Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Toronto’s transit agency is aiming to open the years-delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT on Feb. 8, putting the potential opening just two weeks away.
Speaking as he left an unrelated scrum at Queen’s Park on Monday, Ford said the second Sunday in February was the TTC’s “goal” for opening the light rail route.
“Yes, that’s the goal, Feb. 8,” Ford said. “I’m not confirming — that’s TTC.”
Since Metrolinx accepted the Eglinton Crosstown LRT as complete and transferred it to the TTC, the Toronto agency — not the province — is leading work on the official opening date and launch.
Moments earlier, Ford again expressed his relief that the line would be opening soon.
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“Thank God it’s opening,” he said.
After the news conference, a source with knowledge of the project confirmed Feb. 8 was the date the Eglinton Crosstown LRT is set to open.
As Global News previously reported, Feb. 8 was the date the TTC wanted to open the line when the heads of Metrolinx and the Toronto transit agency clashed in a tense private meeting in December.
At that meeting, Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay argued the Eglinton Crosstown LRT was ready to open by Dec. 28, while TTC CEO Mandeep Lali pushed for Feb. 8 to iron out final problems.
Lali, who has worked on New York and London’s transit systems, pushed back against the plan. The TTC raised concerns about repeating the mistakes of the Ottawa LRT during the December meeting.
In particular, the TTC raised worries about outstanding technical issues with the line, arguing the city needed more time to ensure it had a bedding-in period to sort out the final problems.
An inquiry into the launch of that system, which was plagued by technical errors and breakdowns, found the city and the Rideau Transit Group consortium lost sight of the public interest amid political pressure to rush the $2.1-billion project across the finish line.
Both Metrolinx and the TTC have been dealing with the fallout of the winter opening of the Finch West LRT, which has repeatedly shut down in freezing temperatures and faced complaints about slow travel times when it is open.
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