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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

Well, I guess they were in willful denial that Queen's Park also intended to disrupt Metrolinx.
What's eating at me is Verster. UT had an excellent interview and feature on him back in February. Some of what is transpiring, he predicted. But not with the intent and gist he offered at that time. Verster has fermented in his stay at Metrolinx. And not into a tasty drink, by any means.
Union Station and GO RER: Metrolinx's Phil Verster ... - Urban Toronto

Some review:
Metrolinx appoints former head of Scottish rail firm as new CEO
By BEN SPURRTransportation Reporter
Thu., Aug. 24, 2017

Metrolinx’s next president and CEO is the former managing director of a Scottish rail firm who resigned amid controversy earlier this year.

The provincial transit agency announced Phil Verster’s appointment at a scheduled news conference at its offices in Union Station on Thursday afternoon, shortly after the Star revealed that he’d been given the post.
[...]
Metrolinx’s next president and CEO is the former managing director of a Scottish rail firm who resigned amid controversy earlier this year.

The provincial transit agency announced Phil Verster’s appointment at a scheduled news conference at its offices in Union Station on Thursday afternoon, shortly after the Star revealed that he’d been given the post.
[...]
Media reports from Britain and Ireland, where Verster has spent more than a decade in leadership roles at various rail agencies, describe him as a respected figure in the industry.
In 2015, he became managing director of ScotRail Alliance, the operator of Scotland’s passenger rail service. While there he oversaw a $3-billion electrification of the agency’s network.
In January, however, he resigned after just 18 months on the job. The BBC reported that he had been “facing intense pressure” for the agency’s “failure to meet punctuality and reliability targets.”
Two months before his resignation, Network Rail, which oversees rail operation in Britain, hired an outside agency to probe allegations that he had improperly accepted gifts and hospitality from contractors.
[...]
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/tr...irector-of-scottish-rail-firm-as-new-ceo.html

The brew is turning to vinegar...
 
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Well I`m certainly not surprised but there could be some benefits. private businesses sure won`t spend their money and limited station lands on Taj Mahal parking garages and then not even charge people for using them. They would either build them and charge then a daily rate or wouldn't even bother building them and instead built condos/apt for people who actually will use the service. A private sector builder would never engage in such wasteful spending.
 
^ Agreed, in principle. But the devil is in the details. Ontario Place might offer a glimpse into how this regime intends to "Serve The People".

"How to Serve Man" "It's a Cookbook!" Ahah... I get it!
 
Well I`m certainly not surprised but there could be some benefits. private businesses sure won`t spend their money and limited station lands on Taj Mahal parking garages and then not even charge people for using them. They would either build them and charge then a daily rate or wouldn't even bother building them and instead built condos/apt for people who actually will use the service. A private sector builder would never engage in such wasteful spending.

One would hope that the province would put provisions for X amount of parking.

In downtown Toronto, condo developers (in particular areas like Queen West) are required to put X amount of public parking below their condos, for example.
 
What is eating me is the world. And the expression "Government for the People"

I have half a mind to walk over to Queen's Park, and give them a little history in Demos and Kratos and tell them to excise the expression "for the people" from their vocabularies. I am just one very average joe, but I have never dealt with such peasants in my life. We have elected peasants and the system has no checks and balances to prevent more peasants from being nominated.

When I am done at Queen's Park, I hear there is a need at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
 
Please do. I cringe every time I see a news release with that horrid, stupid phrase.
All governments in democratic tradtions are of the people, by the people and for the people. If that sounds a little high and mighty this afternoon then we have not been taking our roles as citizens and electors and critics seriously enough.

And having said that - we are; in fact, there. Canada has lazy politicians compared to American. American politicians feel the heat. I think the heat should be turned up. If we all turned one post here into a note to a city councilor, MPP or MP. They should be feeling the heat.

Give it some serious thought folk.
 
One would hope that the province would put provisions for X amount of parking.

In downtown Toronto, condo developers (in particular areas like Queen West) are required to put X amount of public parking below their condos, for example.

Quite true but unlike Metrolinx garages they actually have to pay for their parking spot.
 
Quite true but unlike Metrolinx garages they actually have to pay for their parking spot.
This is an interesting point, and the Cons are already tying their shoelaces together...both feet to the same knot...by now looking to 'privatize' aspects of funding and building Metrolinx infrastructure (and ostensibly subway+ later): Private Enterprise won't be offering 'free parking'.

The very acts that the Cons will undertake will end up hurting their supporters more than helping. Sometimes the term "Useful Idiots" is more useful than first thought...

I recollect something from the Old Testament: "Don't let your Right hand know what your Right foot is doing". Pardon the translation, it was written in Aramaic and my recall isn't what it used to be...
 
In a Province
- where we have an electricity system that we have attempted to privatise at least twice, but then got cold feet and backed away.... heck even the current government is trying to remain only 50% privatised (there’s an old saying about trying to be half pregnant....)
- and where we have a glowing example of handing a major toll highway to a private monopoly, and then regretting the result...

I cannot see a full privatisation of any transit operation gaining any particular traction in this province. Insanity is repeating the same thing over and over, etc. We are likely entering a silly season where the government of the day will wriggle and squirm with a variety of proposals, each getting shot full of holes and forcing a trip back to the drawing board.... wasting huge amounts of time and consulting fees... and possibly causing the best of the senior people to get frustrated and move onto greener pastures.

I am fully behind the idea of the province merely owning the asset and employing contractors some form of franchise or contract to handle everything above the rail.... that model mostly works elsewhere. And I’m good with some form of AFP for building things that raises the capital without putting debt on the Province’s balance sheet. But what is coming out of ML sounds like a bunch of slick and unproven napkin ideas simply to avoid declaring that we are doing all of the above.

We need GO to keep building, full speed ahead. There is time to noodle on all the rest. Anything that slows down construction is wasting our time and tax dollars.

- Paul
 
Here's what piques the interest of the Ford station wagging. Trouble is, they haven't a clue as to the context necessary to 'make it go':
The Eagle P3 Commuter Rail Project is a FasTrack transit programme being undertaken in the Denver Metropolitan area. It includes three projects, namely the 36.7km-long East Corridor, 11.7km Gold Line Project and the 8.4km section of the Northwest Electrified Rail Segment (NWES). It also includes construction of a new commuter rail maintenance facility (CRMF).

The project is owned by Denver transit authority Regional Transportation District (RTD). It is estimated to require an investment of approximately $2.2bn. The ground-breaking ceremony took place in August 2010.

The project is being carried out under a public-private partnership (PPP), which is rare in the US. The six-year design-build-operate-maintain and finance contract was awarded to Denver Transit Partners (DTP) in June 2010.

DTP is led by Flour Enterprises and Macquarie Capital Group. The partnership also includes Denver Rail, Uberior Infrastructure Investments (a unit of Lloyd’s banking group) and Balfour Beatty.

Flour and Balfour Beatty each have a 50% share in the engineering, procurement and construction contract and a 33% share in the operations and maintenance. The other members are Ames Construction, Hyundai-Rotem, Alternative Concepts, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Interfleet Technology, Systra, Wabtec, PBS&J and HDR Global Design Consultants.

"The project is owned by Denver transit authority Regional Transportation District."
DTP will contribute $1.3bn towards the project. According to the contract, RTD will retain ownership of assets, and the project will be operated and maintained by the consortium for a 30-year concession period from the date of completion.[...]
https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/eaglepcommuterrailpr/

This was the first example to pop up from Googling, I was expecting more the Australian models, but whatever, this is a good example that *could* be copied.

But it would take an oversight and accountability, let alone wisdom on the part of QP to do this. In all fairness, the incompetence of Metrolinx predates the Ford regime. It's a poorly designed weapon likely to go off in the hands of a moron.

So in the absence of a provincial regime willing to put up the funding to do this right, either private enterprise and/or the Feds must step-up to produce a rail infrastructure which can be shared with the Province, the latter being a junior partner if not a lease holder on it. I can see this for the Relief Line, and perhaps an expanded Georgetown Corridor a la HFR for both. For the rest of the Metrolinx rail system? Oh boy...posters are worshipping over the latest tablets brought down from the hill with the multitudes of promises for the believers.

In light of the actions of the present regime, I'm finding it all beyond surreal, albeit Yurek has cracked a bit in the last few days. I'm sure his funding position hasn't changed (he has none), but someone has whispered an offer in his ear. One that offers redemption from worldly fetters...

Wednesday might prove interesting, but more than likely not.

As a quick footnote:
New analysis of the Montreal light rail project shows the public will be financing an even bigger part of the P3 project’s profits than originally expected.

La Presse has analyzed the Caisse’s most recent reports on ridership and fares, as well as the budgets of existing regional transit authorities. Working with two public transit experts, the newspaper predicts that the Caisse’s expected profit falls far short of what the light rail project will generate.

Using a rate of return of 10 per cent – a yield the Caisse has demanded elsewhere – the annual profit on the pension fund’s $3.1 billion investment would be about $300 million. But best estimates of the REM’s operating profit are only $66 million, leaving approximately $240 million unaccounted for.

The result: the public will be expected to make up the difference, likely in additional payments made by municipal and provincial governments, as well as riders. The Montreal Gazette is also reporting that the Caisse will charge the regional public transit authority a per-passenger fee, in addition to direct fares paid by riders.

Federal finance minister Bill Morneau has said the REM is “perfectly suited” for funding through the Liberal government’s infrastructure bank.

In reality, the project is a prime example of everything that can and will go wrong with having private finance control public infrastructure. Some proposals for an infrastructure bank could give private, for-profit investors – including pension funds – unheard of control over our public infrastructure.

The total project cost has risen to $5.9 billion, from an original estimate of $5.5 billion.

CUPE Quebec is part of the Trainsparence coalition opposing the REM.[...]
https://cupe.ca/montreal-p3-light-rail-new-analysis-shows-public-will-pay-private-profits

The irony is that the very same Caisse is held to much tighter terms in the Australian transit projects. It's not the model that's wrong for P3 in Canada. It's the *terms and implementation*! All the Cons can see is the glossy cover of the prospectus. There's too many big words to read inside.

Btw, in the cause of accuracy, the #407 is not a parallel example. It was built completely on the Province's dime, and only later *leased* to a private consortium. (For 99 years).

But the rationale for doing so was well-intentioned, the result obviously a failure.
[...]
The objective of this paper will be to illustrate how and to what degree the development and privatization of Highway 407 has met the government’s expectations for delivering infrastructure in a timely fashion, providing congestion relief and assisting in achieving sustainable transportation. This will be accomplished through a discussion of the tolling mechanism and congestion relief provisions in the contract between the government and Concessionaire 407 ETR, the required actions by 407 ETR to fulfill its obligations, and the role and performance of Highway 407 in the provincial network focusing on how sustainability is being achieved. Operational data will be analyzed to illustrate how Highway 407 contributes to the rationing of travel demand during peak hours as well. Additional discussion will be included on the transitway which has been protected within this corridor, as well as key issues on lessons learned from the 407 experience. In addition, private sector funding for highway expansion and upgrades enables the province to otherwise redirect highway funding towards public transit initiatives supporting more sustainable transportation.
[...]
http://conf.tac-atc.ca/english/resourcecentre/readingroom/conference/conf2008/docs/k2/ibrahim.pdf

Edit to Clarify: The #407 had private participation in the building of it, but it was only after completion that the lease for 99 years was let.
Both the initial construction of the highway and its subsequent expansions were completed ahead of schedule, a circumstance in part attributable to the involvement of the private sector and its efficiencies in the delivery process.
link above
 
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One would hope that the province would put provisions for X amount of parking.

In downtown Toronto, condo developers (in particular areas like Queen West) are required to put X amount of public parking below their condos, for example.

Yeah, it's absolutely ridiculous that they're required to do that. It goes against every principle of affordability, reducing traffic congestion, and improving sustainable mode share.

Toronto should go the way of Montreal and San Francisco and eliminated parking minimums citywide (or at least downtown.) Even Calgary has parking maximums downtown.

If the conservative government does nothing other than eliminate parking minimums, they'll have done more to shift mode share than the past decade of Liberal transit spending.
 
So I did a read-through of the new Business Case for "GO Expansion" last night, and there is a TON of new goodies and answers to many lingering questions we've had. I'll try to summarize them here, please other chime in because I am bound to miss things.

Firstly, GO Expansion seems to be the umbrella term now. RER is referenced, but its clear that the term "Rapid Rail" is being favoured.

The business case makes it clear that with this expansion, GO will turn a profit, and will not need government operations subsidies.

Also, it's clear that the core network in many cases will see frequencies greater than 15-mins in both the peak and off-peak. The inclusion of express services in the off peak on the LSW, Kitchener, and Barrie lines is nice too.

Peak Service:
  • On many lines, the peak frequency will be much more than every 15-mins
PEAK GO.png


Off-Peak Service:
  • LSW - Hourly all day service will run to Confederation GO, rather than Hamilton GO Centre as initially proposed. Aldershot gets 20-min service, and minimum 15-min service between Burlington and Union, with some stations like Oakville and Clarkson seeing 7 trains an hour. Express services will exist too.
  • Kitchener - 6 trains per hour on the core network to Bramalea, hourly trains on weekdays only to Mount Pleasant, with express service
  • Barrie - 15 min service on the core network to Aurora, and half-hourly semi-express service to Barrie. Some core stations will see 6 trains an hour with these two services.
  • Stoufville - 6 trains per hour on the core network to Unionville, half-hour service to Mount Joy. This mix means 8 trains per hour in the core network.
  • LSE - 15 min service

OFF PEAK GO.png


Some other fun maps:

GO NETWORK.png


GO Network plus RT.png
 

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