Why the Eglinton East LRT Underground Option Matters for Scarborough
Transit decisions shape how a city moves — and who it prioritizes. In Toronto, that question is once again front and centre as debate grows around the Eglinton East LRT, a long-planned line intended to connect Kennedy Station to Malvern Town Centre.
While the project has cleared environmental approvals, it remains stalled in early design, with no funding commitment or construction timeline. At the same time, the Eglinton Crosstown West extension — serving Etobicoke — is moving forward with significant underground tunnelling mandated by the province.
That contrast is raising an important question:
Should Scarborough’s transit line be held to the same standard?
A Tale of Two Eglinton Lines
The Eglinton East LRT is not a minor project. At approximately 18.6 kilometres with 27 stops, it is designed to serve some of the most transit-dependent communities in the city, including University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) and Centennial College.
Yet despite its scale and importance, the project remains stuck at roughly 10 per cent design.
By comparison, the Eglinton Crosstown West extension — a shorter corridor — is being built with large underground segments, ensuring faster, more reliable service through grade separation.
The difference is not just technical. It is experiential.
Underground transit avoids traffic signals, road congestion, and turning vehicles. It delivers consistent travel times and supports higher capacity. Surface LRT, even in dedicated lanes, often operates with constraints that reduce speed and reliability.
The Equity Question
This is where the debate moves beyond engineering and into equity.
Scarborough residents already face some of the longest commute times in Toronto. Students travelling to UTSC and workers commuting across the eastern part of the city routinely spend hours in transit each day.
If any part of Toronto stands to benefit from faster, fully separated transit, it is this one.
And yet, the current plan for the Eglinton East LRT largely relies on surface-running infrastructure.
If transit equity is the goal, should the communities with the greatest need receive the highest-performing infrastructure?
Learning from Existing LRTs
Toronto already has real-world examples to draw from.
The Eglinton Crosstown (Line 5) demonstrates how underground LRT can function as rapid transit — moving efficiently across long distances with minimal disruption.
Meanwhile, surface LRT systems such as the Finch West LRT highlight the limitations of running in the roadway. While valuable as local transit, these systems operate at lower speeds and are more vulnerable to external delays.
This is not a failure of LRT as a technology — it is a reflection of how it is implemented.
A Provincial Precedent
The Province of Ontario has already shown a willingness to intervene in municipal transit design.
The decision to tunnel significant portions of the Crosstown West extension set a clear precedent: when necessary, project scope can be adjusted to improve long-term performance.
That decision is now part of the broader conversation.
If tunnelling was justified in one corridor, should it be considered in another with equal — or greater — demand?
What Happens Next
At this stage, the Eglinton East LRT is still early enough in its development to allow for meaningful changes.
But those decisions require:
- Political will
- Funding alignment across all levels of government
- And a clear vision for what Scarborough’s transit future should look like
Because once construction begins, the opportunity to rethink the design disappears.
The Bottom Line
The question is not whether Scarborough deserves better transit — that has already been answered.
The real question is whether Toronto and the province are prepared to deliver it at the same standard seen elsewhere in the city.
After decades of delays, planning studies, and shifting priorities, Scarborough is no longer waiting for promises.
It is waiting for a decision.
🚆 Next Stop is GTA Weekly’s editorial series on the future of transit across the Greater Toronto Area — tracking the projects, policies, and ideas shaping how we move.
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