Metrolinx and City of Toronto Disagree on Scarborough Line/Eglinton East LRT Link

A rendering of a light-rail car for the Eglington-Scarborough crosstown light rail.

Metrolinx

TORONTO – The city of Toronto and Metrolinx have not been able to agree on who will pay for a proposed connection from Scarborough subway at Kennedy Station to the Eglinton East light rail transit line.

Currently, construction is underway at the Scarborough subway extension. The Eglinton East light rail is still in the early design stages. According to a report from CBC News, Metrolinx wants the city of Toronto “to pay for the connection to the LRT.” However, the city of Toronto wants to incorporate the cost into the work that is currently underway on the Scarborough subway station. On Friday, August 9, Mayor Olivia Chow said “that it will cost taxpayers less and be more efficient if construction to preserve space for the eventual LRT expansion is done now.” Chow went on to say that if the subway station is not built with the connection in mind, construction costs could rise, and the connection could take longer to build. 

According to the report, Chow has met with Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria “about the issue and hopes he intercedes.” The city of Toronto has asked Metrolinx to include the Kennedy Station into their plans, but Metrolinx has refused. Instead, it has asked the city “to commit by the end of July to covering the full costs of the connection and delays it says it will create on the subway project.” If the connection is not built now, the future Kennedy Station would need to be temporarily closed in the future to allow for the link’s construction. 

The costs of the overbuild are not in public documents as of reporting. Instead, the figures have been kept confidential “because city staff say they could negatively affect contract negotiations.”

Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie represents Ward 25 (Scarborough-Rouge Park) and expressed her frustration at Metrolinx. She says, “After years of fooling and farting around by Metrolinx, we’re now in the position where we have to spend a significant additional amount of money to protect for the Eglinton East LRT. . . It is important that we make this investment today so that we can construct the important Eglinton East LRT in the future.” The report goes on to mention the Council voted in favor of McKelvie’s motion that the province intervenes.

Metrolinx has said the requests from the city of Toronto are not in its budget. In a statement, it writes that it has been working with Toronto to accommodate the LRT in its design and planning for the project. Previously, the Eglinton East LRT was named a “priority,” and the council agreed to spend close to C$10 million to advance the project’s design. The entire line is projected to cost $4.65 billion.

In response, Minister Sarkaria’s spokesperson commented that Metrolinx has made “adjustments to the Scarborough Subway Extension project design to protect and accommodate the LRT.” 

Dakota Brasier said, “The Province has taken significant action to support the city in advancing its capital program and transit priorities – including the (Eglinton East LRT).”