Background Mississauga and Brampton identified a need for rapid transit along Hurontario Street due to overcrowding on the corridor's bus routes, which carried more than 25,000 passengers per day. Three options were evaluated: light rail for the full corridor,
bus rapid transit for the full corridor, or a combination of the two. After public consultation sessions in 2008 and 2010, residents of both cities favoured full-corridor light rail.
Funding In 2016, the capital cost was projected at $1.4 billion. On April 21, 2015, the
Government of Ontario announced it would fully fund the line's capital costs, excluding local expenses such as utility relocations, surface upgrades, and landscaping. When Mobilinx was awarded the contract in October 2019, the total value was $4.6 billion to design, build, and finance the line, plus approximately $1 billion for 30 years of operation and maintenance. The City of Mississauga is expected to cover a share of ongoing operating costs. In November 2024, Mayor Parrish wrote to Premier Ford requesting the province subsidize the city's estimated $65 million in annual operating costs for at least the first three years, citing similar provincial commitments to
Toronto and
Ottawa. The Ministry of Transportation said the province was "considering" the request.
Main Street extension The original plan called for the LRT to continue north of Steeles Avenue along Main Street to
Brampton GO Station. On October 28, 2015, Brampton City Council voted 7 to 4 against allowing the LRT to run along Main Street through its heritage downtown area. Opponents cited low ridership projections (an average of 200 riders per hour per direction on weekdays), concerns about the impact on the area's heritage character, and potential costs of up to $100 million for utility relocation, road resurfacing, and landscaping. The province proceeded with the project terminating at Steeles Avenue. Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig said the allocated funding would be made available for other transit projects. By January 2022, Brampton staff were evaluating two alternatives: a surface extension at an estimated cost of $500 million, and a mostly underground alignment at $1.7 billion. By February 2023, inflation and design changes had increased the estimates to $933 million (surface) and $2.8 billion (underground). Brampton's preferred underground option would include a surface stop at Charolais Boulevard and underground stops at Nanwood Drive and Brampton GO Station. On February 8, 2024, the Ontario government approved both the Main Street extension and the City Centre loop, without specifying stop locations or whether the extension would be tunnelled or at grade. On January 24, 2025, Premier Ford announced at Brampton City Hall that the extension would be mostly tunnelled, but did not commit funding in the provincial budget. The tunnel alignment faces unresolved engineering challenges related to the
Etobicoke Creek flood plain in Brampton's downtown. No environmental assessment specific to the tunnel has been completed. On February 14, 2022, Premier Ford offered to reinstate the loop at a press conference renaming the line, without specifying a timeline. The province formally approved the loop on February 8, 2024.
Other design changes On March 21, 2019, in addition to cancelling the City Centre loop, Metrolinx cancelled a stop at Highway 407 and a pedestrian bridge at Cooksville GO Station to reduce costs. Between the Robert Speck stop and Highway 403, a 2017 design placed the LRT in the centre median crossing over Highway 403 on a bridge. On June 6, 2017, three consortia were shortlisted: Hurontario Light Rail Connection Partners (led by
Cintra,
Colas, and
Acciona), Mobilinx (led by
Astaldi,
John Laing Group,
Hitachi,
Transdev, and Amico), and Trillium Transit Partners (led by
Kiewit,
Meridiam, and
Keolis). On December 1, 2017, Metrolinx announced the line would use 44
Citadis Spirit vehicles from
Alstom, to be manufactured at a plant in Brampton. Metrolinx later reduced the initial order to 28 vehicles. Only Mobilinx and Trillium Transit Partners submitted proposals. On October 21, 2019, Mobilinx was awarded the contract for 30 years, with a design-build-finance value of $4.6 billion and a contractual completion date of fall 2024.
Construction in December 2022 Construction started in spring 2020 with work on the Operations, Maintenance and Storage Facility (OMSF) south of Highway 407. By January 2021, excavation had started for the below-grade Port Credit station. Mobilinx used the Verona System to construct a passage under the
Lakeshore West line tracks, pushing a hollow concrete "push box" structure beneath the railway using hydraulic jacks without disrupting rail traffic. This work was completed by June 2023. The same push box technique was used at the
Queen Elizabeth Way to create new northbound traffic lanes under the highway, freeing the existing lane space for the LRT. Metrolinx reported this underpass was completed in late December 2025. Track construction on Hurontario Street began in mid-2022, starting northbound from Matheson Boulevard toward Britannia Road. The first of 13
traction substations was installed in March 2023 at Skyway Drive and Hurontario Street. By February 2026, Metrolinx reported track work completed at 36 of 55 intersections, with 45 percent of rails laid in both directions. Eleven of 19 stops had their platform bases finished and six had canopies installed. Four
Citadis Spirit vehicles had completed testing in Kingston, with nine more delivered for testing. == Delays and disputes ==