New work starts on major LRT line that will connect Toronto and Mississauga

Important work has begun on several sections of a major light-rail transit line being built in east Mississauga and Toronto, project leaders said on Friday.

Major excavation is now underway on four of the seven stations for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, “marking another milestone in the province’s plan to protect Ontario by building fast, reliable and affordable public transit,” the Ontario government said in a news release.

Tentatively scheduled to accept its first passengers in five or six years, the 9.2-kilometre above ground/underground LRT route will take the Eglinton Crosstown LRT line in Toronto farther west and “bring much-needed rapid transit to Etobicoke and Mississauga,” project officials have said.

When completed, the ECWE will help reduce gridlock and connect nearly 70,000 commuters to jobs across the Greater Toronto Area, the province said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said as the GTA continues to grow, “our government is making historic investments in the largest public transit expansion in North America to support commuters, fight gridlock and protect workers.

“The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension will link transit riders in Etobicoke and Mississauga to transit options across the region, cutting travel times and connecting workers and families to good jobs, vital services and more.”

The province said on Friday work crews are starting to excavate four underground stations along Eglinton Avenue West at Martin Grove Road, Kipling Avenue, Islington Avenue and Royal York Road.

“Work includes building the station boxes, which are the underground structures that make up the main body of the station,” project officials said in the release.

The other three stations to be built along the Eglinton Avenue LRT route are at Scarlett Road and Jane Street, both in Toronto, and Renforth Drive in east Mississauga.

Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency working alongside Infrastructure Ontario to build the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, said earlier that when the line is completed around 2031 or so, passengers will be able to ride the train cars from Scarborough in east Toronto to Renforth Drive in Mississauga.

From there, an additional extension north to Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga is planned.

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said now that shovels are in the ground on four stations, “we’re helping thousands more Ontarians access employment opportunities and housing while creating jobs that drive economic growth.”

Rendering of what the Renforth Station in Mississauga could look like when the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension LRT route is completed. (Image: Metrolinx)

When open to passengers, the province said the ECWE will extend the parent line by nearly 10 kilometres, “creating nearly 30 kilometres of rapid transit along Eglinton Avenue linking Scarborough, Midtown Toronto and Mississauga into a single continuous transit line. The extension will save passengers up to 24 minutes travelling from Toronto’s Yonge and Eglinton to Mississauga’s Square One.”

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow added the LRT extenstion “will make it faster and easier for people to get to work, school and services.”

The new ECWE transit line will also eventually connect riders to regional transit services including the Union Station to Pearson Airport Express (UP Express), GO Transit, TTC and MiWay, Mississauga’s public transit provider.

The new LRT line is also expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions by some 39,000 tonnes each year once it comes online, project leaders said earlier.

(Cover photo: Metrolinx)

Rendering of the elevated guideway section of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension. (Image: Metrolinx)