Hopkins123
Senior Member
With the mid-block stops eliminated of course, and preferrably in an elevated and/or trenched guideway.
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SmartTrack (Proposed)
- Thread starter aquateam
- Start date
With the mid-block stops eliminated of course, and preferrably in an elevated and/or trenched guideway.
dunkalunk
Senior Member
I'd even be OK with surface LRT if the stop spacing is wide enough. For suburban arterial LRT, 1km spacing is more than appropriate, 500m is overkill.
Now, what should the Eglinton LRT be extended from the airport to Renforth Gateway?
Since they'll be the same gauge (yes, the Flexity Swifts being delivered are standard gauge vehicles), my preference is to extend the UPX spur South to connect with it and run Eglinton LRVs on it all the way to the Kitchener Line to intersect with a High Speed Rail station around Highway 427.
Now, how low-floor LRVs are supposed to work with a high-level platform at Pearson without significant reconstruction? With the current Terminal 1 station layout, is a southern extension of UPX viaduct even physically possible, let alone financially reasonable? I have no idea. This could just be throwing more money at a sunk cost fallacy.
I guess having LRT extended to the airport would't be that bad of an option, but it might not be necessary given that most people coming from Toronto will be on RER and most people coming from Mississauga will already be on a bus. Maybe just have a free transfer at Renforth to a shuttle bus? Extend the LINK train? Convert the LINK to LRT?
(might be good to copy this discussion to the Eglinton Crosstown Thread)
...
Back on topic; low-floor or high-floor EMU vehicles for GO RER/SmartTrack? I like the idea of switching to high-floors, but GO's entire system is low-floor and would require some conversion. High-floors are better for tunnels, but are there even going to be that many station tunnels to begin with?
mdrejhon
Senior Member
An excellent question, worth beginning a new thread.
I just posted The Great Platform Height Debate.
http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showthread.php/21140-The-Great-Platform-Height-Debate?p=966045
SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
Potential SmartTrack update happening tomorrow 10 AM at Danforth GO. Minister of Transportation, Chair of the TTC, and President and CEO of Metrolinx will be there. Seems like a mixed group of important transit figures, so only assuming its SmartTrack-based. Link to Media Advisory: http://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2015/01/minister-to-make-public-transit-announcement-15.html
nfitz
Superstar
It's nothing to do with Smart Track (which is no where near ready for that type of high-level announcent). It's about GO-TTC Fare Integration.
See the post in the fare integration thread - urbantoronto.ca/forum/showthread.php/20248-Metrolinx-GTHA-Fare-Integration
mdrejhon
Senior Member
That said, there is also a strong incentive to give a SmartTrack status update. They're gong to slipstream some SmartTrack bone into this probable fare integration announcement. Toronto is hungry for SmartTrack updates, they're not going to avoid mentioning the word "SmartTrack".
At the guaranteed minimum, it's a roundabout style "...and that's why we're doing this now, the fare integration, we're helping to improve integration of all the TTC and Metrolinx services, especially the SmartTrack plan we're working on, operated by Metrolinx, will runs on the TTC fare system..."
At the guaranteed minimum, it's a roundabout style "...and that's why we're doing this now, the fare integration, we're helping to improve integration of all the TTC and Metrolinx services, especially the SmartTrack plan we're working on, operated by Metrolinx, will runs on the TTC fare system..."
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mdrejhon
Senior Member
@680News tweeted just now:
"Metrolinx will add 9 trains stopping at downtown stations in peak periods during pilot project; 6 in morning, 3 in afternoon"
(trying to get more context...)
"Metrolinx will add 9 trains stopping at downtown stations in peak periods during pilot project; 6 in morning, 3 in afternoon"
(trying to get more context...)
mdrejhon
Senior Member
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...ilot-project-launched-on-lakeshore-lines.html
It's an unlimited-rides TTC pass upgrade (+$60) for riding local GO trains, between Exhibition, Union, and Danforth.
Not a bad interim step before SmartTrack.
It's an unlimited-rides TTC pass upgrade (+$60) for riding local GO trains, between Exhibition, Union, and Danforth.
Not a bad interim step before SmartTrack.
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TOareaFan
Superstar
It is a poorly thought out, poorly priced and poorly executed plan that will have no impact....it also has its own thread
ehlow
Senior Member
Staff report for action on SmartTrack Work Plan (2015-2016)
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-74826.pdf
YES!! Still reading this, but that alone is an important thing to accomplish for integrating ST/GO and the subway.
Also:
I've been saying this all along. People for some reason seem to assume that ST will run trains exactly every 15 min all day. This includes that Globe & Mail story where they looked at the capacity of ST. 15 minutes is the minimum frequency promised! It's possible that it may run more frequently during peak hours.
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-74826.pdf
YES!! Still reading this, but that alone is an important thing to accomplish for integrating ST/GO and the subway.
Also:
I've been saying this all along. People for some reason seem to assume that ST will run trains exactly every 15 min all day. This includes that Globe & Mail story where they looked at the capacity of ST. 15 minutes is the minimum frequency promised! It's possible that it may run more frequently during peak hours.
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mdrejhon
Senior Member
This new SmartTrack PDF file of 24 pages is a big goldmine of information:
- SmartTrack is definitely considered a GO RER by Metrolinx
- Very clear acknowledgement of better TTC/Metrolinx interchanges
- Eglinton line "At least 3 stations" (suggestive of more)
- "better than 15 minutes" frequency
- Recycles 9 go stations
- Creates 5 TTC interchange stations (Kennedy, Danforth, Union, Bloor, Mt. Dennis)
- Adds 13 new stations (minimum)
- There will be a Queen Street station
We see timelines too:
• Phase 1: Setting the Stage (January 31- February 2, 2015)
• Phase 2: Choosing the Corridor (May 2015)
• Phase 3: Recommending the Alignment (September 2015)
• Phase 4: Transit Project Assessment Process (early 2016)
nfitz
Superstar
It's also possible it won't. It's also possible that it will never be built. It's also possible that we'll be invaded by Martians, who will trigger the next ice age. Some of these things are more possible than others.
I personally don't believe we'll ever see heavy rail operating every 15 minutes, let alone less than every 15 minutes, on Eglinton East from Mount Dennis to Renforth. The ridership projection for part of that alignment for the Eglinton LRT was less than 1,000 riders per hour.
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nfitz
Superstar
It does have some interesting stuff.
Here's my favourite quote. "The SmartTrack proposal is likely to have some impact on the Relief Line ridership and catchment areas, although the two services appear to serve somewhat different markets. This relationship will be studied further. Planning for the Relief Line will continue, however SmartTrack may delay the timing of the Relief Line.".
So they seem to have figured out the very obvious fact that SmartTrack won't relieve Bloor-Yonge station. And yet they want to further relay the relief line. The province and York Region will love that.
On the subject of the Scarborough Subway Extension (SSE) they say that: "Both the SSE and Smart Track will provide enhanced travel options to Scarborough residents with improved connectivity through either the existing subway or GO rail network. These projects address potentially different travel patterns, and primary destination points, with the SSE serving more local trips and SmartTrack serving longer distance trips (e.g. Union Station, Markham)."
So basically John Tory isn't building SmartTrack for Toronto. He's building it for Markham. Well I guess York Region wins that one ...
With Tory already dropping hints he may not run for re-election (he'll be 64 for the next election - I'd think that Tory thinks that is retirement age), I have to think that they do a lot of studies, Metrolinx puts some spanners in the work to slow things down, and Tory leaves office with nothing built, and RER quietly continues along the present plan.
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ehlow
Senior Member
Is the nitpicking at my use of the word "possible" in a sarcastic way really necessary?
nfitz
Superstar
It's not the use of the word possible that I'm picking on. It's your attempt to convince everyone that every 15-minute service is really every 5-minute service.
I'd be extremely shocked if even 50 years from now we see heavy rail travelling between Renforth and Mount Dennis along Eglinton every 15 minutes. And I plan to be around to not see that ... barely.