Signal No. HM-RE020
Make It Make Sense
Toronto opened a 19 km tram line. It took 15 years.
Toronto, Canada
ReportedDear Mamdani, Toronto started building the Eglinton Crosstown in 2011.
It opened on 8 February 2026, six years behind schedule and at a cost of more than $13 billion. It is 19 km long. That is just over a kilometre a year.
Parts of it run on the street, so it stops at red lights. Some riders were worried it would be slow. It was quite clear by then that slow was the brand.
A councillor wants a public inquiry. The premier said it would be a waste of time. Both sides agree that time has been wasted. They only disagree on whose.
The facts
- Construction of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT (Line 5) began in 2011. The line opened on 8 February 2026, six years behind its original timeline.
- A Metrolinx report in autumn 2025 put the cost at more than $13 billion, about $1 billion more than the revised budget in a 2018 auditor general's report.
- The line runs 19 km between Mount Dennis and Kennedy. Large sections run above ground and share road space with traffic, including red lights.
- Councillor Josh Matlow called for a public inquiry. Premier Doug Ford rejected it as a waste of time, while acknowledging mistakes were made.
Sources
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