Ontario government officials say the last major testing milestone for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT kicked off on Tuesday, potentially bringing the 14-year project close to opening.Officials confirmed the development to 680 NewsRadio Toronto. For the next 30 days, a “revenue service demonstration” will occur across the 19-kilometre, 25-station Eglinton Crosstown LRT line. The demonstration is meant to show the system is operating as designed and can welcome passengers.Despite the commencement of the 30-day test and ongoing commissioning work, it’s not clear when the line could open to passengers. The earliest opening date, barring any major issues, would be in November. However, potential timeframes have shifted many times. Aside from final preparatory work, the TTC will also need time to adjust its surface routes and services to reflect the operation of the Eglinton Crosstown.During an unrelated announcement in September, Metrolinx president and CEO Michael Lindsay said issues were being discovered during the commissioning. Regardless of when the line is declared ready to open, he said it would be a gradual ramp-up of service versus launching at maximum capability.“We are doing the things right now in connection with the system that you do immediately before they come online,” Lindsay told reporters at the time.Related:Metrolinx hopes to start 30-day revenue service demonstration for Eglinton LRT this week“You do it as a responsible owner. You do it to learn the lessons of the Ottawa LRT. There isn’t the same ambiguity about what has to happen with civil infrastructure, or signalling, or train control systems. We are literally putting the system through its paces.”He said in September that occasional issues with HVAC and communications systems were identified. Lindsay also said wear on braking systems is happening sooner than originally forecast, adding that crews are trying to identify the root issues.“I would acknowledge it’s frustrating that that’s revealing issues we have to solve, but I’m happy that we’re solving those issues now in this trial running period as opposed to when people are trying to ride this line,” he said.When asked about a potential opening during winter conditions, Lindsay previously acknowledged “a much more aggressive preventative maintenance regime” for the tracks and stations.“There is no drop-dead date by which we would be in the teeth of a Canadian winter and couldn’t think about opening it, but we want to be quite thoughtful of the implications of that,” Lindsay said.Related:Eglinton Crosstown LRT opening now targeted for October, revenue demonstration not started yet: MetrolinxHe later promised there would be “safe and reliable” service across the Eglinton Crosstown line when asked if there was a concern.“Yes, we’re going to make sure that this system is reliable when it opens and the level of service it provides is never clawed back.”Operational oversight capability of the Eglinton Crosstown was shifted to the TTC transit control centre in June.Construction of the Eglinton Crosstown began in 2011 under the previous Ontario Liberal government and different Metrolinx management. It was supposed to open in 2020, but it has been repeatedly pushed back due to various legal, construction and testing issues along with COVID-19-related delays.With files from Richard Southern