Toronto GO Transit: Davenport Diamond Grade Separation | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx

They could try doing this that was done on the Big 4 Railway Bridge in Louisville KY that is almost a mile long
This video doesn't come close to seeing the light show in person. We are talking less than 50% here than Louisville KY
 
Metrolinx plan for elevated train tracks put on hold in the Junction

From Metronews at this link:


Torstar News Service An elevated go train.

Plans for a controversial elevated train track near the Davenport Diamond have been put on hold by the province.

The Ministry of Environment won’t launch an environmental assessment on the project until October — giving the city and Metrolinx more time to hash out their differences on the line designed to cut congestion.

City council asked for the delay earlier this month.

Ward 18 Coun. Ana Bailao spearheaded the move. She’s among those questioning whether a bridge is the right option for separating GO trains from CP rail traffic near Dupont and Lansdowne.

There’s also talk about how adding a GO station at Lansdowne could play into the proposal. The station could connect to the subway and help alleviate traffic on the Dufferin and Jane bus lines, Bailao said.

The project presents opportunities to revamp the community by expanding on green spaces and connecting cycling paths, she said.

“Whether it’s a bridge or a trench, it’s a huge piece of infrastructure and it needs to be done right,” Bailao added. “I always say that this could be a really good project or a really bad project. It all depends on how it’s going to be planned and constructed.”

About the proposal

  • The elevated track would run nearly 2 kilometres along the Barrie Go line, extending from just north of Bloor St. to south of Davenport Rd.
  • The track would be at its highest just north of Dupont St., descending at the Davenport bridge crossing.
  • The Davenport Diamond is created by the meeting of a single north-south rail line and two east-west lines. GO trains are being slowed by a bottleneck in the area.
 
While I think there might be a case to make for a Barrie Line station at Bloor, not every improvement to a railway line can or should mean a station for the local inhabitants.
 
dowlingm said:
While I think there might be a case to make for a Barrie Line station at Bloor, not every improvement to a railway line can or should mean a station for the local inhabitants.
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If I'm not mistaken, in addition to Concord GO Station being built on top of Downsview Park TTC station on the TYSSE on the Barrie line just south of, and replacing, York University GO station, a station at Eglinton to connect with the LRT line is planned in the semi-near future, and sometime after that another station is also planned (or under consideration, at least) at St. Clair. Now people want another one at Dupont and Lansdowne? Eesh.
 
Megaton327 said:
If I'm not mistaken, in addition to Concord GO Station being built on top of Downsview Park TTC station on the TYSSE on the Barrie line just south of, and replacing, York University GO station, a station at Eglinton to connect with the LRT line is planned in the semi-near future, and sometime after that another station is also planned (or under consideration, at least) at St. Clair. Now people want another one at Dupont and Lansdowne? Eesh.
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Electric solves all problems something something...
 
You'd almost think it would make sense to have some trains for the Regional service that skipped the local stops, and other trains that stopped at all the local stops but didnt go all the way to Barrie. Now that would be "smart", and on a track at that.

- Paul
 
Megaton327 said:
If I'm not mistaken, in addition to Concord GO Station being built on top of Downsview Park TTC station on the TYSSE on the Barrie line just south of, and replacing, York University GO station, a station at Eglinton to connect with the LRT line is planned in the semi-near future, and sometime after that another station is also planned (or under consideration, at least) at St. Clair. Now people want another one at Dupont and Lansdowne? Eesh.
Click to expand...

Soon we'll see a return of a Belt Line Railway.
Toronto_Belt_Line_Railway_Map.jpg

Minus the steam locomotives of course, instead using electricity.
 
Megaton327 said:
If I'm not mistaken, in addition to Concord GO Station being built on top of Downsview Park TTC station on the TYSSE on the Barrie line just south of, and replacing, York University GO station, a station at Eglinton to connect with the LRT line is planned in the semi-near future, and sometime after that another station is also planned (or under consideration, at least) at St. Clair. Now people want another one at Dupont and Lansdowne? Eesh.
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Just to clarify:
- Concord station will be at Highway 7, connecting to Viva and potentially the 407 GO bus service as well.
- Downsview Park station is at Sheppard, fully integrated with the University line subway station. York U station will close concurrently with its opening.
- Caledonia Station will be at Eglinton, with a connection to the ECLRT
- now we're talking about a stop at Bloor, with connection to Lansdowne subway station.

Each of these stations have considerable merit, they are all great network connections. But this line stretches 100 km to Barrie, so speed is also very important. Operating a mix of express and local service therefore an absolute must. Which raises the question: will double-tracking be enough, or do we actually need more than 2 tracks?

The line currently operates at up to 4 trains per hour in the peak direction, so I think it's safe to assume that we'd be looking at 8+ trains per peak hour upon full build-out.

Let's consider a scenario where peak-hour local service operates every 15 minutes from East Gwillimbury to Union and express trains operate every 15 minutes from Barrie to Union. Assuming a minimum separation of 4 minutes between trains, the express service can be at most 7 minutes faster than the local service through if they share the same tracks (i.e. the southbound express service is 11 min behind the local at East Gwillimbury, and 4 min behind at Union). Given the number of new stations added to the line, I suspect that this 7-minute savings would still translate to an express service slower than today's all-stops service.

We therefore should be considering locations to build third and fourth tracks to allow express trains to overtake local trains.
 
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I've always had a crazy dream of putting the Barrie line into a tunnel and rerouting it through Dundas West/Bloor station.

Dundas West/Bloor has the potential to be a serious transit hub.

Already passing through:
  • GO Kitchener line
  • GO Milton line
  • UP Express
  • Bloor-Danforth Subway
  • 2 streetcar lines
  • 2 bus routes
Potential to also serve the location:
  • GO Barrie line
  • GO Bolton/Woodbridge line
  • Downtown Relief Subway
  • 1 extra streetcar line (reroute 506)
  • 3 extra bus routes (move 89, 41, 80A terminus to Dundas West).
It could be a true hub for the west end and could enable a lot of convenient trips without having to head to Union.

I think we're still a long way away from this type of transit spending, though.
 
CDL.TO said:
I've always had a crazy dream of putting the Barrie line into a tunnel and rerouting it through Dundas West/Bloor station..
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Davenport hill.

Dupont Avenue is at the bottom of the hill, St. Clair Avenue West is at the top. That "hill" is the old shoreline of Lake Iroquois, of which the Scarborough Bluffs is a continuation of that "hill". See link.

Lake+Iroquois+1.gif


Also the reason for a possible railway bridge.
 
Oh, I know. But it's a hill, not Mount Insurmountable.

Like I said, I think we're a long, long way away from spending the type of money on transit that would make my idea a worthwhile priority.
 
It might be easier (and likely cheaper) just to buy out and level all the buildings between the the two lines along Bloor and completely redevelop that stretch. Think further and you can go all the way to Landsdowne and have it as a new node.

AoD
 
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