Eglinton Crosstown LRT could be delayed again as Metrolinx faces legal challenge

More bad news for the beleaguered Eglinton Crosstown LRT, as Metrolinx has announced that it is now facing a legal challenge from the consortium building the long-overdue transit line through Toronto.

Phil Verster, president and CEO of Metrolinx, stated on Tuesday morning that it was informed by Crosslinx Transit Solutions (CTS) late Monday evening “that they intend to litigate and stop working with the TTC, who will operate the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.”

Verster calls the news “another unacceptable delay tactic by CTS at a time when they should be submitting a credible schedule to Metrolinx for completing the project.”

“While Metrolinx is driving and supporting CTS to complete the project, CTS is looking for new ways to make financial claims,” says Verster, who calls out CTS, adding that its “behaviour continues to be disappointing, especially for our Toronto communities who have been waiting patiently for the completion of this project.”

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This is not the first the CTS has legally challenged Metrolinx, and Verster is adamant that the transit agency “will defend this latest legal challenge by CTS as we have done several times before.”

Verster, who earned $869,458 in 2022, claims that “the cost of CTS’s delays are for CTS to bear.”

“Metrolinx is already withholding significant payments for poor performance,” says the transit agency’s CEO, who warns that it will “continue to hold CTS to account and examine every remedy under the Project Agreement to ensure the project is delivered to a high quality and that it is safe and reliable to open.”

It has been setback after setback for the Crosstown in recent months. The 19-kilometre light rail line has been under construction for well over a decade, missing projected completions in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Most recently, a report cast doubt that the line would hit its latest 2023 opening projection, while the revelation that a surface station required reconstruction in the 11th hour has only further muddied the timeline.