The opening of the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT) has been postponed once more. Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay announced at a press conference on Friday that the LRT will not open in September as previously anticipated. “Since it’s not September now, we’re hoping it’s October,” Lindsay stated.

The delay is primarily due to ongoing reliability and performance issues with the trains. Lindsay explained that these problems are affecting the ability to run the trains as intended. “This is all about whether you can run the kilometres that are intended,” he said. The trains have been at the center of a legal dispute between their manufacturer, Bombardier, and Metrolinx, which has contributed to the delays.

The first six trains were delivered in 2019, and the complete fleet of 76 cars was delivered throughout 2021. However, these cars are currently causing issues that have delayed a scheduled 30-day full-service test that was set for the end of August. Lindsay assured that the performance issues are not safety-related but do impact the train's operational capacity for the entire line.

“Slowly but surely, the vehicles are becoming more available, more reliable,” he noted. He emphasized the importance of maintaining a sustainable number of trains in peak condition for service.

In addition to the Crosstown update, Lindsay provided information on the Finch West LRT, which began construction after the Crosstown in 2019. He mentioned that the Finch line is also targeting a 30-day revenue demonstration test in September. “We haven’t seen some of the same sort of maintenance and reliability things to fix on Finch that we did on Eglinton,” he said.

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT, which spans 19 kilometers with 25 stops from Mount Dennis in the west to Kennedy in the east, was originally scheduled to open in 2020. However, the project has faced numerous setbacks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, legal challenges, and software issues. Despite an exclusive tour of the line in May 2023, the completion date has been pushed back multiple times.

Premier Doug Ford, who has been in office during much of the LRT's construction, expressed frustration over the lack of a guaranteed opening date. “I do see the trains running up and down, so we’ll be all over them on that,” he told reporters. He plans to meet with Metrolinx and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to address the ongoing issues.

Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria acknowledged the public's frustration and disappointment regarding the delays. “There’s obviously a lot of frustration. There’s a lot of disappointment. And I don’t disagree with that,” he said. He assured that the government is committed to delivering a functional transit system for the residents of the province and the city.