Still no opening date for Eglinton Crosstown, as province starts tunneling further west

Ontario announced Tuesday that it has started tunneling the final segment of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, as Metrolinx says there's still no opening date in sight for the Eglinton LRT.

Metrolinx Interim CEO Michael Lindsay said at a news conference on Tuesday that he got a mandate from Premier Ford to open the Eglinton Crosstown when it's "safe and reliable to do so."

"It doesn't make sense to rush in order to get passenger service and then run into liability issues," Lindsay said.

The 25-stop line was initially set to open in 2020, but a series of technical problems and associated cost overruns have plagued the project and repeatedly delayed its completion.

Lindsay said on Tuesday that multiple safety tests are still running for the Eglinton LRT, and these tests will determine the project's opening date. 

He said some of these tests include signal systems tests and drivers running the vehicles without passengers. 

"I see everybody doing the right things to prepare for this project to come into service this year," he said.

Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria said at the same news conference that the government and Metrolinx are doing "anything and everything possible" to open the LRT.

"I know there's frustration with the delays, there's no doubt about that," Sarkaria said. "I understand that this has been some of the largest, longest, you know, a lot of disruption ... but we also do need to build and we need to build across the province."

Once the final tunneling is complete, the nine-kilometre line will connect seven new stations to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and bring more than 37,000 people within a 10-minute walk of transit.

Sarkaria says the announcement marks another milestone in the government's plan to deliver a new transit line from Scarborough to Mississauga. 

"As President Trump's tariffs continue to threaten Ontario and our economy, it has never been more important to invest in public transit and build for the future," he said.