TTC planning for possible opening of Eglinton Crosstown LRT in September 2024

While Metrolinx has not committed to an exact opening date for the much-delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT, the TTC has alluded to a possible schedule for when the line will open.

In a report breaking down the transit agency’s operating and capital budgets for next year, it included operational and maintenance costs for the openings of Line 5 (Eglinton Crosstown) and Line 6 (Finch West LRT) “based on a planned Revenue Service date of September 2024.”

However, staff noted that it still may change.

The Eglinton Crosstown was initially scheduled to open in 2020, but construction, which began in 2011, remains ongoing.

Last week, Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster still could not promise a timeline for when Crosstown will be in service, apologizing to the community for the delays.

“I want to say, unambiguously, I apologize. I apologize to the businesses, to the communities, to the people of Toronto for the fact that this project is late,” he said.

While Verster has not committed to a date for opening the LRT, he has said Metrolinx will release that information three months in advance.

“I cannot see that it is sensible or responsible to declare an opening date now. But I give you and the communities an absolute commitment that once we get through the risks, defects, issues, that we are seeing, finding and fixing, that we will declare a date,” he said.

Meanwhile, TTC staff are recommending that fares be frozen next year at 2023 rates. This year, cash and pay-as-you-go PRESTO fares for youths and adults went up 10 cents.

“This decision stems from a commitment to safeguard the financial accessibility of transit services following the 10-cent fare increase implemented in 2023. While the 2023 fare adjustment helped to fund crucial system safety, cleanliness, and accessibility investments, it is acknowledged that it also had an undue hardship on those riders who depended on transit the most,” staff wrote in the budget report.

“This action is necessary to minimize the impact on TTC riders given current economic conditions.”

According to staff, the TTC needs $2.57 billion to run the city’s transit system next year.

With files from Codi Wilson