Rainforest
Senior Member
As in, if we extend it by 10km it will automatically have 150k riders and 3x the peak volume.
You are a bit sarcastic here, but actually it wouldn't be very surprising if the ridership of a longer line, that connects to STC in the east and Sheppard West in the west, reached 150k. The Sheppard West connection would essentially extend the rapid transit corridor to York U and the north-west of the city, even if the Sheppard trains weren't continuing to the TYSSE stations.
Of course, we cannot expect exact proportionality, just a certain correlation between the length of line and its ridership. A longer line is useful to a greater number of riders, as the time saving from a longer fast trip offsets the time lost while taking a surface route to subway. The exact ridership for the extended line is not easy to predict though.
Shitting on Sheppard is apt for no other reason than it's grossly overbuilt. Doesn't mean there isn't solid ridership, that rapid transit isn't/wasn't warranted, or that stations like Bessarion shouldn't exist. Ridership is good, rt is wise, and locales like Bessarion need stations. The problem is that it's built for 6-car and +30k pphpd. That was not and is never needed on the corridor, not even close. It was the nuclear option and the line has never been completed because of its largess. You cite Expo, Canada, and Millennium, but those are prime examples of what could've been built. Subways, but scaled down appropriately and thus able see that vision of a line from Downsview to SC realized.
Agreed that it was a mistake to overbuild the Sheppard subway. It might be possible to correct that mistake, by switching to another technology that allows for cheaper extensions, while retaining the subway speed. Maybe, same technology as planned for the Ontario Line.
If the new cars adhere to a similar design model (high-floor, 3-rd rail) but are a bit narrower and a bit lower, then converting the existing 5.5 km section shouldn't be too expensive.
I'm not suggesting a Sheppard extension in the next few years; both the Province and the City will have their hands full with the 4 recently announced projects. But at some future point, perhaps in the next cycle of transit expansion, such a conversion should be looked at.