Embattled Eglinton Crosstown LRT's social media accounts have fallen silent for months
Anyone looking for a progress update on Toronto's Eglinton Crosstown LRT in recent weeks has unfortunately been out of luck, as Metrolinx has resigned itself to silence on not just a potential opening date, but seemingly anything to do with the project.
The transit agency has stopped sharing information on any of the social media accounts associated with the ill-fated, many-times-delayed line — now in its 14th year of construction — with the most recent posts on the Crosstown's Instagram, X and Facebook accounts dating back to September 2024.
That post, shared across platforms, included a video explaining the "right in, right out" traffic rules that will come into play along Eglinton. It was just one of a handful of clips Metrolinx had created to better educate the public about the design and other features of the forthcoming east-west route.
Despite the content's instructive value, it seems that reactions to the material weren't very positive, with many residents continuing to push for an opening date, making jokes about the project's incessant setbacks, and asking that Metrolinx start spending "more time opening transit lines and less time promoting them," among other, less kind remarks.
These types of comments can be found on quite a few of Metrolinx's Crosstown-related posts from last year, though whether this was a factor in the Crown corporation's decision to stop publishing anything on the subject is unclear.
People in Toronto are sick of hype videos showing off new LRT nobody can use https://t.co/QjkTzO9tq1
— blogTO (@blogTO) September 8, 2024
One thing that is confirmed, though, is that no debut date will be revealed until stakeholders are positive that they can actually deliver on the promise — something Premier Doug Ford advised they do after surpassing so many projected launch dates since the initial planned 2020 completion.
Even with the absence of solid news on Line 5 from Metrolinx, transitgoers have been able to glean a few hints from other sources, such as the TTC.
New TTC budget suggests Toronto's long-overdue LRT lines will finally open this summer👀https://t.co/8XY65ELdMp
— blogTO (@blogTO) January 7, 2025
In December, TTC Chair Jamaal Myers explained that the commission was deferring the phase-out of legacy fares from December 2024 to June 2025 because this marked "the earliest possible opening date" the Crosstown and the Finch West LRT.
And just this week, the TTC Board seemed to confirm this timeline, stating in its proposed 2025 budget that "for budget planning purposes, Line 5 and Line 6 costs reflect July and August 2025 revenue service dates, respectively," though it noted that "the actual opening dates are pending confirmation from Metrolinx."
Metrolinx has yet to respond to blogTO's requests for comment on the scarcity of recent posts on its Crosstown accounts.
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