In the Toronto Star of February 10, columnist Jack Lakey wrote about the long-delayed completion of renovations at Museum Station including the installation of an elevator. The original target date for this work was mid-2025, but this has been pushed to Q3 2026 which could be as late as September 30.

The problem as described by the TTC is quoted in Lakey’s piece:

“In addition to installing elevators at Museum Station, the project involves rebuilding and expanding the concourse level, as well as relocating existing stairs and escalators.

“Throughout this work, the TTC must maintain the structural integrity of the original subway building while completing full-depth excavation directly adjacent to it.

“Work is done in stages so that stations remain open to the public. TTC elevator installation is also typically bundled in with other necessary work, in this case, significant repairs and adding waterproofing to Museum Station’s roof.”

What the TTC neglects to mention is that the delay arose from two other factors:

• Underestimation of the complexity of the project.
• The need to replace the elevator subcontractor for non-performance.

The same subcontractor was responsible for the delayed completion of elevators at Greenwood Station, and had to be replaced. Moreover, their work damaged a nearby house. Greenwood Station has just resumed normal operation including its new elevators.

The evolving situation at Museum is described in various TTC reports. It is a shame that TTC spokespeople don’t appear to have read them.

December 2024, Easier Access Plan Update, page 8:

Museum Station

The work at Museum Station is currently more than 72% complete with the recent completion of Stage 1, which included the opening of a new Second Entrance/Exit at the south end of the station and has enabled the closure of the main entrance to expedite the elevator work. The contract required a structural redesign, which impacted the work progress in the existing station areas, including the elevators. The full schedule effects were not fully realized until recently upon review of the contractor’s revised schedule. To mitigate the impacts, the contractor and TTC staff developed a blended staging option to complete the remaining stages of the construction (Stages 2, 3, 4). In addition, the contractor is supplying additional resources and shifts to recover delays to the critical path, and an extended closure of the main entrance of the station is being implemented to reduce constraints and increase the productivity of the elevator construction. The contractor prepared a revised schedule to complete the contract, which TTC staff assessed and determined that a Q2 2026 revised projection for EIS completion is appropriate.

April 2025, Major Projects Update for the period ended December 31, 2024, page 9:

Greenwood Station and Museum Station:

The elevator subcontractor under the general contractor defaulted on the contracts for Museum and Greenwood stations. This has delayed the EIS date for Greenwood Station to Q1 2026 from Q2 2025, and the EIS date for Museum Station to Q3 2026 from Q2 2026. A new subcontractor has been onboarded and the TTC is working with the general contractor to identify opportunities for schedule recovery at both stations.

September 2025, 2025 Accessibility Plan Status Report, page 5:

Greenwood & Museum Stations

The work at Greenwood and Museum stations are currently 87% and 83% complete respectively. As noted in the Major Projects Update provided to the Board at its April 2025 meeting, TTC staff were advised that the same elevator subcontractor under the General Contractor (GC) had defaulted on their respective contracts, and that a new elevator supplier and installer was required to be on-boarded to complete the elevator related work at both stations. As a result, the GC provided revised completion schedules for each station which were assessed by TTC staff and it has been determined that the EIS dates have been delayed from Q2 2025 to Q1 2026 for Greenwood Station and from Q2 2026 to Q3 2026 for Museum Station.

September 2025, Major Projects Update for the period ended June 28, 2025, page 8:

Greenwood and Museum stations:

Following the removal of the previous elevator subcontractor at both stations, a new subcontractor was onboarded, and the TTC is working with the general contractor to identify opportunities for schedule recovery.

Although there was a Major Projects Update for the period ended September 27, 2025, it is silent on the status of Museum and Greenwood Stations.