Metrolinx writes off $504M in now-useless GO train upgrades
CEO says the signalling work is part of the cost of expanding GO services, but GO Expansion faces funding uncertainty.
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Metrolinx is writing off over $500 million spent on signalling upgrades around Union Station that are now redundant, CEO Michael Lindsay said Thursday at a board meeting.
Upgrades to the hundred-year-old infrastructure began in 2013 but paused in 2023 when the agency discovered they'd be incompatible with evolving GO train expansion plans. This year, Metrolinx determined most of the $504 million already spent would be useless, and the write-off is being recorded in the annual report released this week.
Lindsay framed it as an unavoidable expense. "This really is a part of the cost associated with meeting the ambition and the mission that we've been given to bring GO Expansion and service levels to the place where they should be for this region," he told the board. Union Station will need to redesign tracks and platforms in a way that makes most of the new signalling infrastructure unusable.
But GO Expansion itself now faces uncertainty. The report flags concerns over continued government funding for the "full program," including electrification. Metrolinx also cut spending on GO Expansion last year to roughly $1.7 billion—about $570 million less than budgeted. Lindsay told reporters Thursday the agency is "full speed ahead on GO Expansion," but the report's caution suggests headwinds ahead.