GO Transit: Construction Projects (Metrolinx, various)

[robmausser]

How much would it cost us to buy the remainder of the track from CN/CP? would they even entertain any offers or would they need the missing link done first?

Metrolinx bought basically everything they could during the McGuinty/Wynne years. Anything that could be purchased was purchased.

Anything remaining is mainline stuff for CP/CN that they are unwilling to give up without another line aka the Missing LInk

 

[raptor]

Meanwhile, Metrolinx has yet to award the Caledonia GO station contract, and the station is supposed to be ready by 2021.

 

[robmausser]

Some pictures taken today at Mount Dennis Go.
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Will the Barrie Line station be ready for opening? I dont think any progress has started on that.

 

[cplchanb]

I havent been close to the Richmond Hill station in a while. Is the platform/station expansion completed?

 

[TRONto]

Honestly, I think that GO expansion/RER is going to be just as much of a crosstown line as the Crosstown itself. Most of the travel demand is to and from downtown so most of the Crosstown traffic is going to continue to feed into Line 1, and, later, the relief line and Kitchener, Lakeshore, and Stouffville GO lines. Most people won't be using it for trips across the uptown part of the city. The second reason is that even for cross-uptown trips, GO will be just as fast if not faster. The Crosstown is going to be permanently hobbled by the on-street portions that have trains stopping at red lights. With an average speed of 28 km/h, it would take about 41 minutes to go from Kennedy to Mount Dennis. A similar trip on a hypothetical through-running GO train would take about 45 minutes. With electrification and revamped platforms at Union, I could see that being reduced to less than 40.

So for a trip from one end of Eglinton to the other, your choices are going to be:
-An LRT that runs as a subway for half of the route but as a glorified streetcar for the other half, or
-An through running, electrified train that gets you there via downtown in less time for the same price.

I think RER really is going to be earthshaking for the 416.

I agree with most of that because of how the city runs transit. It doesn't have to be that way. If the city got aggressive with transit priority for the Crosstown (essentially no red lights for transit vehicles) then it would be different. But I won't believe that'll happen until I see it.

 

[crs1026]

How far south from Weston does it look like they are working or have cleared? I can't remember but does a piece of the 4th track end just before Weston?

The fourth track is in place from the interlocking at Humberview (Islington Avenue, just east of the 401 Tunnel site) to just north of Weston station, and also from just south of Weston station to the Interlocking at Nickel (just east of Jane St). That’s the easiest sectuon to complete, just need the new platform and tunnel at Weston.
There is more fourth track in place in places east of Nickel, but that portion is the most time limiting as the shift of the Railpath and the Bloor bridge, plus the additional tunnels and platform at Bloor, haven’t gone to procurement yet. I don’t know what ML’s timetable is for that work, or for putting Newmarket trains on their own track from Parkdale to Strachan....some of the work these last few weekends may relate to that. Hopefully the Mt Dennis station work will be done before too long.
ML also has put bits of fourth track in place west of Etobicoke North, but that section will require completion of the tunnel plus probably construction of Woodbine station before that opens. Some combination of pols plus Verster have committed that Etobicoke North won’t close until Woodbine opens, and the tunnel won’t be of any use until that happens.
Lots of pieces need to fall into place for the whole thing to be done.
- Paul

 

[rbt]

How much would it cost us to buy the remainder of the track from CN/CP? would they even entertain any offers or would they need the missing link done first?

Nearly all of the remaining pieces are considered essential; so very expensive.

 

[Leo_Chan]

I havent been close to the Richmond Hill station in a while. Is the platform/station expansion completed?

If you mean the platform extension over and south of Major Mackenzie Drive then that’s been complete for over a year. If you mean the new station building and better station access from Major Mackenzie Drive, then that project has been delayed (cancelled?) with no planned construction date.

 

[Krypto98]

How far south from Weston does it look like they are working or have cleared? I can't remember but does a piece of the 4th track end just before Weston?

To me it looks like the track ends about 100 meters from both ends of the station. The land is 100% all flat and cleared of the trees and bushes that used to be there. The signal tower that used to be at Weston go was taken down just this week, since I saw it last week but it wasn't there when I passed by.

From the East side the track goes all the way to the Nickle Defect Detector just before Mount Dennis. All the midday trains and the 7:55,8:27 trains switch from the north most active track to the south most, however they have been switching at humber recently.

Going west from Weston, the 4th track goes all the way to the Humber River Birdge

 

[dowlingm]

Will the Barrie Line station be ready for opening? I dont think any progress has started on that.

Maybe waiting for the Overpass to combine signalling/track changes into a convenient package?

 

[raptor]

Maybe waiting for the Overpass to combine signalling/track changes into a convenient package?

More like hitting the Doug Ford pause button. The problem is that the station is still advertised on all Metrolinx / Crosstown material such that it would be open by the time Eglinton Crosstown is complete.

 

[Allandale25]

Maybe waiting for the Overpass to combine signalling/track changes into a convenient package?

As best I can tell this is the most recent update on the station (April 2019):

"Remember when we mentioned that connection to a GO Station? Metrolinx plans to construct a new GO station on the Barrie corridor as part of a separate project."

Metrolinx Press Room

Find the latest Metrolinx news, project updates and more.

blog.metrolinx.com

 

[Towered]

Nearly all of the remaining pieces are considered essential; so very expensive.

Expropriate.

 

[rbt]

Expropriate.

Can't do that to a railway, not without federal level law changes. The province can expropriate their buildings, parking lots, extra services (fibre optic/electric portion of the corridor) but not the track bit.

Also, expropriation requires the government make the other party whole again, so "very expensive" would apply even if it was legal.

 

[Krypto98]

Pictures today of Weston go and highway 401/409