Toronto Union Pearson Express | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | MMM Group Limited

With GO and the railways not interested in providing/allowing high-level platforms it will be interesting to see whether Blue22 will check baggage, get a low floor train set, or leave people to lug their luggage up the steep thin stairway. Is there any airport rail with low level platforms?
 
Hong Kong has a cheap alternative though, which is to take a bus from the airport to the end of the Tung Chung line (built with the Airport Express Line) for about 50 cents Canadian, then a ~CAD$4.00 ride to Central Hong Kong. Takes an extra 10 minutes or so because of the bus, but both lines use the same stock and speed (~130km/h).

Until we have the Eglinton ?RT extended out to the airport, we won't have that. Though technically the 192 down to Kipling is the poor-man's option right now.

I think it takes more than 10 minutes. The bus will take more 10 minutes because you gotta wait for the bus. Not sure if it comes as often as the airport express. Also airport express has less stops and a more direct route to HK island. If you take regular MTR, they make a lot of stops.
 
With GO and the railways not interested in providing/allowing high-level platforms it will be interesting to see whether Blue22 will check baggage, get a low floor train set, or leave people to lug their luggage up the steep thin stairway. Is there any airport rail with low level platforms?

You don't need a low floor, most places that I have used have had platforms that are level with the entrance of the train. If they don't have that in TO, regardless of whether they check luggage, it is just poor design.
 
West end joins Weston to fight train

New residents' groups are waking up to the fact that the airport express may bring noise, dirt and pollution. :eek:

There could be 220 trains a day by 2013, when privately operated express trains from Union Station to Pearson Airport start running 140 times a day and GO Transit has also dramatically increased the frequency of its service. By 2031, there could be more than 350 trains a day. And all of them would be powered by diesel locomotives, producing what activists warn will be a cloud of pollution equal to the exhaust of a dozen highway lanes.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090328.TRAIN28/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Ontario/
 
They will all be diesel locomotives?! Not electrified?!!

Now that is a shocker. If they're going to put in an express rail that will be running once every 20 minutes, it's crazy that they wouldn't invest in electricity for it. I was under the impression that this plan would be using an electrified line.
 
They will all be diesel locomotives?! Not electrified?!!

Now that is a shocker. If they're going to put in an express rail that will be running once every 20 minutes, it's crazy that they wouldn't invest in electricity for it. I was under the impression that this plan would be using an electrified line.

They are investing in electric locomotives!!

The new tracks will be done in 5 years. It could take 10 years or more for the planned electrification to be complete. Do you want service to start in 5 years or in 10+ years?
 
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They are investing in electric locomotives!!

The new tracks will be done in 5 years. It could take 10 years or more for the planned electrification to be complete. Do you want service to start in 5 years or in 10+ years?

Is this for certain? Is there somewhere you can direct me or post which states this information.

Because, I was under the impression that this was to be rolled out along the Lakeshore line, in phases, but was now being scaled back and reconsidered. I would be happy to hear that this line and many other are going to become electrified. While they are at it, they should start to replace all those disgusting and toxic wooden rail-ties with concrete ones.
 
From http://www.metrolinx.com/gsse/FAQS/default.aspx:

Q6: Why not electrify the line?

Electrification of the Georgetown Line is proposed in the Metrolinx Regional Transportation Plan and it is part of the 15-year plan. The Transit Environmental Assessment Process for the Georgetown South Expansion with the Union-Pearson Link will be designed to allow for future electrification.

I support electrification and want it to occur, but if we can improve service sooner rather than later by using DMUs then why not? Looking at London, the Gospel Oak to Barking Line has not been electrified like the rest of the Overground network, and even has new Class 172 DMUs (built by Bombardier) on order for 2010. While I won't say anything about Toronto being a "world class city", if DMUs are good enough for London...
 
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This isn't about diesels and world-class cities.

This is simply about Nimbys not wanting lots of trains in their backyards.

This display of Nimbyism is one of the most disgusting displays of selfishness I've seen in this city in a long time. They should all be totally ashamed of themselves. Let's not validate this dreadful behaviour by taking it seriously.

If they would keep the objections to real issues such as the grade separation between the CP and CN lines, and the for-profit Airport train not being integrated with the rest of the rail transit, then that is constructive.

This diesel BS however is just laughable. It's so completely ignorant that it's shocking.
 
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I'm not making any assumptions at all, but if GO said they wanted to put a high-traffic diesel route in your backyard, would you not be angry?

I know I would be. I wouldn't demand them to stop building it, but I would like them to consider speeding up their electrification plan, or other alternatives that have other pros.
 
I'm not making any assumptions at all, but if GO said they wanted to put a high-traffic diesel route in your backyard, would you not be angry?

I know I would be. I wouldn't demand them to stop building it, but I would like them to consider speeding up their electrification plan, or other alternatives that have other pros.

I totally understand the concerns, but I live within sight of a under-used railway corridor and (soon to be) a 400-series highway. I would love any service, as it would make my experience living in this corner of the world much better.
 
I'm not making any assumptions at all, but if GO said they wanted to put a high-traffic diesel route in your backyard, would you not be angry?

Well, that depends. If I moved in next to an un-electrified rail corridor which carries all of Toronto's North-West rail traffic that has been there for a century, no. I would kick myself for not putting two and two together.
 
Well, that depends. If I moved in next to an un-electrified rail corridor which carries all of Toronto's North-West rail traffic that has been there for a century, no. I would kick myself for not putting two and two together.

Exactly. It's like people moving to Malton and then getting angry when Pearson expands service.
 
I'm not making any assumptions at all, but if GO said they wanted to put a high-traffic diesel route in your backyard, would you not be angry?
Of course not - there's one there already!

These people moved next to the widest rail ROW into the largest city in the country, and then complained that people want to operate trains on it. Despite the fact that the rail ROW has been there longer than any resident.

I know I would be. I wouldn't demand them to stop building it, but I would like them to consider speeding up their electrification plan, or other alternatives that have other pros
This is about obstruction. If they had proposed that the service start out as electrified, there would be people would be out there complaining that all the electrical lines in their backyard could give them cancer.
 
What scares me about them being diesel, is that I don't see it being electrified 5 years later. Look how long we've been using diesel GO trains...
I think Toronto gets comfortable with something and just leaves it that way.
 

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