Crosstown Progress, Eglinton Crosstown, Engineering, Laird, Leaside, Metrolinx, Metrolinx News, News, Rapid Transit, Toronto

Kick it into hyperdrive – The latest updates on Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown LRT construction

Metrolinx News continues to bring you the latest advances in construction of the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT) project, thanks to images that take you behind and over construction barriers. This time, it’s all about track installation and station progress.

When you look inside one of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT tunnels, you’d be forgiven for thinking it looks like something out of a science fiction movie.

Think Star Wars or the Minority Report. But it’s not x-wings or hovercars zipping through these tunnels, it’s light rail vehicles. All right below midtown Toronto.

As you can see, these tunnels are really coming along – in fact construction crews just finished installing the tracks between Laird and Leaside Stations. That’s near Bayview Avenue and Eglinton Avenue – for those of you not intimately familiar with Toronto.

The view down the LRT tunnel between Leaside and Laird station, with tracks installed
In case you’re wondering, so far more than 36-kilometres of track have been laid down. That’s more than 75 per cent complete for the whole project. (Metrolinx photo)

A little further west, major construction is now complete on Fairbank Station. Crews are now working on installing tracks, power systems and more.

The view inside Fairbank Station with scaffolding and construction workers present
Now that major construction is done at Fairbank Station’s platform level, crews have officially handed over the reins to the team responsible for installing track, overhead power systems, and cabling at the station.

It’s pretty cool that you don’t have to visit a galaxy far far away to see a glimpse of the future – it’s right under your feet.

Keep up-to-date on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT milestones by following the project here on Metrolinx News and on Twitter.

Story by Scott Money, Metrolinx media relations senior advisor