Officials from Metrolinx, the TTC and City of Toronto are meeting privately Tuesday to discuss the disputed cost of extending the Bloor-Danforth subway line in Scarborough.
Metrolinx and the TTC are at odds over the cost of replacing the Scarborough RT with a subway line, and the meeting is being held to give both sides a chance to explain the differences in their estimates.
In an email to CP24, TTC CEO Andy Byford said Metrolinx is quoting a higher cost because the agency is including the “sunk costs” it has incurred so far on the LRT option, and it is attaching the cost of Kennedy Station’s reconstruction to the SRT replacement project instead of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT project.
Byford said he believes the price quoted by Metrolinx is higher than it should be.
According to a Toronto Star report, Metrolinx previously issued an ultimatum telling the city to clarify its position on whether it wants the SRT converted to a subway line or light rail transit.
The SRT is being converted to LRT at a cost of more than $1 billion, but Metrolinx threatened last week to suspend work if the city doesn’t reaffirm its commitment to the project by Aug. 2, the newspaper reported.
According to the report, Metrolinx says Toronto is sending mixed signals about its commitment to the project, citing a May vote by city council asking the province to consider replacing the SRT with a subway instead of LRT.
