Embattled Eglinton Crosstown LRT is already being repaired before even opening

Metrolinx has announced the start of repair work for the beleaguered Eglinton Crosstown LRT, which may come as a surprise considering the embattled transit line has still yet to open after over 13 years of construction and delays.

The project is now several years overdue, and Metrolinx has still not yet announced a public opening date for the new 19-kilometre light rail transit line carving through midtown Toronto.

While the transit agency remains tight-lipped about the line’s rumoured mid-2025 opening, it has been a bit more forthcoming with technical updates on the LRT’s ongoing construction. 

On Monday, Metrolinx shed new light on the seemingly cursed project, announcing that it would begin “platform deficiency repair works” on a stretch of the line along Eglinton Avenue East near Kennedy Road starting as early as Monday, January 13, 2025.

You read that right: The Eglinton Crosstown is undergoing repair work before Toronto residents have ever even had the chance to ride the line.

Platform deficiencies were first identified along the Crosstown’s eastern surface section back in 2022, and have proven a costly and time-consuming hurdle in the line’s long-overdue opening.

According to Metrolinx’s latest construction notice, “crews will be performing deficiency repair works at platform stops along Eglinton Avenue East, between Brentcliffe Road and Kennedy Road.”

A release from January 13 states that a segment of the still-unopened Line 5 Eglinton needs to undergo “platform deficiency repair works.”

Metrolinx advises the public that rectifying these issues will involve “periodic short-term rolling lane closures” along a stretch of Eglinton that has already endured close to a decade and a half of disruption on account of the project’s seemingly never-ending construction timeline.

During these rolling closures, access to properties, including businesses and residences, will always be maintained, along with at least one single lane of traffic along Eglinton.

Work is expected to be carried out from Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., though Metrolinx advises locals that “short-term lane reductions may be required” along this stretch even after deficiency repairs are completed.

It’s proving to be just another hiccup in what has become a disastrous infrastructure upgrade for the city.

The Crosstown first started construction in 2011, with a projected opening in 2020. Now closing in on five years after that promised start of service, commuters still await the announcement of an official opening date for the line.

Once complete, this initial phase of the future TTC will introduce 25 stops and stations, and move commuters up to 60 per cent faster than existing bus service.