Ford says Eglinton Crosstown LRT still on track to open in September 2025
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the Eglinton Crosstown light rail transit line is still on track to open this September.
"Yes, that is what I am hearing," Ford told reporters on Tuesday at Queen's Park. He did not provide an exact date.
The premier said he is hopeful that the Ontario government will hand over control of the Eglinton Crosstown to the Toronto Transit Commission in the next two weeks.
"I am hearing some positive things about Eglinton track, and hopefully we will be handing it over in the next couple weeks to the TTC and they will be doing their trial runs. And thank God, that is all I got to say about that and that project."
TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said the transit agency has no comment. "We have no updates at this time," he said in an email on Tuesday.
CBC Toronto has reached out to Metrolinx but has not yet heard back. Former Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster previously said the transit agency would announce an opening date for the crosstown three months ahead of time.
'We'll believe it when we see it': NDP
Ontario MPP Doly Begum, who represents Scarborough Southwest, said she was skeptical of the September opening date and noted the premier did not provide an exact date.
"We'll believe it when we see it," Begum, who is the NDP's transit critic, said in a news release on Tuesday.
"The people of Ontario are tired of getting their hopes up only for another delay, another excuse. The very least the Government can do is give them real answers about when they can finally ride the LRT," Begum said.
The transit line, which has been beset by delays, is slated to have 25 stops along Eglinton Avenue, running 19 kilometres from Kennedy in the east to Mount Dennis in the west.
According to Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency, the line was initially set to open in 2020, but a series of technical problems and associated cost overruns have plagued the project and repeatedly delayed its completion.
Two Toronto city councillors, Josh Matlow and Mike Colle, whose wards have been impacted by the ongoing construction, have called for a public inquiry into the much-delayed line.
Construction began in 2011, when the province estimated it would cost about $9.1 billion to build and maintain the crosstown. Documents obtained by CBC Toronto in 2022 showed the project costs had jumped to at least $12.8 billion.
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