he would get confirmation from Metrolinx on the track’s opening, which is now at least $1 billion over budget.

Sarkaria was pressed about an opening date at Queen’s Park on Tuesday and said “there is a possibility” it could happen before the New Year.

He noted that, unlike the Finch West LRT, which opened six weeks after its revenue demonstration was complete, operator training on the Crosstown has been ongoing for close to a year.

“So, the interval between the two periods is not comparable, in that sense. But we’re going to work with our partners at the TTC to determine that date,” he told reporters at Queen’s Park on Tuesday.

With files from Joshua Freeman