‘We are so, so close’: Sarkaria says Eglinton Crosstown on last day of key testing phase

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria says the Eglinton Crosstown is on its last day of a final testing stage and is getting closer to opening.

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria says the Eglinton Crosstown is on its last day of a final testing stage and is getting closer to an eventual opening.

“We are so, so close on the Crosstown,” Sarkaria said at a news conference in North York Monday. “We are on the last day of Revenue Service Demonstration for that project. So we have made considerable progress.”

The Revenue Service Demonstration (RSD) is a 30-day period when Metrolinx runs the system as it would normally, but with no passengers. It’s the second test phase for the line.

“It is a rigorous test over 30 days to make sure that a system is safe and reliable before we put passengers on it. And we have tested this system now across those 30 days in all kinds of weather,” Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay said.

“And I can tell you that today, we believe, is the last day of Revenue Service Demonstration for the Eglinton Crosstown.”

The next steps will then closely mirror those taken to open the Finch West LRT, which is set to begin service on Dec. 7, Lindsay said.

“Over the course of the next week, there’ll be finer resolution of minor deficiencies. The project will achieve substantial completion. It will be ready,” he said. “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.”

After RSD, the project is set to advance to a final “bedding in period” where any issues are further refined before opening – an additional phase added as part of learnings from the Ottawa LRT project.

Pressed by reporters who noted that the Finch West LRT had six weeks from RSD to opening date, Lindsay would not say for certain whether or not the Crosstown would open by the end of the year.

The trouble-plagued line has been beset by delays for more than a decade. Construction started in 2010 and it was supposed to open in 2020. Metrolinx eventually stopped providing new target dates after consistently missing them.

In recent years officials have repeatedly stressed that they want to have confidence the line is safe before it opens.

Premier Doug Ford said last week he is “pushing like crazy” to get an opening date for the Crosstown.

In an exchange during Question Period at Queen’s Park Monday, Ford was asked to explain what’s happening with the line.

He responded that the Crosstown “was a disaster started under the Liberal government,” but said progress has been made.

“I agree with your frustration. We’re finally getting it going,” Ford said.

“We’re making a lot of groundwork on the Ontario Line. One of the toughest, toughest builds you could ever do is build underneath the city.”

He also reiterated his government has undertaken a massive $70 billion transit building program to improve transit options.

Still, the province and the TTC have faced questions around their transparency about the problems with the Crosstown.

Coun. Josh Matlowe said in a statement Monday that he is calling on both Metrolinx and the TTC to provide greater transparency around the line’s delays, particularly a collision involving two Crosstown vehicles.

Metrolinx said in October that RSD testing of the line had been temporarily paused following “an incident.” The province provided few details about the incident, despite reporting saying two LRT vehicles collided at Mt. Dennis Station.

“We are demanding answers into the incident, to understand what issues exist, so that workers can know that they will be able to work safely,” Matlow said in his statement.

He has also been calling for a public inquiry into delays ands cost overruns on the line.

One Fare extended

Sarkaria held the news conference Monday to announce that the province is extending the One Fare program, which allows transit riders in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) to transfer between services without paying multiple times.

“In the first year, it enabled nearly 62 million free transfers, and has saved Ontarians nearly $200 million,” Sarkaria said.

He said the program, which saves the average daily transit rider up to $1,600 per year, will be extended for another two years.

The program allows free transfers for customers switching between the TTC, GO Transit, Brampton Transit, Durham Region Transit, MiWay, Peel TransHelp and York Region Transit.