Toronto Pearson International Airport

[DSCToronto]

Contract awarded for T1/T3 renewal

Toronto Pearson selects team to lead Accelerator program – ReNew Canada

www.renewcanada.net

Design team includes Weston Williamson + Partners and Woods Bagot

What exactly is planned?

 

[Sauga89]

What exactly is planned?

Pearson is working on a multi-year plan to expand capacity called LIFT (short for Long-term Investment in Facilities and Terminals).

The LIFT plan is broken into three phases, each with their own brand name. The first stage is called "Accelerator," and is supposed to involve a new interim terminal. The second stage is called T1/T3 revitalization, which is meant to renovate the existing terminals. The third stage is called Gateway, and envisions new terminal facilities being built.

The first stage is already underway. A design and construction contract has been awarded to a consortium called PACT.

They've launched a design procurement for the second phase, the existing terminal renovation, but not yet awarded that contract.

I don't think they've finalized the plan for the third stage yet. @urbancog posted a presentation from an industry consultation about 6 months ago, which showed new wings being added on to Terminal 1.

Indeed GTAA held an Industry Forum on 4th December to provide information on their 10-year capital plan. Presentation is here.

The layout of the T1 expansion seems to have returned to new piers:

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One of their earlier media interviews suggested they were looking at new terminals elsewhere on the airport property, but they seem to have shelved that idea in favour of adding on to Terminal 1.

 

[Sauga89]

Contract awarded for T1/T3 renewal

Toronto Pearson selects team to lead Accelerator program – ReNew Canada

www.renewcanada.net

Design team includes Weston Williamson + Partners and Woods Bagot

This ReNew Canada article doesn't do a great job of explaining things. If you look at the original press release on Pearson's website, it's actually two separate procurements. The Accelerator contract has been awarded for the interim terminal. Meanwhile, a separate procurement process has been launched for the T1/T3 revitalization, but no contract has been awarded yet for that.

 

[6ixGod]

I was just in Vancouver airport and I travel through there sometimes. I think it looks better than Pearson and is way more neater.

It’s smaller and handles way less passengers. Pearson actually resembles and airport.
If they would just go ahead with the original master plan and finish the piers promised, there would be enough space.

Pier F gets ready to handle Terminal 2 flights

Pearson Airport will say goodbye to Terminal 2 at 11:59 p.m. Monday, about two-and-a-half hours after the last flight took off from the aging terminal. Its closure will mark the start of a new era in a modern facility.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[jcam]

This ReNew Canada article doesn't do a great job of explaining things. If you look at the original press release on Pearson's website, it's actually two separate procurements. The Accelerator contract has been awarded for the interim terminal. Meanwhile, a separate procurement process has been launched for the T1/T3 revitalization, but no contract has been awarded yet for that

My understanding the interim terminal is really a landside terminal that will service a number of remote stands that will take overflow during the major expansion to T1 (and eventual replacement of T3 post 2035). Accelerator also includes a number of systems upgrades across the airport, and decarbonization initiatives.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

Interim terminal? There is already an overflow terminal, literally called the infield terminal. They're not building a new one are they? I'd assume they'd be upgrading the infield terminal in order to accommodate it being used more frequently.

I don't recall any information being released that talked about replacing T3. The last Master Plan talked about linking the two terminal into one mega terminal, nothing was mentioned about replacing it.

The current leadership at the GTAA is a little lighter on the details than previous leadership was. In the past they had provided a bit more details as to what is planned and what it would look like. I haven't seen anything to suggest that the expansion to T1 isn't going to be the addition of a de scoped Pier G (much smaller than initially planned) and until I see documents saying otherwise I have to go by what I've seen from them in their documents.

 

[nfitz]

Interim terminal? There is already an overflow terminal, literally called the infield terminal.

Overflow? Do you mean Gates B1 to B5?

They are in regular use these days. I always seem to use them for Porter and often Flair too. I wouldn't call it overflow.

There are those gates on the far side of the airport. But I can see lots of reasons to not use it for regular operations. When they built it near a quarter-century ago, there wasn't really a good option for a structure connected to the existing terminals, with all the construction

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

Overflow? Do you mean Gates B1 to B5?

They are in regular use these days. I always seem to use them for Porter and often Flair too. I wouldn't call it overflow.

There are those gates on the far side of the airport. But I can see lots of reasons to not use it for regular operations. When they built it near a quarter-century ago, there wasn't really a good option for a structure connected to the existing terminals, with all the construction

I believe the GTAA refers to gates B1 to B5 as the T3 satellite gates. Gates 521 to 531 are at what the GTAA calls the Infield Concourse (or Terminal) and is located between the 15/33 runway pair. To get to those gates you need to board a bus at T1/T3 depending on your airline and are bussed over to the terminal.

Both see fairly regular use, hence the calls from passengers to expand and the action by GTAA to begin the LIFT project.

 

[Sauga89]

Interim terminal? There is already an overflow terminal, literally called the infield terminal. They're not building a new one are they? I'd assume they'd be upgrading the infield terminal in order to accommodate it being used more frequently.

This CityNews article from last year says the airport is working on developing a "modern" and "modular" interim terminal with capacity for up to 7 million additional passengers per year.

 

[nfitz]

I believe the GTAA refers to gates B1 to B5 as the T3 satellite gates. Gates 521 to 531 are at what the GTAA calls the Infield Concourse (or Terminal) and is located between the 15/33 runway pair. To get to those gates you need to board a bus at T1/T3 depending on your airline and are bussed over to the terminal.

Both see fairly regular use, hence the calls from passengers to expand and the action by GTAA to begin the LIFT project.

Yes ... the gates on the far side of the airport. I hadn't realized they'd reactivated them permanently. It looks like they did this about a year ago - I don't think they'd been in regular everyday use since around when Terminal 2 was demolished, other than during the Syrian emergency and some summer charters. All I've ever seen of it is by watching Station Eleven.

Looks like they are bussing from "Gate" B26. Beware B26!

Ah, it's now on the Pearson map!

 

[allabootmatt]

In an ideal world, Pearson would have been doing small-scale expansions consistently over the last couple of decades, instead of waiting for the current situation of severe overcrowding and a wildly inadequate terminal footprint.

I feel like this is a common Toronto problem: build something major and then do nothing, until conditions deteriorate far enough to require a comprehensive and expensive "revitalization." Rinse and repeat.

I know they built the "connector" or whatever it's called for ground-level US gates at T1, but that thing is so cheap and shonky that it doesn't count.

 

[Amare]

In an ideal world, Pearson would have been doing small-scale expansions consistently over the last couple of decades, instead of waiting for the current situation of severe overcrowding and a wildly inadequate terminal footprint.

I feel like this is a common Toronto problem: build something major and then do nothing, until conditions deteriorate far enough to require a comprehensive and expensive "revitalization." Rinse and repeat.

I know they built the "connector" or whatever it's called for ground-level US gates at T1, but that thing is so cheap and shonky that it doesn't count.

Considering where we once were, where the GTAA was considering going ahead with that absolute inadequate and pathetic pier expansion plan over the proper expansion of the terminal footprint, I think we've come a long way. At least they're proceeding in a way that makes much more sense.

Consistent incremental small scale expansions is a rare thing in general, it's not limited to Toronto.

 

[guavadelic]

In an ideal world, Pearson would have been doing small-scale expansions consistently over the last couple of decades, instead of waiting for the current situation of severe overcrowding and a wildly inadequate terminal footprint.

I feel like this is a common Toronto problem: build something major and then do nothing, until conditions deteriorate far enough to require a comprehensive and expensive "revitalization." Rinse and repeat.

I know they built the "connector" or whatever it's called for ground-level US gates at T1, but that thing is so cheap and shonky that it doesn't count.

Canadian airport infrastructure dollars are few and far between.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

This CityNews article from last year says the airport is working on developing a "modern" and "modular" interim terminal with capacity for up to 7 million additional passengers per year.

Without documents showing concretely what is being planned/built, I'm dubious. They could be simply rehabbing the existing infield terminal, we don't know because they aren't transparent on what's being planned.

Contrast this with the planning and communication that existed in the late 90's where there were detailed documents about the then TNew building.

 

[WillTo]

I found a DVD of the Rogers TV series Structures.

Check out this shot from the old terminal one. The baggage carousels are tiny!