The second RFQ set to be announced Tuesday will be for designing, building, and financing the southern portion of the Ontario Line, from Exhibition Place to the Don Yard west of the Don River, including seven stations and a six-kilometre tunnel.
The third RFQ will be for the northern portion of the line, from Gerrard to the Ontario Science Centre, including seven stations, a three-kilometre tunnel, and associated bridges and elevated guideways. Although the province doesn’t plan to release the RFQ for this stage until early 2022, the contract would end at the same time as the earlier two phases, “allowing the Ontario Line to open as one,” according to the fact sheet.
Segments of the Ontario Line that run through GO corridors will be procured separately. Preliminary designs for the project show a portion running through the Lakeshore East GO corridor, from a point west of the Don River to Gerrard. The province expects the work in GO corridors to begin before the other three packages.
Is there a possibility that the Ontario Line might use the Don yard as the MSF?
The government has broken the Ontario Line up into two phases:
Phase One: Exhibition to Don River
Phase Two: Don River to Science Centre.
Phase One would function essentially as a GO RER relief line, taking pressure off Union Station, which appears to be Metrolinx's primary objective of the Ontario Line. Phase two, the Yonge relief portion, will likely be deferred indefinitely, as the RFQ for that portion isn't "planned" to go forward until 2022 (we've all seen the "phase two" song and dance before)
Phase 2 couldn't really be deferred, as if they are going for different vehicles than the TTC, then they will require a new yard, and that's planned for an industrial property in the Leaside/Thorncliff area. Even if they somehow struck a deal to take over Greenwood, they'd need to pay for TTC's western yard, and get it online before this openned, AND they'd have to extend the work past to Phase 1 boundary up the corridor.
The government has broken the Ontario Line up into two phases:
Phase One: Exhibition to Don River
Phase Two: Don River to Science Centre.
Phase One would function essentially as a GO RER relief line, taking pressure off Union Station, which appears to be Metrolinx's primary objective of the Ontario Line. Phase two, the Yonge relief portion, will likely be deferred indefinitely, as the RFQ for that portion isn't "planned" to go forward until 2022 (we've all seen the "phase two" song and dance before)
Phase 2 couldn't really be deferred, as if they are going for different vehicles than the TTC, then they will require a new yard, and that's planned for an industrial property in the Leaside/Thorncliff area. Even if they somehow struck a deal to take over Greenwood, they'd need to pay for TTC's western yard, and get it online before this openned, AND they'd have to extend the work past to Phase 1 boundary up the corridor.
It was suggested above that GO Don Yard could be used to accommodate the Ontario Line. Not sure about the technical feasibility, but there appears to be more than enough room to accommodate that, especially if the rolling stock requirements are reduced due to a truncated line
I'm a bit surprised that they still haven't released any MSF details with the RFQ for Phase One going forward. To date, all we know is that they were looking at the Leaside area (and the feasibility/affordability of a MSF in that area was in question). Wonder what the holdup is.
Actually, taking a second look at the RFQ, the first RFQ for "Rolling Stock, Systems, Operations and Maintenance (RSSOM)" does include the Maintenance and Storage Facilities.
The contract for RSSOM includes, "Design, build, operate and maintain the Operations, Maintenance and Storage Facility (where the vehicles are stored); the Operations Control Centre (where staff control train operations and are connected to TTC and GO Transit systems); and the Backup Operations Control Centre"
Requests-for-Qualifications-Issued-for-Ontario-Line
The IO website doesn't actually define where the MSF is supposed to be located, however. If those details aren't in the full RFQ, I suppose it's up to the contractor to define the MSF location.
Good find. At the time I wrote my piece, the RFQ wasn't online; I was going solely on the Ben Spurr article.
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Of course without an identified, acquired/optioned site for the MSF, one can't cost the connection from said facility to the line itself.
Assuming you have competitive bidders; do they all get to 'option' the same site?
That's assuming its do-able w/o expropriation.
Land acquisition is not something typically transferred to the private sector, so Metrolinx would expropriate and identify the MSF first. The contractor would optimize the design within the site.
There's no phase 1 or 2, it's all going to occur at the same time, just broken into separate contracts.The government has broken the Ontario Line up into two phases:
Phase One: Exhibition to Don River
Phase Two: Don River to Science Centre.
Phase One would function essentially as a GO RER relief line, taking pressure off Union Station, which appears to be Metrolinx's primary objective of the Ontario Line. Phase two, the Yonge relief portion, will likely be deferred indefinitely, as the RFQ for that portion isn't "planned" to go forward until 2022 (we've all seen the "phase two" song and dance before)