GO Transit: Construction Projects (Metrolinx, various)

[crs1026]

Buried in this announcement about relocating the steam locomotive that has been preserved just west of the Guelph GO Station, is a link to a Guelph City Council agenda which contains a staff report re same, which contains the following statement:.

The City of Guelph holds a land agreement with Metrolinx to use land on Farquhar Street to display Locomotive 6167. In December 2018, the City received notice of termination of the lease agreement, as Metrolinx looks to expand to the southplatform for ‘two-way-all-day’ GO Transit service. As a result, the locomotive needs to be relocated by December 2020.

The fate of the locomotive is not really the issue for this thread, although one aspect may be interesting -

Due to the construction of Guelph Central Station, in 2012 the locomotive was moved to the closest available location, just a short lift and haul over the Metrolinx railway tracks, which was the most cost effective option. A lease agreement was approved with Metrolinx, providing access to the land with the understanding that the locomotive would need to move at some point in the future to allow space for the south platform. At the time, the risks were low as expanded services were being projected to happen late in the 30-year plan for Metrolinx.

The tidbit that may be of interest here is the inference that the timing for work on 2-way service, which will need the south platform at Guelph, is timed for beyond December 2020, ie more than a year away. I doubt that the locomotive is what's determining the timing, and there is talk of things such as sidings getting started next year, but 2-way service will not come sooner than that.

It's also interesting to learn that as of 2012 there was no apparent intent to expand service to Guelph or Kitchener. That despite the fact that the Georgetown South Project was halfway to completion in 2012.

- Paul

 

[raptor]

From link:

Confederation Station
With the announcement of a market-driven approach to delivering new infrastructure across the GO Transit network, we have decided to scale back the plans for the development of Confederation station. For the time being, we are giving priority to getting more service to West Harbour, which is ready to receive more customers and underutilized.

Starting November 2, the GO Bus route 12 stop currently located at Barton Street and Nash Road will move into the bus loop on the north side of the Confederation station site, off Goderich Road. Approximately 60 parking spaces will be available.
GO Bus route 12 connects Confederation station with Burlington GO Station and Dundas Street & Highway 407 Park & Ride lot to the west, and Grimsby, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls to the east.

At the same time, we are moving ahead with the design and construction of a self-serve rail station for the Confederation site. This work will be tendered out later on this year.
Any further expansion of this station will be phased based on demand and ridership growth.

For more information and to sign up to our email distribution list, please email us at Confederationstation@metrolinx.com.

 

[robmausser]

From link:

Confederation Station
With the announcement of a market-driven approach to delivering new infrastructure across the GO Transit network, we have decided to scale back the plans for the development of Confederation station. For the time being, we are giving priority to getting more service to West Harbour, which is ready to receive more customers and underutilized.

Starting November 2, the GO Bus route 12 stop currently located at Barton Street and Nash Road will move into the bus loop on the north side of the Confederation station site, off Goderich Road. Approximately 60 parking spaces will be available.
GO Bus route 12 connects Confederation station with Burlington GO Station and Dundas Street & Highway 407 Park & Ride lot to the west, and Grimsby, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls to the east.

At the same time, we are moving ahead with the design and construction of a self-serve rail station for the Confederation site. This work will be tendered out later on this year.
Any further expansion of this station will be phased based on demand and ridership growth.

For more information and to sign up to our email distribution list, please email us at Confederationstation@metrolinx.com.

I have no problem with scaling back stations as long as they are functional and accessible. We are playing transit catch up, no more monoliths like on the Spadina Line or that Bloomington GO monster in the middle of a corn field.

That being said it sounds like the project is being delayed. Which is not good. Like I said, we are playing transit catch up. Less is more, but we need more NOW.

Its funny that the market-driven approach document mentions Smarttrack stations. Now that those are potentially fully funded by the feds and city, can Metrolinx really meddle with them? You didnt want to pay for them, said the city was on the hook. Unless the approach involves contributing funds to them, Hands off!

 

[crs1026]

^I shake my head when bureaucrats and/or politicians come up with a title or concept brand name instead of coming out and saying what they really mean.
“Market Driven Development” is code that translates as “We don’t actually have room in the funding envelope for this, so unless a deceloper offers the money it isn’t happening”.
I applaud GO scaling back its station designs, as they were getting more and more overbuilt with each iteration. Rutherford is the worst of these, but some of the designs for others were not far behind, the Barrie line being the prime examples.
What is unspoken is that behind this new development policy is a very well hidden scaling back of RER funding. Unlike health care and education, where the Ford crowd have made very public cuts (and taken the heat), with ML the Tories have scaled things back without anyone really noticing. The nice thing about ML having been so evasive in the past with its plans is, no one really knows how big the reductions have been. It was pretty obvious that after promising the moon, the Liberals were not actually able to fund RER at the pace promised, so some of this may be reality setting in rather than Ford making cuts.
The problem I have is that some stations may be critical needs, even if they don’t represent profitable development opportunities at this moment. If there is no money available, ML and Ford ought to be explaining this - what they can fund, and what has to wait. The development strategy is just a way of ducking the heat. Clever politics, but shabby accountability

- Paul

 

[mdrejhon]

I am a deaf person.

I am using Otter.ai application to live caption the Town Hall remotely, by pointing my iPad to another device’s livestream:

VIEW: Real Time Transcription Captions (LIVE) of Metrolinx Town Hall

It’s like Siri, except it can caption a whole classroom / presentation / lecture, and livestream the captions to others via a link. The new service offers 600 free minutes per month. I’m not even at the town hall today, but I’m pointing my iPad Otter.ai app (from Apple App Store) to another television displaying the livestream.

I can now live-caption any uncaptioned TV show anytime I want! Or telephone (via 2nd phone or a speakerphone). Or conference room. Or spouse. Or dining room table.

Best invention since sliced bread for this deafie (me).

 

[mdrejhon]

I got a reply to my email inquiry, coming directly from the Niagara GO implementation office, as mayor Jim Dodati forwarded my email there:

“...Additionally (and maybe the most relevant to your point of direct Hamilton connections)we are excited that Metrolinx is constructing a connecting platform on the north side CN Mainline track at West Harbour in the fall of this year. At present, the Toronto bound trips from Niagara need to reverse on the CN Mainline track and back into the West Harbour Station – that’s like a car missing an off ramp on the QEW and having to back up with traffic flying past at 120km/hr – certainly not optimal and a primary reason why not all of the trains through Hamilton stop. Once completed, this new platform will lead to a faster trip travel time and more frequent stops at the West Harbour station. Simply put: faster into Toronto, more stops in Hamilton.”

Reconfirmed at tonight’s Metrolinx Town Hall.

The ability to stop all Niagara trains in Hamilton:
West Harbour North Platform construction for completion early next year!

Transcript of Scott Money about short and long term solutions:

“...ultimately, six mile section of track installed West harbor heading towards Confederation immediately around West harbor will be installing a connection between the dead end track is called there to the, to the main line track on the east end of Confederation...”

“...in the interim we'll be looking to extend the existing platform to the north, so that existing platform meets up with the, the existing main line that passes through West Harbor, and then we'll have a stopping service between Niagara and union...”

“...for the platform extension, we're progressing now and aiming for early part of next year....”

 

[raptor]

Associate Minister of Transportation to Make an Announcement

September 5, 2019 3:00 P.M.
Ministry of Transportation

Kinga Surma, Associate Minister of Transportation, will be joined by Stephen Lecce, MPP for King-Vaughan, and Gila Martow, MPP for Thornhill, and Phil Verster, President and CEO of Metrolinx, to make an announcement.

Date: Friday, September 6, 2019

Time: 9:10 a.m.
Media asked to arrive by 8:55 a.m.



Location: Rutherford GO Station
699 Westburne Dr.
Vaughan

Note: A media availability to follow the announcement. Accredited media only.

 

[Adjei]

And people complained about Del Duca making announcements for everything..

 

[smallspy]

Associate Minister of Transportation to Make an Announcement

September 5, 2019 3:00 P.M.
Ministry of Transportation

Kinga Surma, Associate Minister of Transportation, will be joined by Stephen Lecce, MPP for King-Vaughan, and Gila Martow, MPP for Thornhill, and Phil Verster, President and CEO of Metrolinx, to make an announcement.

Date: Friday, September 6, 2019

Time: 9:10 a.m.
Media asked to arrive by 8:55 a.m.



Location: Rutherford GO Station
699 Westburne Dr.
Vaughan

Note: A media availability to follow the announcement. Accredited media only.

Interestingly, 6 hours later they postponed the announcement - but haven't stated when the new announcement will take place.

Ontario Newsroom | Salle de presse de l'Ontario

news.ontario.ca

Dan

 

[raptor]

http://www.metrolinx.com/en/docs/pdf/board_agenda/20190912/20190912_BoardMtg_Capital_Projects_Quarterly_EN.pdf

In August, construction on the Early Stations Improvements project began at Centennial, Lisgar, and East Gwillimbury GO Stations.

[QUOTE- ]Works within the Stouffville corridor to accommodate two tracks are well underway for completion by 2020. The west side noise wall was completed on July 15, 2019.

- Track work along the Kitchener line, from Kipling to Highway 427, and Nickle to Humber was completed on August 7, 2019.
...
- Detailed Design began on August 13, 2019 for the project to allow for increased service levels and line speed between Kitchener and Bramalea..
- For the extension to Niagara, the Canadian National (CN) Railway #11 Bayview Crossover was placed into service on July 7, 2019. Construction work on the corridor between Bayview Junction and West Harbour Station commenced on August 7, 2019.
[/QUOTE]

 

[crs1026]

I took a close look at the Capital Projects Report that is going to the next ML Board meeting.

The good news is, ML has provided a little more detail about its budgets and progress on GO Expansion. This consists of a restatement of project budgets to a baseline in 2019 dollars, and current spend to date on each major area.

The less good news is, the data is a little less granular. There is no longer a detailed breakdown of budget for each GO line. And, the target completion dates have been removed.

Overall, this is helpful in understanding where GO Expansion sits relative to total scope. It's now a $28.2B baseline versus the last Board Meeting's Capital Projects Report showing about $16.46B using dollars from several past years. Spending to date is about $4.7B.... a lot of cash spent, but much more remains to be funded. We do know a little more about some expansion plans than we did last meeting, thanks to work having been awarded for the Barrie line and some rough confirmation that Kitchener line upgrades are in design stage. So certainly there is confidence that some of the remaining $23.5B is more than a vague promise.

There are five fiscal cycles between now and the end of FY 2024, which actually ends in spring 2025. So from now to the end of FY2024, ML would have to spend about $4.7B on GO alone every year to complete its expansion program by the original deadline. That's above the significant amounts being spent on LRT, and does not yet include spending on the Ontario Line. Funding is not infinite....I will be surprised if we see GO getting more than a couple $B per year.... at that rate, the Expansion program will take another 11 years. If you are thinking of questions for the next ML town hall, keeping the pressure on to declare (and not rewrite history of previous declared) target dates would be a good theme. As would, fessing up over whatever parts will slide beyond 2025....ML probably already knows which ones must wait the longest.

The very good news is, there is every reason to expect that a certain amount of money is flowing and work is getting advanced. Happily, it will all be accessible.....some of us may be bringing walkers for the first runs in those out years.

- Paul

 

[Allandale25]

^ Helpful analysis, Paul. Thanks.

 

[Allandale25]

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[Allandale25]

Via @crs1026, he posted Table 1 from the Capital Projects Group Report. Below, for contrast, is the one from the

View attachment 202536

I took a close look at the Capital Projects Report that is going to the next ML Board meeting.

The good news is, ML has provided a little more detail about its budgets and progress on GO Expansion. This consists of a restatement of project budgets to a baseline in 2019 dollars, and current spend to date on each major area.

The less good news is, the data is a little less granular. There is no longer a detailed breakdown of budget for each GO line. And, the target completion dates have been removed.

Overall, this is helpful in understanding where GO Expansion sits relative to total scope. It's now a $28.2B baseline versus the last Board Meeting's Capital Projects Report showing about $16.46B using dollars from several past years. Spending to date is about $4.7B.... a lot of cash spent, but much more remains to be funded. We do know a little more about some expansion plans than we did last meeting, thanks to work having been awarded for the Barrie line and some rough confirmation that Kitchener line upgrades are in design stage. So certainly there is confidence that some of the remaining $23.5B is more than a vague promise.

There are five fiscal cycles between now and the end of FY 2024, which actually ends in spring 2025. So from now to the end of FY2024, ML would have to spend about $4.7B on GO alone every year to complete its expansion program by the original deadline. That's above the significant amounts being spent on LRT, and does not yet include spending on the Ontario Line. Funding is not infinite....I will be surprised if we see GO getting more than a couple $B per year.... at that rate, the Expansion program will take another 11 years. If you are thinking of questions for the next ML town hall, keeping the pressure on to declare (and not rewrite history of previous declared) target dates would be a good theme. As would, fessing up over whatever parts will slide beyond 2025....ML probably already knows which ones must wait the longest.

The very good news is, there is every reason to expect that a certain amount of money is flowing and work is getting advanced. Happily, it will all be accessible.....some of us may be bringing walkers for the first runs in those out years.

- Paul

View attachment 202536

And in case it's of interest, here's how the formatting changed (June 2019 on the right, September 2019 on left):

 

[raptor]

IO 2019 Market Update