The digging of the Crosstown light rail transit (LRT) tunnels is otherworldly.

And the building of platforms in concrete slabs in the middle of active Toronto neighbourhoods – growing daily right under the noses of motorists, pedestrians and local businesses – is a bit of architectural magic.

But this picture of complicated track-work being done along the LRT line had us glued to our monitors, as we scanned small details in a web of metal. It’s a reminder that Toronto’s new transit system won’t move a centimetre without carefully planned rails, as well as an example that construction goes beyond just spiking those lines down, east to west.

The special Crosstown track-work, in this case at Black Creek and Eglinton at Mount Dennis Station, includes turnouts and double crossover rail which allows trains to be guided from one track to another.