407 Rail Freight Bypass/The Missing Link

[Dan416]

I love the pitiful dollar figure for Milton versus virtually every other line.

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

AFP may certainly result in a longer timeline, but chances are once a bidder commits to that date, they will stick to it. AFP is designed to elicit reasonable bids with realistic timelines and costing; if a bidder submits something too low/short, they pay for the overruns.

So that will be the good news. 2025 is an estimate. Once we have bids, those timelines should be pretty solid.

 

[robmausser]

I love the pitiful dollar figure for Milton versus virtually every other line.

I dont understand why Metrolinx wont fork up the money to add another track to Milton line. I believe the EA was done, it was planned to happen.

I realize they cant be electrified, because its a CP corridor, but who cares. We already run 30 minute all day diesels on the Lakeshore line, this would be no different. If the public complains about "dirty" trains say "not our fault, CP wont let us run electric trains" If Metrolinx is waiting on CP also going on board for the Missing Link, good luck. That wont be for a while.

And if they lay another track in the meantime, so what? It could be used for express service etc.

Meanwhile the 3rd most popular Go Train line is being neglected, and the desired extension to Cambridge won't happen as well.

Stupid. If I was the conservatives I would promise all day trains on the Milton Line and to Cambridge.

 

[Allandale25]

Stupid. If I was the conservatives I would promise all day trains on the Milton Line and to Cambridge.

Would you advise them to attach a budget figure for the promise in order to satisfy CP Rail? Or leave it open to negotiations and just have them say, "we'll get the Agreement done unlike the current government."

 

[smallspy]

I dont understand why Metrolinx wont fork up the money to add another track to Milton line. I believe the EA was done, it was planned to happen.

Nope. No EA, no concrete plans. Just a promise to "do something".

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

FYI, a thread has been created for the 'Midtown corridor.'

 

[crs1026]

AFP may certainly result in a longer timeline, but chances are once a bidder commits to that date, they will stick to it. AFP is designed to elicit reasonable bids with realistic timelines and costing; if a bidder submits something too low/short, they pay for the overruns.

So that will be the good news. 2025 is an estimate. Once we have bids, those timelines should be pretty solid.

Agree with all of this. I would even say the initiation of an RFQ ought to be the point where we can start to pinch ourselves and say "it's really happening".

Except......there is an election coming, and we may not see procurement completed by then. And....the government has a habit of slipping GO money for smaller things. There is still a risk of sticker shock when the bids come in. All we can do is hope.

- Paul

 

[drum118]

Need to ask Wynne why her 2014 election platform plan for 4 tracking the Milton corridor by 2021/22 die after the election.

The current plan for Cooksville bridge for Hurontario LRT is to be 4 track and a bitch when construction starts on it. Its my understanding that there will only be the south track in service during the building of the new bridge with a temporarily platform on the south side. The current south track will be shift south and bend to get over Hurontario until that bridge is rebuilt once everything moves to the new north tracks.

 

[Allandale25]

Need to ask Wynne why her 2014 election platform plan for 4 tracking the Milton corridor by 2021/22 die after the election.

This statement above provides me a good chance to talk about some media searches a few months ago on this topic. I was interested in the chronology and media coverage of "all-day, two-way" GO service and when and how the qualifier of "on lines we own" was used.

In some media reports, this was said: "Liberal: Regional Express Rail (electrification and two-way, all-day service on all GO lines within 10 years);" (source) or "One aspect of the plan would see two-way, all-day GO train service every 15 minutes as opposed to the more recently instituted 30-minute intervals." (source). Unfortunately, as best I can tell, the actual platform in PDF form is no longer available on OLP's website, or any of the other parties (correct me if I'm wrong). The Daily Bread Food Bank still has a reference here but the link is dead. In the Strategy Corp summary of the 2014 platforms, it only talks about $15B being spent.

The 2014 budget, which was released right before the campaign and OLP effectively ran on, said this on page 47:

The government recognizes continued expansion towards two‐way, all‐day GO Transit rail service as a priority. GO Transit improvements on all corridors would include additional track, grade separations, improved signalling, station improvements and additional fleet, which are all building blocks towards two‐way, all‐day service. In addition, analysis is underway on a proposal to electrify the GO rail system to deliver service at intervals as frequent as 15 minutes.

The Big Move identifies additional GO service as critical to developing the regional rapid transit network, and all-day, two-way express rail service as part of the solution. The Province has asked Metrolinx to begin work immediately to examine opportunities to move GO service towards a regional express rail, providing fast and frequent electrified service on all corridors at intervals as frequent as 15 minutes. This would represent a game-changer in how people move about the region, and enhance ridership and efficiency on GO Transit and other projects that connect to the network as well.

The Province will work with Metrolinx and municipalities on how best to prioritize transit investments through the use of rigorous business‐case analyses. These analyses will help prioritize Next Wave projects that could be accommodated within the Province’s dedicated fund for the GTHA and provide the best value for Ontarians.

(I haven't checked to see or figure out if the version I've linked to above was changed after the election when the government had a majority to pass it. The document just says "2014").

It was only later in 2014, and after the election campaign, that the re-elected government, as best I can tell, added the qualifier "on lines we own" to the all-day, two-way, 15-min peak service level promise. So, I'm not sure if it was the case of the media being brief or the government/party not clarifying at the time. Without seeing the actual platform document it's hard to confirm how the media reported the promise. In a sense, we're both right. It does appear that there was talk of all-day, two way without specifying the restricts for Milton, Brampton, and Richmond Hill, but there's also no indication they specifically used the words in the platform of "Milton getting 4 tracks by 2021/2022". Unless someone can find an article/link/quote/primary source. Always happy to be corrected.

Here's a collection of media articles I could find from 2014. These are mostly in chronological order:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toron...plans-reveal-politics-and-paralysis-1.2656386

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toron...iberal-platform-officially-unveiled-1.2653612

https://www.thestar.com/news/queens...ut_no_new_taxes_vows_pc_leader_tim_hudak.html

http://www.cp24.com/news/2014-ontar...itches-plan-for-jobs-public-transit-1.1810039

https://www.thestar.com/news/ontari...grade_for_transit_from_pembina_institute.html

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/tr...e_tight_says_metrolinx_ceo_bruce_mccuaig.html

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/tr...sible_in_10_years_confirms_metrolinx_ceo.html

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20..._which_transit_choices_will_you_vote_for.html

www.pressreader.com/canada/waterloo-region-record/20140607/283068412375296

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/tr...sible_in_10_years_confirms_metrolinx_ceo.html

https://www.pembina.org/reports/whos-ready-traffic-transit.pdf

 

[crs1026]

Interesting set of articles.

I get your focus on what Wynne's formal election promises ...... still, one has to keep in mind that the concept of Regional Rail was articulated in The Big Move strategy and were talked about so repeatedly by ML that the commitment was already implied.
I'm technology constrained this week so can't do a proper search of stuff I collected - but certainly by 2014 GO was talking up the idea, as this Board report shows. I would bet that various Ministers or MPP's talked this up well before the election.

- Paul

 

[Allandale25]

Fully see what you're saying Paul. I was just curious what was said leading up to, during, and after the 2014 election on this specific concept so it was helpful to go back and look. It's a bit of a moot point for the 2018 election because the plan is more specific now and the "lines we own" part can now be referenced by a map. The comment about the 4th track being in the platform or not sparked my interest. It's certainly something to keep an eye on for all parties in 2018, and how well the media does at describing the platforms.

Interesting set of articles.

I get your focus on what Wynne's formal election promises ...... still, one has to keep in mind that the concept of Regional Rail was articulated in The Big Move strategy and were talked about so repeatedly by ML that the commitment was already implied.
I'm technology constrained this week so can't do a proper search of stuff I collected - but certainly by 2014 GO was talking up the idea, as this Board report shows. I would bet that various Ministers or MPP's talked this up well before the election.

- Paul

 

[Allandale25]

There is a reference to the Bypass in the 2017-2018 Business Plan. It was just uploaded to the agenda for today's Metrolinx Board meeting.

 

[crs1026]

It was only later in 2014, and after the election campaign, that the re-elected government, as best I can tell, added the qualifier "on lines we own" to the all-day, two-way, 15-min peak service level promise.

To add to your knowledge bank - here's the Wynne speech to the Toronto Board of Trade on April 14 2014. It contains the clarifier.

It appears from the press descriptions of that speech that this was the kickoff to Wynne's campaign platform around transit.

The sensible (and therefore quickly buried) Golden Report which was issued in December 2013 makes mentions of half hourly service, but in a way that infers to me that they were not thinking of 15 minute service.

- Paul

 

[TOareaFan]

The sensible (and therefore quickly buried) Golden Report which was issued in December 2013 makes mentions of half hourly service, but in a way that infers to me that they were not thinking of 15 minute service.

- Paul

If every line on the GO network had 30 minute off peak service that would be enough....and in some cases/times more than enough.

 

[Allandale25]

Looks like Metrolinx has uploaded the presentation that was given back in April 2017. The media reported on this presentation and I provided a link to the articles in my April 18, 2017 post.

The deck on the Metrolinx website can be found here under "Projects". See "Community Update: Kitchener" which opens this PDF of the deck.

Some key slides on the logistics (same info as below) and timeline of the project:

There are a few more details in this recent article about the bypass:

• “The first step is a new 30-kilometre corridor (between Bramalea and Milton) to bypass CNs existing track, so that we can build capacity,” said Gord Troughton, Metrolinx director of corridor infrastructure.
  
• That work alone will require up to 35 new bridges for road and water crossings, including significant crossings of Highways 401 and 410, the modification and/or relocation of up to 17 hydro towers and up to 3.4 kilometres of major gas lines, as well as the construction of 60 km of new track.
  
• Updated: A total of 60 kilometres of new track would be laid (two tracks at 30 kilometres each), a new signal system is required and a new grade separation would be built where the new bypass meets the existing rail corridor.
• Enhanced two-way rail service will also require a second 52-km track between Kitchener and Georgetown, a fourth track between Mount Pleasant and Union Station, a new tunnel under Hwy. 401 to accommodate more track on the Kitchener line, as well as other system-wide upgrades for signalling and communications systems and renovations to existing GO stations.
  
• But planning is underway according to Metrolinx chief communications and public affairs officer Judy Pfeifer, who said the necessary resources are being secured with dedicated staff teams and ongoing talks with CN.
  
• According to a rough timeline presented by Metrolinx, securing the necessary permits and approvals, including an environmental assessment, should take approximately three years. Procurement, construction and commissioning are expected to take about four years more.
  
• While an environmental assessment is now underway to electrify the Kitchener line between Bramalea and Highway 427, the Kitchener line west of Bramalea can’t be electrified until the new train corridor is built. That will require an additional environmental assessment.
• “Until things are sorted out with CN, any date that we would put to you, we couldn’t guarantee that we would make it,” Burke said.

I've updated the post to include an additional point mentioned in an article about the same meeting posted by another publication here. I assume the grade separation referenced would be here near the Bramalea GO Station.