Canada's slow and rocky road to rapid transit

Partnerships with the private sector were supposed to protect cities from cost overruns and delays. It didn't always work.
Canada is building mass transit. But to say things don't go as planned would be an understatement.
Image< img alt="After more than a decade of construction, a major intersection in Toronto remains untouched by a light rail project." class="css-r3fift" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/07/09/world/09canadaletter-pit/09canadaletter-pit-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/07/09/world/09canadaletter-pit/09canadaletter-pit-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp600w,https://static01.nyt. com/images/2022/07/09/world/09canadaletter-pit/09canadaletter-pit-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp1024w,https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/07/09/world /09canadaletter-pit/09canadaletter-pit-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp 2048w" sizes="((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw , 100vw" decoding="async" width="600" height="401"/>After more than a decade of construction, a major intersection in Toronto remains a sinkhole for a light rail transit project.Credit.. .Ian Austen/The New York Times
On Thursday, an Ontario Court of Appeal judge leading a provincial inquiry closed three weeks of testimony on Ottawa's light rail transit system. The project was described as a debacle after being plagued by delays, repeated shutdowns, equipment failures and a destructive derailment that shut down the entire system for seven weeks.
In Toronto, a 19-kilometre stretch of Eglinton Avenue is still a mess 11 years later, with a giant excavation at the Yonge Street intersection. Bus journeys along the main thoroughfare remain shocking as construction continues on a rail system that was due to open two years ago. That may not happen until next year.
Last month, an elevated rail network in Montreal known as the Réseau Express Métropolitain delayed some of its openings until 2024. And earlier plans for another network costing C$10 billion were delayed when Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, the province's pension and investment fund, left the project after many residents said its port...

World Jul 9, 2022 0 113 Add to Reading List

Canada's slow and rocky road to rapid transit

Partnerships with the private sector were supposed to protect cities from cost overruns and delays. It didn't always work.

Canada is building mass transit. But to say things don't go as planned would be an understatement.

Image< img alt="After more than a decade of construction, a major intersection in Toronto remains untouched by a light rail project." class="css-r3fift" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/07/09/world/09canadaletter-pit/09canadaletter-pit-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/07/09/world/09canadaletter-pit/09canadaletter-pit-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp600w,https://static01.nyt. com/images/2022/07/09/world/09canadaletter-pit/09canadaletter-pit-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp1024w,https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/07/09/world /09canadaletter-pit/09canadaletter-pit-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp 2048w" sizes="((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw , 100vw" decoding="async" width="600" height="401"/>After more than a decade of construction, a major intersection in Toronto remains a sinkhole for a light rail transit project.Credit.. .Ian Austen/The New York Times

On Thursday, an Ontario Court of Appeal judge leading a provincial inquiry closed three weeks of testimony on Ottawa's light rail transit system. The project was described as a debacle after being plagued by delays, repeated shutdowns, equipment failures and a destructive derailment that shut down the entire system for seven weeks.

In Toronto, a 19-kilometre stretch of Eglinton Avenue is still a mess 11 years later, with a giant excavation at the Yonge Street intersection. Bus journeys along the main thoroughfare remain shocking as construction continues on a rail system that was due to open two years ago. That may not happen until next year.

Last month, an elevated rail network in Montreal known as the Réseau Express Métropolitain delayed some of its openings until 2024. And earlier plans for another network costing C$10 billion were delayed when Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, the province's pension and investment fund, left the project after many residents said its port...