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Toronto Pearson International Airport

p5connex

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On Tuesday Feb. 5, the GTAA released their latest Masterplan document. It shows some pretty interesting facts and statistics, should anyone be interested in knowing them, but also looks to address future issues, with regards to congestion, expansion, transit, and I believe the Pickering dilemma.

GTAA Masterplan

p5
 
according to their map, the Scarborough RT will extend to Sheppard and Markham road??? :confused:
 
Pearson is really moving ahead. Seems like the project to build office buildings at the Viscount station is dead. Shame, that would've given Pearson a Schiphol type development.

If expansion is an issue; Cargo developments should be kept on the west side of the airport while T3 could be expanded to cover the Air Canada hangar (I believe it mentioned this but failed to show it in the maps).
 
Guess I didn't know this - but the plan is to have the Blue 22 terminal between the guideways of the LINK shuttle station @ Terminal 1. By the narrow space shown in the pic it seems like it'll have just a single platform (but with 15 minute headways, that shouldn't be a problem).
 
Yeah, that was documented a while ago. There's drawings on the NIMBY anti-Blue 22 site that show this. And as you can see, much of the structure is already constructed - though it's not clear to me that there will only be one platform.
 
Again, unfair accusations against the good people of Weston are aired here.

Blue22 as proposed is deeply flawed, partly due to the conflict of interest of SNC Lavalin acting as the consultants to a project that they are also the proponents of, the lack of plans int he orginal EA for GO or a local transit use of the corridor (the EA did not even promise hourly all day GO service!). Westoners want more trains. They just oppose the private rail link as was envisioned by SNC Lavalin. I will continue to respond to the myth of Weston NIMBYs opposed to more trains on the Weston Sub/Georgetown Corridor.

I hope the GTAA allows for other rail-based alternatives to Blue 22, which they seem to continue to bank on, even though it is hardly a done deal, and now considered all-but-dead by many in the know. But it still being on the books makes it impossible to make a serious counter-proposal for an airport rail link.
 
It doesn't make sense to me that the train would head north and then west, if it were to be a connection with Union. Or am I missing something? Nonetheless, I was under the impression that the train station was going to be internal to the building (under it) like most major airports.

p5
 
This is the path of least resistance and the least costly route between the Weston Sub and the GTAA lands, parallelling Highway 427 on the west side.

As the GTAA is only planning for Blue22 (if it ever happens) as a rail link, negating most other possible ideas (they have a ban against locomotive-powered trains on their property, likely to give Blue22 the advantage), there is no need in their view for a proper rail station anyway. The roughed-in supports for the DMUs are ready, next to the T1 LINK station.

A DMU or EMU service could work, if it was a semi-express service, acting like a branch of GO with a Woodbine stop for connections to VIA and GO from Brampton. I could even see a premium fare for the privilege of riding it into the GTAA lands (like many rail links), as long as the fare is reasonable, especially for airport employees. A few stops along the way could make a 15 minute service quite useful for Rexdale, Weston and Mount Dennis residents and for transit connections for many others. MoveOntario calls for this rail link, hopefully it will be a public transit service like the rest of proposals in the plan.
 
I don't follow the ban on locomotive-powered trains? Do you mean like the GO train has an engine infront of 6 cars? This would mean a subway like system of trains? (Sorry for the bombardment of questions?

Also, I think a rail link is essential, but not an express one, that can come later, but only after we have established the basic service link. It is necessary to try and connect as much of the region together as possible.

p5
 
Yep. A subway train is multiple unit, hence, no locomotive. Blue 22 was going to use - get this - refurbished 60 year old Rail Diesel Coaches. These old cars (of which VIA still has a couple and may even bring back for one of the Toronto-Kitchener-London round trips) can be coupled and run as multiple units or run self-propelled as a one-car "train".

As for the rail link, you are right. A super-premium service could come, but after a more local and accessible option is available. Like at Heathrow (and now, the only other super-premium air link I know of, Heathrow Express, has been supplemented by a slower (25 versus 15 minutes from Paddington), and much cheaper (6.25, less than half price), Heathrow Connect). And of course, there's the Piccadilly Underground line that came first.
 
Dude, using the term "anti-Blue22 NIMBY" is a loaded phrase in these parts because of that word NIMBY that's thrown around and not entirely accurate in this case.

"Anti Blue22" alone would have been more neutral.

Otherwise, my apologies.
 
I don't see how NIMBY is a loaded term. I thought the Weston residents had made it very clear that they didn't want an express never-stop airport express in the back yards, that cut off surface roads.
 
I can't fathom why Westonites would be so complaicent when an underground labyrinth could easy well get them across the multiple tracks in their backyard. Seriously 100 people tops that can't live without two measly surface crossings couldn't adjust? Should tens of thousands suffer for that? If the Eglinton subway's ever built I'd imagine Weston GO would no longer exist (2 GO stations within a km of eachother?), ergo no point to stop there whatsoever.
 

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