Province may have to run Eglinton LRT amid Toronto’s financial woes
Global News
New documents suggest the Ford government could be forced to pay to operate the Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West LRTs after the city of Toronto paused some financial discussions.
The province is facing the prospect of having to pay to run two separate light rail lines in Toronto as financial talks between the city and Queen’s Park continue to grind.
New documents obtained by Global News set out that the City of Toronto may refuse to run either the Eglinton Crosstown or Finch West LRTs unless the Ford government coughs up new funding for the struggling municipality.
The city’s threat leaves the province with few options to ensure transit projects that it has spent billions of dollars to build will carry passengers.
“The province might have to consider different delivery options, including assuming operations of the ECLRT,” the internal government documents state.
The provincial documents suggest Ford government officials are facing a difficult decision — whether they can call Toronto’s bluff on its threat.
Another option would be to bring the routes under provincial control, operating them from Queen’s Park or under Metrolinx, instead of the TTC running them as local transit lines.
A provincial spokesperson said both levels of government share a desire to see the two lines open as quickly as possible.
“It is critical that we work together with the city to deliver on priority transit projects like the Finch West and Eglinton Crosstown LRT for the thousands of commuters who will rely on it each and every day,” they said.