The Eglinton Crosstown LRT: A Monumental Failure and Stark Warning for Toronto’s Future Transit Projects
The Eglinton Crosstown LRT project, Toronto’s most anticipated infrastructure initiative in over a decade, is a tale of disappointment, delays, and mounting costs. What was once a beacon of hope for alleviating congestion and modernizing transit in Canada’s largest city has devolved into a cautionary tale about the perils of poorly managed public works projects. The latest updates from Metrolinx, the crown corporation overseeing the project, suggest that the Eglinton Crosstown LRT may open in early 2025—some 14 years after construction began, and five years past its original completion date. The project is now emblematic of everything that can go wrong with large-scale transit development: relentless delays, cost overruns, technical failures, and a lack of accountability for the wasted funds and broken promises.
The Eglinton Crosstown LRT was first promised to be up and running by 2020. The project, a 19-kilometre light rail line stretching across midtown Toronto, was expected to connect the eastern and western parts of the city, improving public transit and reducing traffic congestion. With an original price tag of $5.3 billion, the project soon spiraled in both cost and complexity. As construction dragged on, problems multiplied, including legal disputes, labor issues, and COVID-19-related setbacks.
Fast forward to today, and we’re still waiting. After almost 14 years of construction, the Crosstown LRT remains incomplete. And while the majority of construction is reportedly finished, including 25 stations, testing and commissioning have been fraught with challenges. Metrolinx has acknowledged that they are still dealing with software design flaws—issues in the signaling system that pose safety risks and have resulted in months of delays. According to Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster, the "software code rectification" is underway and will be completed by the end of this year, with hopes of a "revenue service demonstration" taking place in early 2025. This demonstration is a prelude to the eventual public opening, which still remains uncertain.
The consistent delays have left many Torontonians frustrated and skeptical. The most recent setback is just one in a long line of technical failures, including eight previous software updates to address bugs in the system. These delays, compounded by the ever-increasing cost, have led to growing concerns about the future of large-scale infrastructure projects in the city.
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the Eglinton Crosstown saga is the total lack of accountability. No individual, agency, or government official has been held responsible for the years of delays or the waste of taxpayer money. Metrolinx and its partners, including Crosslinx Transit Solutions (the private consortium responsible for construction), have consistently downplayed the enormity of the failure. Despite the clear issues, Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster has only promised that they are "focused on testing and commissioning" and that they "expect" to be ready by early 2025.
The question is: Why has no one been held accountable for these staggering delays and escalating costs? With each passing year, the project grows more expensive, yet no clear consequences have been laid out for the contractors or government officials involved in the mismanagement of this critical project. The lack of transparency and accountability sets a dangerous precedent for future infrastructure projects in Toronto and beyond.
There is no clear timeline, no definitive commitment to opening the line any time soon, and no one to answer for the massive failure of this multi-billion-dollar initiative. The provincial government, led by Premier Doug Ford, has been conspicuously silent about the repeated setbacks, choosing to avoid making any further promises until they are absolutely certain—yet, they never seem to be “absolutely certain.” The entire project now serves as a stark warning to the public: infrastructure projects of this scale, when mismanaged, can be a bottomless pit for public money, with no end in sight.
The Eglinton Crosstown LRT debacle raises serious concerns about the future of infrastructure in Toronto and Ontario. If a project of this scale, meant to alleviate congestion and modernize transit in a growing city, can be so mishandled, what hope is there for future transportation initiatives?
For one, the Crosstown LRT debacle highlights the dangers of overreliance on private-public partnerships (P3s). Crosslinx Transit Solutions, a consortium of private companies, has had a hand in both the design and construction of the line. While P3s are often touted as a way to mitigate costs and speed up completion, the Crosstown experience demonstrates that when accountability is divided between the public and private sectors, oversight becomes murky, and problems are allowed to fester.
Additionally, the project has highlighted a serious gap in the city’s and province’s ability to manage large, complex infrastructure projects. From legal disputes to software flaws, delays have been the norm rather than the exception. The lack of progress on the Crosstown is a warning for other transit projects in the pipeline, such as the Scarborough Subway Extension and the Ontario Line, which are facing similar challenges in terms of timeline, budget, and accountability.
If the province cannot deliver on a project that has been in the works for over a decade, how can they be trusted to deliver on future commitments? The public’s patience is wearing thin, and rightly so. The Eglinton Crosstown LRT is not just a symbol of failure—it’s a warning. A warning that without proper oversight, transparency, and accountability, future projects will only face the same fate: cost overruns, missed deadlines, and growing public distrust.
While some signs—literally—are beginning to suggest that the Crosstown might finally open soon, it remains unclear when the line will actually begin operation. Notices at bus stops and updates to the TTC's route maps hint at the impending opening, but these feel more like placeholders than genuine signs of progress. The lack of a clear opening date is an insult to the taxpayers who have footed the bill for this project for more than a decade.
In the end, the Eglinton Crosstown LRT is more than just a delayed transit line—it is a cautionary tale. If Toronto does not learn from the failures of this project, future infrastructure in the city could be doomed to repeat the same mistakes.