TTC and Metrolinx battle over Eglinton Crosstown LRT date at tense private meeting
Global News
Multiple sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that there was a plan by Metrolinx and the Ministry of Transportation to open the line in the last week of December.
A rift is growing between Metrolinx and Toronto’s transit agency over the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, as provincial officials push to open the years-delayed line in the final days of 2025.
Multiple sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Global News that there was a plan by Metrolinx and the Ministry of Transportation to open the line during the last week of December.
The Toronto Transit Commission resisted that, targeting a date in early February, saying there were still issues to be ironed out.
The two competing opening dates came to a head at a meeting on Dec. 5 involving Metrolinx, the TTC, Premier Doug Ford, Mayor Olivia Chow and Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria.
The meeting, according to multiple sources, was tense, as the two sides debated their opening date strategies. It was held shortly before city and provincial officials unveiled an opening plaque for the Finch West LRT, which began carrying passengers on Sunday.
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.
The meeting appeared to end with Ford accepting Toronto’s position the line could not be opened this year.
Multiple sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that there was a plan by Metrolinx and the Ministry of Transportation to open the line in the last week of December.
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