Metrolinx puts Scarborough LRT on hold

Just weeks after the city voted to replace the Scarborough RT with a subway, Metrolinx has stopped all work on the original plan to build light-rail transit (LRT) there.

In a letter to city manager Joe Pennachetti on Friday, Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig said his agency would respect council’s decision last month to extend the Bloor-Danforth line from Kennedy station.

“It would be imprudent for us to spend more on a project council has … repudiated, as further expenditures would increase the sunk costs already incurred for which the city is responsible,” he said.

Metrolinx, which oversees transportation in the province, estimates the cost to cancel the LRT at $85 million for now, not including penalties for reneging on a contract with Bombardier for LRT vehicles.

McCuaig said Metrolinx would resume work on the LRT if the city decides not to extend the subway in the end.

“Putting the Scarborough LRT on hold is not due to any shortcomings inherent in the project,” he said.

“The project would serve Toronto and its communities well.”

The province has set aside $1.48 billion to replace the Scarborough RT, and Mayor Rob Ford has said he’ll need to hike property taxes to raise more funds for the subway.

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