Despite no date yet for the opening of Eglinton Line 5, the delivery of rapid transit east-west across the middle of Toronto has reached another major milestone, as on June 30th, 2025, Infrastructure Ontario announced the substantial completion of the tunnels that will carry the western extension of the line into Etobicoke. Moving west from the LRT route's initial western terminus at Weston Road, the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension will primarily traverse Toronto's westernmost former Borough in a twin set of tunnels. The completion of the western extension will add 9.2 kilometres of new track to Eglinton Line 5, bringing it to a total length of 28.2 kilometres, and lay the groundwork for a future extension to Pearson Airport.

Inside one of the tunnels bored under Eglinton Avenue West, image courtesy of Aecon

While the twin tunnel bores will make up the majority of the long-delayed light rail line's extension into Etobicoke, they are not the only piece of infrastructure set to carry passengers westward. After departing westward from Mount Dennis station, Eglinton Line 5 will continue in twin 500-metre-long tunnels, under construction as of April, and then transition onto an elevated guideway to cross the flood-prone Eglinton Flats area in the wide Humber Valley. 

When detailed plans were first released for the guideway in 2023, opposition groups formed claiming the construction of an above ground structure would be environmentally disastrous due to the removal of 1200 trees. Metrolinx defended the design choice, citing the fact that the Eglinton Flats are almost entirely located within floodplains, thus making conventional below grade construction drastically more expensive. After opposition groups were defeated in court in 2024, construction began on the elevated portion of the extension, which, when complete will result in among the first new elevated transit stations in Toronto in nearly half a century.

Rendering of the elevated guideway that will carry the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension over the Eglinton Flats, designed by Aecon, image courtesy of Metrolinx

The two tunnel boring machines used to excavate the majority of the future LRT's tunnels were first launched at the intersection of Eglinton Avenue West and Renforth Drive in March of 2022. Over the next 30 months, the massive machines inched forward under the neighbourhoods of Eringate, West Deane Park, Willowridge, Richmond Gardens, Princess-Rosethorn, Richview, and Edenbridge, being extracted in September of 2024, just west of Scarlett Road in a trench on Eglinton Avenue. Following this, contractors installed utilities, undertook preliminary work on station boxes, and constructed emergency exits. 

An aerial shot of the trench dug to facilitate the extraction of tunnel boring machines on Eglinton Avenue West, just west of Scarlett Road, image courtesy of Aecon

Projected to open in 2031, the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension will be the first TTC rapid transit line to extend from Toronto to Mississauga, as short as the roughly 250m stretch into the western suburb may be. Not only will this enhance regional connectivity, with Renforth Station already serving as a major bus interchange, but it will also put tens of thousands more Torontonians within walking distance of rapid transit. 

While detailed plans have yet to be announced, a final western extension of Eglinton Line 5 is also planned by Metrolinx. Turning north from the first extension's western terminus of Renforth Station, light rail vehicles would run 4.7 kilometres to Pearson Airport. If completed, this would be the second direct rail link to reach Toronto's international airport, following the opening of the Union Pearson Express in 2015.

Map of the under construction Eglinton Crosstown West Extension into Etobicoke, image courtesy of Metrolinx

UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this project, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

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UrbanToronto has a research service, UTPro, that provides comprehensive data on development projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe — from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.

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