Testing on a new Toronto transit line is set to continue this year, with an opening date likely not announced until 2023, officials say.
Vehicle testing is taking place along the length of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT in midtown Toronto. The tests will continue through different seasons to the end of this year.
“From the east to the west, full-length vehicle testing will continue for the rest of the year on Eglinton,” a spokesperson for provincial transit agency Metrolinx told Global News.
The project was first announced more than a decade ago, with Eglinton Avenue under construction for years.
The line is set to be built both above and underground, running 19 kilometres in length and connecting several transit stations, including both sides of Toronto’s Yonge and University subway line.
Twenty-five stations have been planned across the route, terminating at Kennedy Subway Station in the east. It will end at Mount Dennis in the west, with connections to the UP Express and Kitchener GO line.
Metrolinx estimates the line will allow people to cross Toronto 60 per cent faster than current travel times.
The Metrolinx spokesperson said residents were “really excited” to see progress being made on the project.
“We are working diligently with our contractor to get the project substantially completed by end of 2022,” the spokesperson said.
The end of the year will be followed by a “period of operation readiness,” which will include the announcement of an official opening date for the line.