As the TTC appears to be inching closer to finally launching the Eglinton Crosstown LRT more than 14 years after construction first began, the Ontario Liberal Party is joining the ongoing chorus of calls for a public inquiry into the beleaguered line.
During a news conference at Queen’s Park on Thursday, Don Valley East MPP Adil Shamji — whose riding the Eglinton Crosstown runs through — and Scarborough-Guildwood MPP Andrea Hazell took aim at Premier Doug Ford and his government for the handling of the project.
“Communities along Eglinton, including many in Don Valley East, have endured endless congestion, shuttered storefronts, lost jobs and years of uncertainty that remain to this moment. They are real harms caused by a government that refuses to take action and accountability,” Shamji said.
“His (Ford’s) oversight of the Eglinton Crosstown stands as a case study in mismanagement.”
Shamji and Hazell called on the government to take several steps ahead of the long-awaited opening of the 19-kilometre, 25-station line in a bid to bolster confidence after it opens:
- Calling a full public inquiry into the project
- Compensation for businesses impacted by construction and delays
- Creation of a ‘rapid response task force’ to address operational issues that come up after the line opens
- A guarantee that mistakes and issues found during the launch of Line 6 Finch West aren’t repeated
- Developing a “credible plan” to apply lessons learned from Line 5 Eglinton Crosstown and Line 6 Finch West to the Ontario Line project
“We are 100 per cent concerned we’re going to see a repeat of the bungled launch of the Finch West LRT,” Shamji said.
“We expect competence, not chaos.”
The provincial government formally declared substantial completion of Line 5 Eglinton Crosstown in December, handing full operational control over to the TTC. Since that time, TTC personnel have been carrying out their own testing and commissioning work. There were suggestions that the line could be open to the public in early-to-mid-February. CityNews learned the TTC was carrying out a large training exercise across the line on Thursday in an effort to assess readiness.
The call for a public inquiry from the Liberals follows similar calls from the Ontario NDP, several members of Toronto city council, and some business operators along Eglinton Avenue. To date, the Ford government hasn’t agreed to call a public inquiry.
Construction of the Eglinton Crosstown began in 2011 under the previous Ontario Liberal government and different Metrolinx management. It was supposed to open in 2020, but it has been repeatedly pushed back due to various legal, construction and testing issues along with COVID-19-related delays.
Similar to Line 6 Finch West, Metrolinx owns the Line 5 Eglinton Crosstown infrastructure, while a private-sector entity will be responsible for infrastructure maintenance. The TTC will have responsibility for operating the trains along the corridor.
In recent years, information on the exact nature of issues facing the line hasn’t been routinely disclosed. In many instances, the Ford government also backed away from regularly providing projected and revised opening timeframes as issues arose.
When asked by reporters if a public inquiry could find fault with how the previous Liberal government carried out the initial setup of the project and the early years overseeing it.
“After eight years in power (as of June), this government has not delivered on the Eglinton Crosstown. Come on, how long is this government going to keep blaming the Ontario Liberal Party?” Hazell said while also referencing repeated delays after 2020.
“No one wants to open an unsafe line, but for God’s sake, why are you coming out with dates that you know it’s not going to work?”
Shamji added that he would welcome a public inquiry’s findings, adding that transparency and an “unbiased perspective” are needed.
Questions over the opening of Line 5 Eglinton Crosstown intensified after Line 6 Finch West opened in early December. The line connecting Finch West subway station and Humber Polytechnic saw many temporary service suspensions due to track switch issues and other mechanical problems.
A spokesperson for Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said the use of electric switches along Line 6, which led to a flawed rollout of Ottawa’s LRT system and are susceptible to ice and snow buildup, isn’t fully replicated along the Eglinton Crosstown corridor
“Line 5’s track configuration is different from Line 6 and will be a combination of gas and electric switch heating,” spokesperson Dakota Brasier said in a brief statement to CityNews.
“Unlike the Finch West LRT, the Line 5 tracks are embedded in concrete in limited sections of the alignment. This permits hot air switch heating along the Line 5 alignment. All switch heaters were commissioned and have been through a robust testing and commissioning process.”
Another issue that surfaced along Line 6 is longer-than-projected trip times due to a lack of transit signal priority measures and restrictive speed zones along certain segments. Issues involving speed and operations saw blame being passed between the provincial government and the City of Toronto.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and members of city council moved to expedite work to address some of those issues raised as trains began being used by the public
