Toronto mayor says Eglinton Crosstown LRT won’t open within next month

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has indicated the years-delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT is likely to open on the TTC’s preferred schedule, confirming it definitely won’t launch until after an update at the end of January.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Chow said there would be an update on the status of the rapid transit line next month, accepting it would not be open to the public before.

“We are working it out right now. The key thing is, you will get an update at the end of January as to where the Eglinton Crosstown where it’s at,” the mayor said. “No, it’s not going to open before the end of January.”

The timeline would suggest the TTC’s preference for opening the light rail line in early February is being favoured over a bid by provincial agency Metrolinx to launch the line as early as the end of the year.

As Global News previously reported, the leaders of Metrolinx and the TTC disagreed at a private meeting over whether the line could be opened on Dec. 28 — or if it should be kept closed for final tests and changes until Feb. 8.

Sources said Metrolinx, which announced substantial completion of the Crosstown that same day, pushed for Sunday, Dec. 28, to open the line. The provincial agency and its CEO, Michael Lindsay, were adamant that remaining issues with the line could be fixed by then.

TTC CEO Mandeep Lali, who has worked on New York and London’s transit systems, pushed back against the plan. Sources said he wanted to see the line open around Feb. 8, citing concerns about rushing fixes to the remaining technical problems.

After the meeting, Premier Doug Ford — who attended, along with his transportation minister and Chow — said the line would be open in early 2026.

During the meeting where the opening date was debated, sources said, the TTC raised concerns about repeating the mistakes of the Ottawa LRT. In particular, the TTC raised worries about outstanding technical issues with the line, arguing the city needed more time to ensure it had a bedding-in period to sort out the final problems.

An inquiry into the launch of that system, which was plagued by technical errors and breakdowns, found the city and the Rideau Transit Group consortium lost sight of the public interest amid political pressure to rush the $2.1-billion project across the finish line.

Metrolinx, which has cited the Ottawa LRT’s lessons as a concern during construction, pushed back, with its CEO listing off how Metrolinx was able to rapidly address the technical issues and why the Eglinton Crosstown LRT would not suffer the same fate as Ottawa.