Rainforest
Senior Member
These arguments lead to the conclusion that any planned line, built as heavy rail, will steal the ridership of an existing line, and therefore ought to be built that way. In other words, by spending four times as much on the surface portions, we can build much more capacity than is needed, and thereby render an existing line less efficient and more money-losing. Yes, that's a good plan for governments facing huge deficits. Not.
Here's another possible conclusion. If 12,000 people switch to the Eglinton line on day two of its operation, it will grind to a halt. The 12,000 people who stay on the Bloor line will observe that their trains are suddenly half empty and much more pleasant to use, and tell their friends about it, half of whom are the Eglinton riders. By day four or five, the loads will balance out and the increased capacity of the two combined lines will be used efficiently, allowing for ridership growth on both lines.
You have a point - do we need to build Eglinton subway and relieve Bloor, if Bloor is not at capacity yet ...
In fact, either choice has its pros and cons, and will be a trade-off. Actually, I've been in favor of LRT solution for Eglinton. This is what makes me change my mind:
1) Lack of plans for GO train to the airport (ARL only, which caters to business travelers and lacks connections).
2) Apparent lack of interest in creating Midtown GO line for trips within Toronto.
3) Eglinton LRT design team seems to be unhappy with the technology limits, and struggles to overcome them (3-car trains, tricky left turn arrangements).
4) And finally, I realized how a meaningful Phase I subway can be build for the funds already allocated: Yonge to Pearson. That's 18 km, if the average cost is 250 million per km (using at-grade option in Richview corridor, and elevated across 427 / 401), that will be 4.5 billion.
Eglinton East would have to wait for Phase II, which is certainly a drawback. But it will be mitigated if DRL East is build, from downtown/Spadina to Eglinton / Don Mills. Lawrence East, Leslie, 100 Flemmington buses would operate off the DRL terminus, and only 34 Eglinton East would have to run to Yonge.