Behind schedule and over budget: Why do we keep building LRTs?

The Decibel · Mar 17, 2026 · 24m

Building cities for the future means building a lot more public transit – and lately, Canadian cities have been planning LRTs, or light rail transit. While these projects are introduced with great promise of moving people around more efficiently, in practice, these projects have a history of disappointment. There’s Ottawa’s LRT project, which opened to great frustration from riders. Then, Toronto’s Finch West line, upon opening, couldn’t quite keep pace with a local runner. Most recently, there was Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown, which opened this past February, six years later than initially…