All Posts by Transport Action Ontario

Lessons Learned from Eglinton Crosstown LRT Project

By Transport Action Ontario | Latest News , Uncategorized , Urban Transit

The Toronto Eglinton Crosstown LRT (Line 5) started up on February 8, 2026 and has received mostly good reviews from the public.  However, as readers know, the $13 billion Design-Build-Finance-Maintain project was beset by many problems – $ 1 billion over budget, 6-years late, litigation, pandemic and community disruption.

There have been calls for a public inquiry, but Premier Ford has rejected this idea. There are also calls for an investigation by the Auditor General. A thorough review of the project could reveal opportunities for improvements in future Infrastructure Ontario projects to deliver on-time and on-budget.

At the Metrolinx board meeting of February 12, Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay spoke at length about lessons learned.  His remarks were not covered by the media, but are informative and summarized below:

• Private sector partner (Crosslink Transit Solutions) underestimated the risk at the time of bid.  Their bid was based on a 30% design.  Metrolinx has now changed its contracting strategy and is using mostly progressive contracts, where the private partner and Metrolinx work cooperatively on the design to develop a final price.
• Too much litigation.  As the project ran into trouble, the contracting partners turned to claims and litigation, rather than focusing on project completion.  More compromising is needed.
• Slow approvals.  As there are always surprises in underground work, processes need to be in place for quick approvals of alternate plans.  For Line 5, the big surprise was discovering cavities dating back to the 1950s in the concrete station box under Eglinton subway station.
• Need early focus on system integration.  There were interface issues between the civil infrastructure, the vehicles and the systems.  Need to focus early on final testing and commissioning.
• Avoid commercial disputes within the private partner.  There were issues between the partners forming Crosslink and should have been avoided.
• Need better public communications.  This includes cost ranges and schedule delays.

Mr. Lindsay said that Metrolinx has taken these learnings to heart and has implemented changes on its current projects, like the 4 subway projects current underway.  We certainly hope that is the case, and that the changes prove effective.  Metrolinx must also ensure that lessons learned are retained within the organisation and not lost due to institutional amnesia.

“Transit over Traffic” Report Receives Broad Media Interest

By Transport Action Ontario | Highways and Bridges , Latest News , Urban Transit

Our report “Transit over Traffic: Hard Truths for Addressing Gridlock in the GTHA”, published December, 2025, continues to receive broad media attention. The Daily Commercial News, a magazine focusing on infrastructure, published a good summary article on January 23, 2026, here.

Submission to Ontario 2026 Budget Consultations

By Transport Action Ontario | Community Transit , Highways and Bridges , Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News , Northern Ontario , Southwestern Ontario , Urban Transit

Transport Action Ontario (TAO) has provided input into Ontario’s 2026 Budget as part of its consultation process. We limited our comments to public transportation needs. Our seven points are highlighted below:

• Increase Ontario Transit Investment Fund. This fund is intended to support rural intercommunity bus service and is inadequate to meet the demand of our many smaller and rural municipalities.
• Fund completion, publication and execution of the Southwestern Ontario Transportation Plan. This long-delayed plan needs to be finalized for this growing region.
• Introduce provincial banking of discontinued rail corridors, ie “rail bank”. Although Ontario has introduced a Short Line Railway Investment Tax Credit, it has not acted on the equally important issue of railway segments (often owned by short line railways) being discontinued and not preserved as transportation corridors.
• Deep dive into capital costs and procurement model for rapid transit in Ontario. Capital costs have been rising rapidly, threatening our ability to fund and construct additional important transit infrastructure.
• Cancel Highway 413 and the proposed Highway 401 tunnel. A recent report, coauthored by TAO, shows that rapid transit in this part of the GTA would be at least twice as cost-effective than Highway 413 for moving people and goods.
• Fund additions to “de-risk” the Northlander train service. We believe that auxiliary power should be available on each train, and that two sleeper cars should be added to each train set.
• New Revenue tools. Municipalities need new tools, such as a portion of the provincial sales tax or a land transfer tax. The province needs to test road pricing as a proven means of congestion reduction and revenue generation.

Our full submission can be viewed below.

Ontario Short Line Railway Investment Tax Credit

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News , Northern Ontario , Southwestern Ontario

We are pleased to report that the Ontario Short Line Railway Investment Tax Credit has been implemented. Transport Action Ontario has long advocated for such measures. There are currently 11 short lines licensed to operate in Ontario, and they fill an important role in goods movement, strengthening local economies, and potentially hosting passenger rail.

Provincial support for short lines was first introduced at a high level in Budget 2024. Budget 2025 provided a detailed proposal, and the enabling legislation was passed in November, 2025. Amendments to the 2007 Taxation Act (section 97.3) are now in force.

The temporary (3-year) program offers a 50% refundable corporate income tax credit for eligible capital and labour costs related to track maintenance, capped at $8,500 per track-mile annually for expenses incurred between May 15, 2025 and December 31, 2029. The program is expected to cost $23 million over 3 years.

Comments on Environmental Impact Assessment Report for Highway 413

By Transport Action Ontario | Highways and Bridges , Latest News

The Ministry of Transportation has released a draft report entitled “Highway 413 Preliminary Design and Assessment of Environmental Impacts” for public comment. The document is large – 1700 pages. Transport Action Ontario has submitted comments in two areas:

• Species at Risk are in grave jeopardy. Impacts from highway will contravene federal objectives. This comment is based on two recent expert reports commissioned by Environmental Defence Canada – on the red side dace and the western chorus frog.
• Scope of report is too narrow. A re-evaluation of alternatives to the undertaking would show that transit is a better alternative than Highway 413. This comment is based on the recent joint report published by Transport Action Ontario and Environmental Defence Canada entitled “Transit over Traffic: Hard Truths for Addressing Gridlock in the GTHA”

Our full submission can be viewed below.