Metrolinx gathered media together on Friday morning to provide an update on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, which many residents wonder if they will ever get to ride after countless setbacks and years of delays.

Following the agency's announcement last month that the opening date for the line was, well, to be announced closer to the time, some thought that the last-minute call to head to Eglinton Station today would provide a clearer idea of when the trains would be up and running.

But, staff continued to skirt questions on the topic, stating that, as we already knew, the official date will be revealed three months beforehand once it is confirmed.

Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster has said a primary reason for the ongoing deferral — along with unanticipated remediation work, a legal battle with the consortium building the infrastructure and soaring costs, among other things — is that teams are "making sure everything is built right and operates correctly and safely."

And, with this in mind, some statements from Friday's station suggest that the opening might be after spring 2024.

Officials told reporters during the briefing that while phase 1 of testing is complete, there will be a second and then a third phase — the latter of which involves finite track adjustments to the millimeter that should be done "when the weather improves," and which will take two to three months to complete.

"We clearly don't want snow on the ground, and the weather here in the winter months of January, February, and March can be obviously inclement, so ideally we would prefer that to be warmer, drier weather," consortium president Bill Gifford said of the final testing phase — so, ostensibly, not during Toronto's frigid winter or wet spring.

But, when asked if this means the Crosstown won't open until at least after the springtime, Verster repeated that the date will be shared three months before the route's public debut.

"We won't do estimates beforehand," he said. 

"Some of the changes you make at one point cascade to other systems.  We are relentlessly and with urgency focusing on getting the fixes in place and will only declare a date when we are satisfied that we can give a date with certainty that is reliable."

According to a newly-published project dashboard, the transit body is 97.4 per cent done necessary street-level construction (based on the amount of streetscape free of lane restrictions at this point), 94 per cent done some testing and commissioning, and 74.1 per cent done design certification.

But, other testing and commissioning, such as System Integration Testing, is at a progress level of only 15.3 per cent, while occupancy permit status is at only 32.5 per cent and operator training is only at 11.8 per cent. Other details disclosed this morning include the fact that pedestrians can expect roads and sidewalks along Eglinton between Duplex and Dunfield to be completed and free of construction by "early 2024," as well as some fancy new tech that Eglinton Station is the first to have.

One of these features is a Guideway Intruder Detection System that automatically issues a safety announcement if someone waiting for a train steps too close to the edge of the platform.