“Promised opening dates have come and gone before. Transit riders are looking for answers and credible opening dates for the long-delayed Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West LRTs,” said TTCriders spokesperson Nigel Morton. “After nearly 14 years of construction, billions spent, and hundreds of millions in extra payouts to private companies, the Eglinton Crosstown LRT is still not open. And if you think that’s bad, when the LRT is finally open to the public, those same private companies will be responsible for maintaining it for the next 30 years.”
“Transit costs have skyrocketed under Metrolinx and the public can’t get basic answers about why long-overdue LRTs aren’t open. That’s why we are asking all provincial parties to give the TTC back control over running Toronto transit, to keep costs down and increase accountability.”
A new
study from the University of Toronto School of Cities found that
“agencies that rely more on external consultants for design, planning, engineering, and management experience higher soft costs than those that rely on in-house staff for the same services.”
Crosslinx Transit Solutions, the consortium building the Eglinton Crosstown, has a 30-year maintenance contract for the LRT. The
Crosslinx consortium is made up of some of the same companies that form
Rideau Transit Group, which built the Ottawa LRT and also has a 30-year maintenance contract. A
public inquiry into two Ottawa LRT derailments found that public-private partnership is “dysfunctional” and that poor maintenance and quality control by a subcontractor of the private consortium was to blame for the second derailment.
TTCriders is holding a
rally to open the Crosstown LRT on February 19, 2025. Transit riders will call for answers about why provincially-owned LRTs are not open and seek commitments from all provincial parties to permanently fund the operating costs of new LRTs, clear the TTC’s repair backlog, give the TTC back control to run Toronto transit projects, and chip in for the Eglinton East and Waterfront East LRTs.
