Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster still won’t say when the Eglinton Crosstown LRT will open.
But in a project update Friday, where reporters toured a gleaming Eglinton Station as trains whizzed by, officials gave details that suggested riders won’t be boarding the transit line anytime soon.
Bill Gifford, president of Crosslinx Transit Solutions, the construction consortium building the LRT, said a key piece of work that still needs to be done can’t happen in the winter.
Crosslinx is currently working to fix stretches of track that were improperly laid back in 2021. That work is being done in phases. Engineers have already completed the first phase, enabling trains to run, but to complete the last stage of track work on the at-grade sections, Crosslinx will have to wait for warmer weather, Gifford said, noting the issue comes down to fractions of millimetres.
“We clearly don’t want snow on the ground, and the weather here in the winter months — January, February, March — can obviously be inclement,” Gifford said. “Ideally we would prefer that to be warmer, dry weather.”
This is the only inkling reporters were given of when the $12.8-billion transit line will open, or rather, when it will not open.
Verster, for his part, was tight-lipped, repeatedly refusing to give a timeline and reiterating his statement to Metrolinx’s board last month that he would announce an opening date for Crosstown three months before opening day.
“We are finding and fixing issues and defects and once we are satisfied that we’ve got the rest of those contained, we can announce an opening date, but not before,” Verster said.
You might be interested in
When asked about the ongoing impact on businesses in the area, Verster said, “I want to say, unambiguously, I apologize.”
“I apologize to the businesses, to the communities, to the people of Toronto for the fact that this project is late,” he added. “We are totally dedicated and totally focused on completing the project as soon as possible."
The Eglinton Crosstown LRT has been under construction since 2011 and was initially set to open in 2020 but has repeatedly been beset by drama and delays. Beyond challenges due to COVID-19, Eglinton Station — the largest and most complex on the line — has been the source of many of the project’s issues. The stop lies beneath the TTC’s Line 1 and, while building it, Crosslinx uncovered defects with the old TTC infrastructure.
The LRT has also faced obstacles arising from the rocky relationship between Crosslinx and the provincial agencies overseeing the project, Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario. Metrolinx has repeatedly blamed Crosslinx for the project’s tardiness, while Crosslinx has sued the province three times, accusing Metrolinx of taking an “irresponsibly hands-off approach” to the LRT.
This is the second time the Star has been inside Eglinton Station. In May, the Star was given an exclusive tour of the LRT — without Metrolinx present — and an interview with the then-CEO of one of the companies that makes up Crosslinx. Former EllisDon CEO Geoff Smith called the relationship with Metrolinx “broken.”
Recently, however, Metrolinx and Crosslinx have presented a more united front. On Friday, Verster praised the work that has been done under Gifford.
On Friday, Eglinton Station appeared polished and complete. An updating sign shows passengers when the next train will arrive at the Station, which is bright, modern and airy. A large piece of mirrored artwork hangs above the platform.
But while much of the external work is complete, there is still a fair bit of work to be done testing the line to ensure the LRT is running safely and reliably, Verster said. According to a progress update provided by Metrolinx, system integration testing is just 15.3 per cent complete.
“The fact that you see trains here is really positive because it shows the trains are running,” said Verster, standing on the platform as one of the trains rolled by. The transit agency is currently running 10 test trains from end to end, as well as training TTC staff to operate them.
“The real test is these trains need to run at the right frequency, every three to five minutes, get into the Station, move the capacity of people we’ve got,” which is the system integration testing, Verster said.
“That’s a big, big part of the last stages of the project.”
Crosslinx is still fixing defects as they arise — including managing small amounts of water leaking into the Station using a drainage system, Gifford said. TTC operator training is about 12 per cent complete, according to Metrolinx’s progress report. Once everything is complete, Crosslinx still needs to obtain construction certificates.
The exterior of Eglinton Station is still a construction zone, with parts of the road excavated and sidewalks blocked off. Gifford said he hopes the bulk of the work will be done by the end of the year and that road lanes can reopen in mid-January.
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free).
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation