Metrolinx shows off tech to move Crosstown trains you still aren't allowed to ride

Metrolinx is offering another peek behind the scenes of the beleaguered Eglinton Crosstown LRT, providing a glimpse at some of the project's technology instead of actually letting people ride the damn thing already.

The transit agency is keeping the hype alive for the long-overdue transit line that Toronto commuters expected to enter service in 2020, then 2021, 2022, 2023, and now, 2024.

With no opening date yet announced almost midway through the year, Metrolinx has been regularly sharing social media posts that continue to tease commuters, many of whom appear to be growing frustrated by behind-the-scenes updates that lack the real news TTC users are waiting for.

For its latest update, Metrolinx appears to be running out of things to show off to impatient transit users, turning to the rail vehicles used to move unpowered light rail vehicles within the line's Maintenance and Storage Facility.

🦀 Meet the CRABs of Eglinton Crosstown! These rail car movers shimmy like crustaceans, towing unpowered LRVs, assisting when there is no overhead catenary system. These make sure our trains stay moving within Crosstown’s Maintenance and Storage Facility! pic.twitter.com/H25KvhT2Tr

— Crosstown (@CrosstownTO) April 30, 2024

Known as CRABs, these vehicle-moving systems are pretty interesting in their ability to haul the enormous Alstom Flexity Freedom light rail vehicles that will operate along the line once (or if) it opens.

However, just like every other post about the overdue transit line, users are trolling the non-announcement.

One commenter wrote, "Great! You can move them around your facility — how about getting them moving along Eglinton. With people on them, imagine that!"

Please get the line running!

— Huge Stooge (@TrevorBray) April 30, 2024

"Games, games, and more games," wrote another, asking, "Is this thing ever going to open, or are you going to keep laughing at us with these stupid posts?"

Despite rumblings that the line will open to commuters in September, Metrolinx has remained tight-lipped on timelines for opening, and no official date or even a vague window has been given by the transit agency as of May 2024.