Latest Eglinton Crosstown update shows all stations but one are ready for passengers

Toronto's Eglinton Crosstown LRT has proven to be a far lengthier and more troublesome endeavour than any of us could have imagined, and though we are still at least a few months away from its potential launch, a lot of recent progress has been made behind the scenes.

As of last month, not only is major construction on the line complete (as it has been for some time), but 14 out of its 15 new stations have now been issued occupancy permits, with building completely wrapped.

The exception is Eglinton Station at the cursed Yonge and Eg intersection, which Metrolinx wrote in recent materials from last month "will continue into Q1 2024/25 owing to its complexity."

Meanwhile, crews have continued to work through the major roadblocks they encountered during operations testing and commissioning, which were largely due to software issues.

Tweaks necessary to solve various "inefficiencies" were "cascading to other systems," Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster said back in December, when System Integration Testing was only 15.3 per cent finished.

It was at that point that authorities seemed to suggest the embattled line could open soon after spring 2024 — a hopeful premonition that obviously hasn't come to fruition.

Or next year, or the year after. Toronto’s biggest joke

— Mos Eisley (@Cartwright_Four) April 23, 2024

But now, it seems that a new software update has resolved most of the defects in the signalling and train control systems, marking a huge milestone on the way to the line's debut.

Other key factors Verster and his team had said were contributing to delays in testing, driver training and eventual opening included finite track re-adjustments "to the millimetre," another task that has now been ticked off the list, per the latest updates available.

Metrolinx has been adamant about the fact that it will not provide any prospective opening date until three months prior to avoid further disappointment and false promises while it "makes sure everything is built right and operates correctly and safely."

The 19 km-long, 25-stop Crosstown has been 13 years in the making and is four years overdue as of 2024 thanks to unanticipated remediation work, legal battles with its construction consortium, escalating costs of the work and more.