Transit advocates are expressing outrage after final testing for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT has been paused following a reported incident last week.
According to The Toronto Star, two trains collided at Mount Dennis train yard on Oct. 16 nearly a week after the line began a 30-day revenue service demonstration (RSD) on Oct. 7, which involves the trains fully running as scheduled but without passengers.
In a statement to Now Toronto, the Ministry of Transportation did not confirm if a collision took place, but confirmed that RSD has been paused “following an incident,” and will resume shortly to continue testing.
“Safety is at the forefront of everything we do and we continue to work with our partners at the TTC as progress on this critical project progresses,” the statement said.
Campaigns Manager at transit advocacy group TTCriders August Puranauth tells Now Toronto that this latest incident is “a betrayal of public trust,” and fears the incident will cause another delay.
“We need a full public inquiry into what went wrong, an end to the privatization of public transit projects, and real transparency from both Metrolinx and TTC leadership,” Puranauth said.
TTCriders says this incident and the delay “proves” that public-private partnership has failed to deliver, and is demanding an inquiry to uncover causes of the delays and cost overruns to ensure history does not repeat itself.
“Riders deserve answers,” Puranauth said.
Residents along Eglinton Ave. are also waiting for answers, as many have had to endure 14 years of construction-related issues.
“We’ve lived through years of construction, noise, and road closures, and now we’re told again to just wait,” local rider Andrew Ilersich said in a statement. “It’s insulting. People here have waited 14 years for this line to open. How much longer are we going to have to wait?”
As work on the line paused last week, the Finch West LRT RSD was well underway after beginning on Sept. 18 for approximately 30 days.
A clear timeline for completion of the Eglinton line has yet to be announced by Metrolinx or the TTC, however previous statements from Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay pointed to a fall opening.
The Eglinton Crosstown LRT was originally scheduled to open in 2020, with the Finch West LRT scheduled to open in 2021.
