Metrolinx to give update on Eglinton Crosstown LRT on Friday

The progress update will also include a station tour.

thestar.com
Dec. 8, 2023

Metrolinx will give a progress update on the years-delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT Friday.

A media advisory sent Monday said Phil Verster, Metrolinx CEO, Phil Taberner, vice-president of the Crosstown project, and Bill Gifford, president of Crosslinx Transit Solutions, will speak to reporters at 9 a.m. at Eglinton Station.

The progress update will also include a station tour.

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT has been under construction for more than a decade and was initially set to open in 2020, but has been pushed back several times.

On November 30, Verster told the transit agency's board that Metrolinx will announce an opening date for the LRT three months before opening day, but "we are not there yet."

“We are making sure everything is built right and operates correctly and safely,” Verster added. He said Crosslinx, the construction consortium building the transit line, is still finding issues that must be fixed before the LRT can open.

In September, Verster said construction of the LRT was 97 per cent complete but work needed to be done, especially at Eglinton station — the site of Friday's update. Metrolinx has repeatedly cited issues with the existing TTC infrastructure at Eglinton as a major reason for the LRT's delays.

This is a developing story.