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GO Transit: Construction Projects (Metrolinx, various)

crs1026 said:
^A pretty good summary of where GO Expansion is at.

Sure looks like SmartTrack has been dropped by the roadside, some miles back down the road.

- Paul
Click to expand...
I feel like SmartTrack has been permanently replaced by GO Expansion. GO Expansion basically does everything SmartTrack was supposed to, making that service redundant.
 
ARG1 said:
GO Expansion basically does everything SmartTrack was supposed to, making that service redundant.
Click to expand...

Not so. Plans for stations (St Clair, Bloor-Davenport, Liberty Village, Donlands, Lawrence) have vanished.

Only the Eglinton West portion is being actioned, having morphed from the original Tory heavy rail proposal into a LRT and thence into a subway.

I'm not complaining, but I am pointing out the discrepancy between the platform Tory ran on and the result that has been accomplished.

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
^A pretty good summary of where GO Expansion is at.

Sure looks like SmartTrack has been dropped by the roadside, some miles back down the road.

- Paul
Click to expand...

Very helpful. Easier to navigate than the Metrolinx Engage page. Just wish timelines would have been added (even approximations) for the list of items in the appendix.
 
crs1026 said:
Not so. Plans for stations (St Clair, Bloor-Davenport, Liberty Village, Donlands, Lawrence) have vanished.

Only the Eglinton West portion is being actioned, having morphed from the original Tory heavy rail proposal into a LRT and thence into a subway.

I'm not complaining, but I am pointing out the discrepancy between the platform Tory ran on and the result that has been accomplished.

- Paul
Click to expand...
I feel like most of those stations are still in works, and will probably be built after most of the transit infrastructure has been built.
 
ARG1 said:
I feel like SmartTrack has been permanently replaced by GO Expansion. GO Expansion basically does everything SmartTrack was supposed to, making that service redundant.
Click to expand...

crs1026 said:
Not so. Plans for stations (St Clair, Bloor-Davenport, Liberty Village, Donlands, Lawrence) have vanished.

Only the Eglinton West portion is being actioned, having morphed from the original Tory heavy rail proposal into a LRT and thence into a subway.

I'm not complaining, but I am pointing out the discrepancy between the platform Tory ran on and the result that has been accomplished.

- Paul
Click to expand...

Also, there's the electrification/frequency portion. SmartTrack also had electrification aka piggybacked off of GO's electrification, but there's been some debate/discussion/change on the frequencies between what Tory suggested for frequencies and what I believe is now proposed under GO Expansion. Also, the RFP won't be awarded until 2021...so that's when the final numbers will be known. Steve Munro has covered this extensively.
 
Allandale25 said:
Also, there's the electrification/frequency portion. SmartTrack also had electrification aka piggybacked off of GO's electrification, but there's been some debate/discussion/change on the frequencies between what Tory suggested for frequencies and what I believe is now proposed under GO Expansion. Also, the RFP won't be awarded until 2021...so that's when the final numbers will be known. Steve Munro has covered this extensively.
Click to expand...
Besides infrastructure constructions the other piece of SmartTrack is fare and service integration with the TTC system. This is nowhere to be seen...
 
hw621 said:
Besides infrastructure constructions the other piece of SmartTrack is fare and service integration with the TTC system. This is nowhere to be seen...
Click to expand...
I don't think we need a brand new service for that though. Toronto is way behind in proper fare integration with the TTC and GO, and pushing forward on some deal is way smarter than building extra platforms for an ultimately redundant service.
 
crs1026 said:
Not so. Plans for stations (St Clair, Bloor-Davenport, Liberty Village, Donlands, Lawrence) have vanished.

Only the Eglinton West portion is being actioned, having morphed from the original Tory heavy rail proposal into a LRT and thence into a subway.

I'm not complaining, but I am pointing out the discrepancy between the platform Tory ran on and the result that has been accomplished.

- Paul
Click to expand...

Damn, that was the only part of Smarttrack I really felt had any merit. Its a real shame if these stations dont get built. (minus Lawrence, as the new subway plans make it redundant, as well as Gerrard, because of the Ontario Line)

Oh also you forgot Finch East station on the Stouffville line.

Bloor/Danforth was part of the Davenport project by Metrolinx, on the Barrie Line. It was a sort of bone thrown to the people of that area (we will build this huge bridge, but here, have a station!)

I would really still like to see

St.Clair
Liberty
Donlands
Finch

stations built out as part of GO Expansion as they had some serious merit. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!
 
robmausser said:
Damn, that was the only part of Smarttrack I really felt had any merit. Its a real shame if these stations dont get built. (minus Lawrence, as the new subway plans make it redundant, as well as Gerrard, because of the Ontario Line)

Oh also you forgot Finch East station on the Stouffville line.

Bloor/Danforth was part of the Davenport project by Metrolinx, on the Barrie Line. It was a sort of bone thrown to the people of that area (we will build this huge bridge, but here, have a station!)

I would really still like to see

St.Clair
Liberty
Donlands
Finch

stations built out as part of GO Expansion as they had some serious merit. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!
Click to expand...
Thing is, I can't really say they've completely vanished. Recently Metrolinx revamped their projects website, which included a brand new image for their 10 year transit plan for Toronto, and many of these stations are still on it. http://www.metrolinx.com/images/greaterregion/regions/toronto/Toronto-Region-Map.pdf
 
robmausser said:
Damn, that was the only part of Smarttrack I really felt had any merit. Its a real shame if these stations dont get built. (minus Lawrence, as the new subway plans make it redundant, as well as Gerrard, because of the Ontario Line)

Oh also you forgot Finch East station on the Stouffville line.

Bloor/Danforth was part of the Davenport project by Metrolinx, on the Barrie Line. It was a sort of bone thrown to the people of that area (we will build this huge bridge, but here, have a station!)

I would really still like to see

St.Clair
Liberty
Donlands
Finch

stations built out as part of GO Expansion as they had some serious merit. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!
Click to expand...

In August 2019 the 6 Smartrack stations had $585 million federal funding committed to them. They are separate from GO Expansion (the province isn't involved) so wouldn't appear on the Metrolinx GO Expansion ea/tenders. East Harbour has kinda been taken over by the province due to the Ontario Line integration.

Service levels will be whatever GO decides to run. The city won't have a say unless the city kicks in an operating subsidy.

toronto.ctvnews.ca

SmartTrack still the smart plan, maintains mayor, as feds confirm funding for six stations

Toronto’s mayor says there is no reason why six new SmartTrack stations won’t be under construction as soon as next year, and that the “surface subway” line he campaigned on will be in service soon after that.
toronto.ctvnews.ca toronto.ctvnews.ca

The station list still exists for the city as of May 2020.

 
Last edited:
Northern Light said:
GO Expansion deal is headed to the next Executive Ctte meeting on September 23.


Includes cost-sharing deals for 10 grade separation projects:

The following five grade separations will be cost-shared per terms agreed to by Council as part of 2016.EX19.1 and agreed to in the Agreement in Principle:

- Steeles Avenue East (Stouffville GO Corridor)
- Finch Avenue East (Stouffville GO Corridor)
- Scarborough Golf Club Road (Lakeshore East GO Corridor)
- Galloway Road (Lakeshore East GO Corridor)
- Morningside Drive (Lakeshore East GO Corridor)


The City and Metrolinx have also reached agreement on a cost-sharing arrangement for the following five additional grade separations based on Canada Transportation Agency guidelines:

- Passmore Avenue (Stouffville GO Corridor)
- McNicoll Avenue (Stouffville GO Corridor)
- Huntingwood Road (Stouffville GO Corridor)
- Danforth Road / Midland Avenue (Stouffville GO Corridor)
- Progress Avenue (Stouffville GO Corridor)
Click to expand...
It's nice to see Finch being grade separated.
 
It seems like the kitchener line might finish its 15 minute rer first, as barrie and stouffville hasnt even gone through 40% of the progress yet
 
Wasn't sure if this should go in GO Service or GO Construction, but since it mentions geotechnical I'll add it here.

What’s going on with the GO Train expansion to Oshawa and Clarington?

How work to bring GO train from Oshawa to Clarington is progressing in the pandemic

NEWS Sep 17, 2020 by Jennifer O'Meara Clarington This Week

Without a lot of horn-tooting, it’s hard to tell how much work is progressing during the COVID-19 pandemic on the GO train eastern expansion through downtown Oshawa and into Clarington.

Jim McEwen, a retired Civil Engineer from Bowmanville with over 32 years of infrastructure design experience, said COVID-19 has made it impossible to hold public consultations at Information Centres and he’s very concerned the economic impact of the pandemic might lead the Province to defund or delay the project.

“The citizens of Clarington and central Oshawa have been waiting far too long for this essential infrastructure in Durham Region,” McEwen said via email. “I would like to see the Ontario government and Metrolinx provide a commitment to bring the GO Train to Bowmanville by the year 2025.”

He said he wants to see Metrolinx’s preliminary design for eastern GO Train expansion along the new Option 2 route, announced in February. The route will extend through the current Oshawa GO station connecting to the Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway’s General Motors spur line to cross Highway 401 and connect to the CP rail line north of the 401. There would be four new GO stations at Thornton’s Corners East, Ritson Road (the old Knob Hill Farms), Courtice and Bowmanville.

Since the route announcement and approval in February, public updates have been infrequent to non-existent. However, work on the GO train eastern expansion seems to still be chugging along.

Metrolinx is currently working on an update of their environmental assessment because of changes in their alignment in Oshawa, explained Clarington Manager of Community Planning and Design Carlos Salazar.

Work is also progressing on the preliminary design business case, explained Durham Member of Provincial Parliament Lindsey Park.

“We’re eagerly awaiting that because that’s required to be finished before Metrolinx submits the project to the Ministry of Transportation and Ontario Treasury Board for approval,” said Park.

She added her understanding is Metrolinx was able to work remotely and the pandemic did not much delay the eastern expansion project.

Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney confirmed that although the pandemic has had a great impact, it hasn’t stopped the province from moving forward with some of its important projects.

“As you know, Metrolinx has been working closely with Durham Region on the details of the Bowmanville GO extension and so it’s still proceeding as we intended before the pandemic,” Minister Mulroney said. “It is continuing as planned and we’ll have more to say about that in the future.”

Park confirmed there had been recent meetings between the Ministry of Transportation and Durham Region and local mayors.

“We’re not worried,” said Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster. “I think it’s moving ahead.”

He said to keep residents’ faith the GO train is coming east, there will need to be contracts signed and shovels in the ground before the next provincial election.

“This has been promised for decades,” said Mayor Foster. “It’s time to move forward.

Mayor Foster added local Mayors and the Region of Durham have a meeting with the president of Metrolinx scheduled for later this fall. He said there would likely be more public information on how the project is progressing after that meeting.

Metrolinx did not respond to requests for an update or interview. However, a recent pamphlet from Metrolinx was mailed out to residents near the future train stations.

This September investigative work is beginning along the rail line, according to the mail-out. Along the CP-owned corridor there will be geotechnical investigative work underway. The geotechnical work is necessary preliminary works in advance of Bowmanville Expansion construction.

The geotechnical work means drilling boreholes and testing soil conditions for the future construction of corridor infrastructure. Residents may see a small drill rig, trucks and work crew working within or near the rail corridor. There may be construction noise, vibration and dust. This work will take place during the daytime hours for several months.

While Metrolinx does the geotechnical work, Clarington, Oshawa and the Region of Durham have been working to plan transit-oriented neighbourhoods around the future train stations.

“The development community and property owners around the station are really enthusiastic about planning the area around the stations,” said Salazar.

Soon, Clarington residents will have a chance to help plan the neighbourhoods around the future train stations:

— Future Courtice station is part of the Courtice secondary plan public information centre on Tuesday, Sept. 29 beginning at 7 p.m. by phone (905-623-3379) or online at www.clarington.net/CourticePIC.

— Future Bowmanville station is part of the Bowmanville west secondary plan public information on Thursday, Oct. 1 starting at 7 p.m. by phone (905-623-3379) or online at www.clarington.net/BowmanvilleWestPIC.

“That’s part of our community engagement to ensure we have ideas from the public,” said Salazar. “We hope by that date we have more details from Metrolinx.”

— with files from Tim Kelly.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Since the announcement of the GO train route through downtown Oshawa and into Clarington this February, there has been very little public information on how the expansion is progressing. Your Community Newspaper found a lot of planning work is going on behind the scenes and the public will soon have a chance to help plan some of the neighbourhoods around the new stations.

Jennifer O'Meara
by Jennifer O'Meara
Jennifer O’Meara is a reporter for Metroland Media Group’s Durham Region Division. She can be reached at jomeara@durhamregion.com . Follow her on Twitter and DurhamRegion.com on Facebook
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