Eglinton Crosstown LRT likely delayed yet again and absolutely nobody is surprised

Never in a million years could anyone have anticipated that the Crosstown Eglinton LRT, now going on 14 years of construction and five years past its initial opening date, would be facing yet another delay — just kidding, of course!

According to the latest statements from TTC interim CEO Greg Percy, who is on his way out of the role after taking it over last fall, the September 2025 launch that everyone was hoping for is now looking like "a reach" (a prediction blogTO made earlier this month).

"We're still looking at this fall to get something happening," Percy said in response to questions about the transit line during a TTC Board meeting on Thursday.

"I think September is a reach, but this fall is plausible, and certainly by year-end."

Though Metrolinx had not officially confirmed a September debut — executives having decided last year that, after so many broken promises, they would only provide a timeline when they were positive we were three months out from the date — the TTC took over operations of the 19 km-long route in June after re-deploying operators in March, suggesting opening was imminent.

Officials said at that time that all civil infrastructure work and driver training for Line 5 was complete, with a block of final testing, including a 14-day formal trial running period, a 30-day revenue service demonstration and further betting-in period, left to do.

This aligned with the September date that anonymous sources had revealed back in March, although budgets and other signs had previously suggested that residents would be able to ride the line as soon as this summer.

Fortunately for the public, we're very used to disappointment re: the Crosstown at this point; so much so that the endless project has become the subject of memes, international criticism and more, with a survey showing that as of late 2024, most residents didn't believe they would be able to board the line until 2026, at best.