Sunnyside
Active Member
Ah, ok. Would there be any indication of rolling stock? Or is that for later when contracts are issued?
Hamilton Hamilton Line B LRT | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx
- Thread starter Kiwi
- Start date
innsertnamehere
Superstar
later when the winning bidder is selected, usually.
drum118
Superstar
It will be the same Alstom equipment for Line 5 and Hurontario along with the same colour. Number of car may decrease based on Alstom car length. Got to keep Brampton up and running.
NoahB
Active Member
Line 6 Finch West will use Alstom Citadis Spirit.
Line 5 Eglinton uses
Hurontario will use Alstom Citadis Spirit.
drum118
Superstar
Typo on my part for line 6, but did say keeping Brampton up and running since that where line 6, Mississauga LRV's are coming from and well Hamilton.
Sunnyside
Active Member
It would seem in that case that Metrolinx is trying to have a continuous LRT pipeline for the foreseeable future, creating industry knowledge and consistent manufacturing/construction jobs along the way. Not a bad idea at all if the case.
Since there’s little discussion on this project in general, I’ll say something that’s crossed my mind recently. Would it be possible that akin to the Crosstown, any extensions/spurs are begun shortly after the initial line? There are a variety of short extensions planned/once planned here; Dundas and Stoney Creek extensions are in the city OP. The James st spur to WH could be on the table again given the ambiguity of the A Line. Terminating at Confederation GO could/should also be the on the table, being Doug’s only Hamilton pet project, grants the B Line a direct GO connection, and appears as such inThe Big Move (although that’s not much to go off of). In any case, we are talking about only 2-6km of additional track at grade.
spaghettisam
New Member
Would these short extensions branching off the line be a part of the mainline? Or would they separate shuttle services (basically) adjacent to the main line? I imagine that the shuttle would not only promote the A-Line but also not delay any trips on the B-line. Thoughts?
innsertnamehere
Superstar
I don't see extensions being a priority in the immediate term. The eastern and western extension of the planned LRT would be pretty low ridership additions and honestly make more sense as bus connections anyway.
The next-best corridor for LRT is James up the mountain, which will be a hugely expensive line as you'll have to tunnel up the escarpment most likely. I would love to see a connection from West Harbour up to Mohawk College then to Limeridge as the next LRT phase, but that's going to be a long ways off still.
The next-best corridor for LRT is James up the mountain, which will be a hugely expensive line as you'll have to tunnel up the escarpment most likely. I would love to see a connection from West Harbour up to Mohawk College then to Limeridge as the next LRT phase, but that's going to be a long ways off still.
Sunnyside
Active Member
I think the extension makes sense into Dundas given it's a moderately dense area and is fairly short. Stoney Creek is less so as it's just more mid-century sprawl with no clear anchor. Worth factoring in is the notion of 'deservingness' on a smaller scale akin to what happens in Toronto (Scarborough deserves X, Etobicoke deserves Y). Dundas is one of these post-amalgamation communities with a long history and sense of identity, which might pull some weight in getting the LRT there. It also might help sort out the mess of buses in Dundas.
The A Line has gone through various iterations and is always thrown back and forth on what it will be. The now-scrapped branch would've just gone from King to West Harbour via James st, which would be fairly limited in its utility but would have set in stone the decision to use LRT instead of BRT. I don't prefer the latter because I don't see it bringing the development needed to Upper James, is less attractive to potential riders generally, and (imo) wouldn't be enough capacity by the time we actually get around to building it. There are a variety of key ridership nodes along its length justifying higher-order connections, more than the B Line I'd argue. An LRT would also bring rail access to the mountain again after nearly a century of no such service.
There are two options for an A Line LRT; either travel at-grade up the mountain via Wellington/Claremont access (already studied), or tunnel it from James to Mohawk College and continue at-grade from Fennell to Upper James all the way to YHM. Using Wellington misses much of the potential trip generators along James st, while tunnelling would be cost-prohibitive. At that point, it is worth at least considering grade-separating more of the line, which is fantastical, but was at one point proposed as part of an ICTS system to Limeridge from a downtown loop. Given its ambiguous inclusion again in the GGH 2051 plan, I do think LRT will be considered but pushed very far down the timeline, unfortunately.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
I agree that a grade-separated solution for the mountain may be the best option, though also the most expensive. Tunnel it from West Harbour through Downtown and up to Mohawk, then elevated up Upper James or West 5th to the Linc and along the Linc median to Limeridge would be the best bet, IMO.
Likely in the tune of $3-4 billion for that at todays construction costs.. but the Hamilton LRT is a $3.4 billion project, so it's not completely crazy.
Likely in the tune of $3-4 billion for that at todays construction costs.. but the Hamilton LRT is a $3.4 billion project, so it's not completely crazy.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
In Toronto, they are redeveloping shopping malls for high density, mixed-use. The parking lots are being replaced with buildings, parks, schools, recreation facilities, and offices. We can expect to see same in Hamilton and other cities and regions. It maybe low density now, but could get replaced with higher density, IF the city councils allow it.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
Hamiltons two main malls already have intensification schemes of some sort.
Eastgate Square Redevelopment | UrbanToronto
Eastgate Square Redevelopment, Toronto by 1, BDP Quadrangle
Lime Ridge Mall Intensification (Phase 1) | UrbanToronto
Lime Ridge Mall Intensification (Phase 1), Toronto by 1, WZMH Architects
Sunnyside
Active Member
It is not that crazy. Not to mention you could also go elevated along upper James to the airport. Past Twenty road you could likely run it at grade with crossings if you really want to save costs, too, given it’s just fields right now.
I really like the idea of the A Line also being to a regional connector rather than just purely a local service, given the distance between key nodes. Almost every destination has out-of-city appeal, like Mohawk College and Limeridge. I can see a lot of appeal to use YHM if you can just get off at West Harbour and take a fast train to the airport. Last but not least, it also intercepts every line in the BLAST network.
Sunnyside
Active Member
Andddd crossposting the actual news of the day:
SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
Friendly reminder - the old Hamilton LRT contract had the winning consortium picking and delivering the rolling stock. That could obviously change in HLRT 2.0, and politically I do see a reason to keep Brampton Alstom running. But we shall see.