innsertnamehere
Superstar
the first phase of the DRL can be absorbed by another expansion at the Wilson yard IIRC. I think people forget about the ridiculously huge amount of space that Wilson has to expand.
Another benefit of committing to the DRL long version is that there are sites around Thorncliffe Park that could work well for a subway yard, including in the hydro corridor to the south of the CP tracks as well as the light industrial area to the north of the tracks.
A DRL where only the section south of Danforth was built would face challenges for finding a good yard site.
(Of course, the DRL long could still be built in phases. It's just that the phase containing the yard needs to be built first.)
The Relief Line would face the exact same problem Yonge has in regards to distance from the yard, assuming the RL is served by Wilson. The situation would be made worse in the likely scenario that there is no direct rail connection between Line 1 and the DRL (the track geometry and nearby buildings may make a connection expensive or impossible).
Perhaps this is an argument for that other relief line.
AoD
I'm an advocate of Sheppard East extension to the Spadina Line. A strong transit network needs contingency and it needs connectivity. It also makes the useless stub of the line into something worthwhile. The economics might not justify it on its own but sometimes when planning transit there is more important things like providing opening new and different transit and commuting options to passengers.The Sheppard East extension to Spadina Line, aka North York Relief Line. If you are building DRL long to Sheppard, you would be able to use it to feed the DRL. Don't know if the economics would work necessarily, but if a new, dedicated yard prove costly it might be a desirable option.
AoD
However, I am unsure if it would aid with relief too much necessarily. Wouldn't more people transfer from the Spadina line to Yonge than would Sheppard passengers choosing to bypass Yonge for Spadina?
Let's say I am coming downtown (i.e. King) from Vaughan, or York U. Would I stay on Spadina for a continuous ride downtown, or would I get off at Downsview and transfer to Sheppard, then get off Sheppard and transfer to Yonge, then take the Yonge line downtown.
- 0 transfers vs. 2.
- a seat on Spadina train vs. squeezing onto a packed Yonge train.
I know which one I would choose.
Steve Munro has reported that they're already having issues getting trains out of Wilson in the morning on schedule. Further expansion seems to be a non-starter.
Hence why the Yonge North extension is supposed to include a supplementary yard in Thornhill.
Given that it's about $50 million per kilometre of subway tunnel (not including power, track, etc), and $200 million per subway station, with only 4 km of track needed, the cheapest option would be for non-revenue track from the current end of non-revenue track at Welback to Downsview.Or expand the Sheppard line west to Downsview and the Wilson Yard.
Though I'd think the more likely scenario is that the DRL would have a connection into Greenwood Yard, and that there'd be an additional yard constructed on the Bloor-Danforth line.