OpenTube

The Eglinton Crosstown - Toronto Transit History

METRO6

5,476 views

In this video I look at the history of the Eglinton Crosstown Line. From the first proposals for a line along Eglinton in the 60's to the LRT we have today.

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:57 - Chapter 1: Origins
13:23 - Chapter 2: Going Across Town
27:08 - Chapter 3: Debacle
43:11 - Chapter 4: Eglinton West
50:52 - Chapter 5: Conclusion

Information from:
Eglinton Rapid Transit Study Summary (Mar 1985)
Eglinton Rapid Transit Summary Phase 1 (Jan 1985)
Eglinton West Rapid Transit Environmental Assessment (May 1991)
Eglinton Crosstown Project Documents (2008 - 2010)
Transit Toronto
Wikipedia

Photos and Video from:
Transit Toronto
Eglinton Crosstown Project Documents
Personal Videos

Maps animated with Adobe After Effects
Video edited with DaVinci Resolve

20 Comments

@METRO6 Creator 7 months ago (edited) Pinned

I was hoping to use pictures of the line in the video however after travelling along it an collecting a lot of pictures it turns out my cameras memory card is corrupt so none of the pictures I took saved. I was able to capture some video footage on my phone however.

CORRECTIONS & ADDENDUM'S:
1) At 3:56 I say Broadview Avenue when it is actually O'Connor Drive.
2) At 22:58 I forget to mention the stop at East Mall.
3) At 35:33 I misspoke and said 2021 when I should have said the line wouldn't open in 2020 (as the TTC had predicted)
4) At 36:05 I forgot to mention that the stop at Ferrand was renamed to Aga Kahn Park & Museum

@3ric_038 7 months ago

Craziest refresh pull of all time I just got my food

@stinkyroadhog1347 7 months ago

As someone who lives in the Jane and Trethewey area and has had to go places along Eglinton, line 5 has completely transformed how we midtowners get around

@GayAnnabeth 7 months ago

I just rode the crosstown today to get to an appointment. I will say, riding the underground sections is just fantastic. The speakers do need repaired or replaced, and the two car trains do make the platforms feel rather empty, but I'd say that, except at rush hour, two car more than does the job

@youbetcha6880 7 months ago

To think that if Mike Harris hadn't filled in the original hole in 1995, we'd have an actual subway on Eglinton.

@zacharyshaul 7 months ago (edited)

Been waiting on your Line 5 video ❤❤

The underground section runs like a subway It'll be interesting to see how Line 5 connects with the Ontario Line and eventually the airport.

@alexlove4374 7 months ago

An EXCEPTIONALLY well-researched video easay: I thought I knew everything about this because my father's business on Eglinton was impacted in the 90s but I had ABSOLUTELY no idea that a rail service existed in this part of town in the late 1800s!!!!! Brilliant historical research tying it all together.

A++

@edwardmiessner6502 7 months ago

Wonderfully informative video of the history of this LRT line. I hope it succeeds!

@ashfiabrar4394 7 months ago (edited)

Line is not even three weeks old but I’m proud to have ridden the whole line already - especially since I’m not a Toronto resident

(1) Eglinton to MD as I was heading to YYZ from Union VIA station.
(2) Kennedy to Cedarvale - I was visiting Scarborough during my layover

@rebeccawinter472 7 months ago

8:35 the Network 2011 plan for the Eglinton West proposal - centre running with buried stations at intersections - makes so much more sense! I can’t believe we are burrying a light rail line for 20+ km.

@joeyjoeyze 7 months ago (edited)

Phew, I was scared that they were going to open the Eglinton west extension first.

@Matt-nw2te 7 months ago

As someone who’s lived in Scarborough their entire life,
miss me with the subway in Scarborough.

@justinkoster4417 7 months ago

i lived just off eglinton until 2 years ago and I almost can believe its actually finished. I rode it for the first time the other day from don valley to line 1 and the underground section is definitely faster then the bus but the city really needs to get after speeding the trains up at the surface. my train was only going about 40kph when the speed limit on the street is 50. if you wanna get people out of their cars you cant have the trains being passed by cars