I've given some more thought to the DRL and I've made some changes to my preferred alignmnent.
Please click through to the Google Map for more detail.
The central portion won't be much of a surprise, and as always a Queen, King, Wellington, ect. alignments all have there merits (I personally like King) but I should draw some attention to some of the differences between my proposal and many others.
Sunnyside Ave Routing
1) This routing allows the placement of a station directly under the intersection of Queen/Roncesvalles instead of offset, allowing better connectivity and also allowing for a higher speed curve Northward.
2) The Roncesvalles Streetcar Yard would make a good TBM launch/retreival shaft for Stage 1 of the DRL. (Where are you going to retrieve a TBM from in the middle of the financial district without causing havok?)
3) Roncesvalles just finished being reconstructed and does not need utilities ripped up.
4) In my alignment, there is no station between Dundas West and Sunnyside, so there is no need for the DRL to run underneath Roncesvalles.
Richmond Hill Line/Leslie Routing
1) An Open-Air routing along an existing ROW would likely be less expensive than tunnelling under Don Mills Road, which means cheaper and more likely extension.
2) There is better access to the provincial highway system at Leslie than at Fairview Mall.
3) The existing GO parking lot could be expanded/utilized
4) More redevlopment potential where the line intersects York Mills Road; Don Mills at York Mills is in a watershed and flanked by a Golf course compared to large industrial lots.
5) Would basically force people to use the Sheppard Subway to transfer to the DRL.
Interlining of the Western ARL with the DRL
The ARL and the western section of the DRL would use the exact same double-track, vehicles and catenary except for passing tracks at local DRL stations. The vehicles would be High-Floor HRT cars with overhead power. I'm not sure whether or not it would be economical to fold up the catenary and run third rail in tunnelled sections.
Generally, it would be less expensive to run rapid transit along a pre-existing electrified corridor than it would be to build an entirely new paralell one.
ARL trains would run at about a quarter/third frequency as DRL trains. For example, during peak and midday, ARL trains would run every 15 minutes while DRL trains would run every 5. Off-peak ARL could run every 30 minutes with DRL running every 7.
ARL trains would divert from DRL trains just north of Dundas West Station and continue to run express to Union with a possible stop at Liberty Village.
A side-effect of this arrangement is that the western DRL could have closer stations than would otherwise be feasible for a crosstown subway due to the semi-frequent parallel service. In addition, regular trains on the Kitchener line would have the opportunity to run express from Woodbine to Union during peak, increasing travel times for everyone on this corridor.
Modified GO Stations
Woodbine GO Station - A major transfer node between intercity VIA trains, express/local GO trains, the Airport, ARL/DRL, 427 Bus/Car traffic and possible extension of the Finch West LRT. Placing a transfer station here would reduce the need for parking at the airport.
Renforth GO Bus Station - Major transfer node between Eglinton LRT (extended to MCC), local bus services, and the Airport
Etobicoke North GO - Relocated from Kipling to Islington due to proximity of Woodbine Station and due to better access to the 401 with the existing ramp structure in addition to more room for parking.
Mt. Dennis GO - Replaces Weston GO, connects to Eglinton Crosstown.
Sunnyside GO - Connects Lakeshore trains to the DRL in addition to connecting local streetcars and the Waterfront West LRT. Not sure if it's possible, but a wayside stop for buses on the Gardiner would be useful here as well.
Liberty Village GO - Connects to the DRL to funnel pedestrian traffic away from Union
Queen East GO - Connects to the DRL to funnel pedestrian traffic away from Union in addition to connecting to local streetcars.
Oriole GO - Platforms moved north of thee 401 to better connect to the Sheppard Subway.
And finally, as a side note, I think it makes perfect sense to finance the construction of this line that largely paralells the DVP and Gardiner by placing tolls on Toronto's municipal highways (Including Black Creek Drive and LSB). In addition in would be worth investigating a congestion charge.
Thoughts?