The company creating the Eglinton LRT is suing Metrolinx

Crosslinx, the company responsible for building the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, is suing Metrolinx.

Crosslinx says they are facing $134 million in unexpected costs, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

They’re suing both Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario, saying both provincial agencies refused to declare COVID-19 an emergency.

Metrolinx’s CEO and president Phil Verster released a statement shortly after the news broke. In it, he says that Crosslinx is using the pandemic “to excuse its years of poor performance.”

Construction on the light rail transit line, also known as Line 5, began in 2011. It stretches from Kennedy station in Scarborough, heading west to Mount Dennis, just east of the Humber River.

The government deemed the project an essential workplace, so that construction could continue.

Crosslinx says despite their lawsuit, they intend to complete the project.

They had previously sued Metrolinx in 2018 over the project’s timeline, but that lawsuit was settled.

Verster added that their focus shouldn’t be on litigation, but “getting the Eglinton project completed.”

The light rail transit was set to open this year, but the opening has been pushed back until mid-2022.