Toronto Union Pearson Express | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | MMM Group Limited

RedRocket191 said:
The CP line is not going to be in the trench at all. However, it may be possible to build a connecting track where the CP line and the CN lines converge. It all depends on how far below grade the CN line is at that point. Don't forget it needs to come back up to cross over Weston Road.
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i know it's not going to be in the trench. where the GO tracks and CP tracks branch away from eachother, this is where the trench will start. it's a hard spot to connect the GO tracks to the CP tracks.

P.S, i've been trying to find the track drawings for the corridor. where the heck did they go?
 
What kind of trench exists there? All I can see from google satellite view is that there's nothing obviously in the way between the tracks at Weston Station. There seem to be several grade separations that imply that there shouldn't be a problem at all.
 
Prometheus The Supremo said:
i know it's not going to be in the trench. where the GO tracks and CP tracks branch away from eachother, this is where the trench will start. it's a hard spot to connect the GO tracks to the CP tracks.

P.S, i've been trying to find the track drawings for the corridor. where the heck did they go?
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Try one of the appendices of the Environmental Project Report, but those drawings are just for environmental assessment. The as-built could be different and certain elements might not be built initially or at all.

Markster said:
What kind of trench exists there? All I can see from google satellite view is that there's nothing obviously in the way between the tracks at Weston Station. There seem to be several grade separations that imply that there shouldn't be a problem at all.
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No trench currently exists. In the future, the tracks will descent into a tunnel just east of Weston Road and rise back up before crossing over Lawrence Avenue. This will allow most of the streets in Weston to stay open and will give the community some more recreational space.
 
http://newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2010/26/c8096.html

MOVING FORWARD ON A NEW AIR RAIL LINK BETWEEN TORONTO'S UNION STATION AND TORONTO PEARSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Request for qualifications issued for the Air Rail Link Spur ​
TORONTO, Nov. 26 /CNW/ - On behalf of Metrolinx, Infrastructure Ontario released a request for qualifications (RFQ) today to pre-qualify and short-list teams to design, build and finance a new three-kilometre rail spur for the Air Rail Link (ARL) and a new ARL passenger station at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The rail spur will branch off the Weston Subdivision (from the GO Georgetown South Corridor) and connect to Toronto Pearson International Airport at Terminal 1 (T1).
Beginning in 2015, in time for the Pan/Parapan American Games, the Air Rail Link will provide a premium passenger rail service between Canada's two busiest transportation hubs - Union Station and Toronto Pearson. The ARL will be owned and operated by Metrolinx.
Trains will depart to and from Union Station and Toronto Pearson every 15 minutes with stops at the Bloor and Weston GO stations. The service is expected to eliminate 1.2 million car trips in the first year of operation.
This premium rail service will make it quicker and easier for people to travel between the city's downtown core and its international gateway. The project will encourage economic growth for businesses and communities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) by creating jobs in design and construction, easing traffic congestion on our roads and reducing air pollution.
The RFQ, available at www.merx.com, is the first step in a competitive process to select a team to deliver the ARL rail spur and new T1 station. RFQ submissions will be evaluated by Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx. Together, they will pre-qualify and short-list project teams with design and construction experience, as well as the financial strength and capacity to deliver the project. Short-listed teams will be invited to respond to a request for proposal (RFP) in early 2011.
Metrolinx, the province's regional transportation agency for the GTHA, has been asked by the Government of Ontario to build, own and operate the new premium rail service from Union Station to Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Infrastructure Ontario is working with Metrolinx on procurement and delivery of the ARL spur line and T1 station components under Infrastructure Ontario's Alternative Financing and Procurement Model, which transfers risks associated with designing, constructing, and financing infrastructure projects to the private sector.
Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to delivering some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects - ensuring they are built on time and on budget. As well, it is dedicated to providing the public sector and not-for-profit organizations with long-term financing to renew their infrastructure.
Quotes:
"The Government of Ontario is making it more convenient for residents, businesses and travellers by creating a transit link between Toronto Pearson and Toronto's downtown core. This project will benefit our economy, our environment and our quality of life. "
Honourable Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Infrastructure
"Our government is committed to opening the Air Rail Link from Union Station to Toronto Pearson in time for the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games. The Air Rail Link will offer a quick and convenient transit option to reduce congestion, create jobs and boost Ontario's economy."
Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Transportation
"The Air Rail Link is a signature project for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area that will provide a great new transportation option between our nation's two busiest transportation hubs. Metrolinx has already begun the work to deliver this vital service to Toronto and the GTHA in time for the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games."
Bruce McCuaig, President and CEO, Metrolinx
"We are very pleased that this project continues to move closer to reality," said Lloyd McCoomb, President and CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. "We are eager to be able to connect Toronto Pearson to the downtown core and give our airport guests the ability to travel comfortably and reliably between the airport and Union Station. This is a critical piece of the transportation equation for our region, good for the environment and Ontario's global competitiveness."
Lloyd McCoomb, President and CEO, Greater Toronto Airports Authority
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So there ISNT going to be a EGLINTON stop???????????????
... Seems wrong considering Yonge and Eglinton is a pretty big hub and the EGLINTON LRT
 
They are roughing it in. The Eglinton LRT won't be there until 5 years later and the Weston community won a stop on the route at Lawrence. Likely they will prove no demand at Lawrence before moving it to Eglinton.
 
EnviroTO said:
They are roughing it in. The Eglinton LRT won't be there until 5 years later and the Weston community won a stop on the route at Lawrence. Likely they will prove no demand at Lawrence before moving it to Eglinton.
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100% correct, in the moving target that was the protests from Weston they moved to the "no local service" opposition shortly after their "your cutting our community in half" opposition was dealt with.

They won the stop...I suspect that after a year of being able to prove virtually no one is getting on/off the airport link at Weston, GO will win the the right to stop stopping there.
 
sixrings said:
So there ISNT going to be a EGLINTON stop???????????????
... Seems wrong considering Yonge and Eglinton is a pretty big hub and the EGLINTON LRT
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It is supposed to be an express link from Union to the Airport...it already has two stops in between (Bloor and Weston).....they have to do what they can to save the "Express" nature of the line.
 
I understand that the link needs to be more or less express. What I am questioning is the decision to have the one northern stop be at lawrence Versus Eglinton. If the stop was on Eglinton it would allow people to quickly travel via the Eglinton LRT to uptown toronto. Sure people could take a Lawrence Bus but 1. that bus gets stuck in traffic 2. That bus would take forever to get to Yonge. 3. Theres actually businesses at Yonge and Eglinton
 
sixrings said:
I understand that the link needs to be more or less express. What I am questioning is the decision to have the one northern stop be at lawrence Versus Eglinton. If the stop was on Eglinton it would allow people to quickly travel via the Eglinton LRT to uptown toronto. Sure people could take a Lawrence Bus but 1. that bus gets stuck in traffic 2. That bus would take forever to get to Yonge. 3. Theres actually businesses at Yonge and Eglinton
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There wasn't a community protest group trying to scuttle the whole project unless they got a stop at Eglinton!
 
If GO is committed to running a frequent local service (15 minutes or better) along the Georgetown corridor, then there is no reason why the express should have to stop in Weston at all (or Eglinton or ?Bloor for that matter). You could run local trains which stop at all stops to compliment the express service, much in the way Heathrow Connect compliments Heathrow Express. (this point as likely been made multiple times already)

Do we know if GO/Metrolinx is planning on doing an update on what SNC Lavalin's plan, or will it remain largely the same?
 
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dunkalunk said:
If GO is committed to running a frequent local service (15 minutes or better) along the Georgetown corridor, then there is no reason why the express should have to stop in Weston at all (or Eglinton or ?Bloor for that matter). You could run local trains which stop at all stops to compliment the express service, much in the way Heathrow Connect compliments Heathrow Express. (this point as likely been made multiple times already)

Do we know if GO/Metrolinx is planning on doing an update on what SNC Lavalin's plan, or will it remain largely the same?
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I think, in order to give it a chance to be up and running by the Pan Am games in 2015, GO has basically taken the SNC plan and is running with that.

I think the only problem with selling frequent GO as an alternative to stopping the Airport Link at Weston and/or Eglinton is that there is no link between the frequent GO and the airport. GO can/will get you to, say, Malton but there is no way other than walking or taxi to get into the airport from there.
 
It seems so silly that GO has picked this arbitrary number of 30 minute off-peak frequencies when every study on the subject has shown that the big surges in ridership usefulness happen at 15 to 20 minute frequencies.

As I think I've said in another post, one of the biggest problems is that GO/Metrolinx isn't looking at this with the end goal in mind. You have one study on track requirements, a study on equipment, a study on electrification, a study on fare structure, and a study on station requirements. Instead, GO/Metrolinx should be designing a single, unified concept of a regional rail service with 15 minute or better frequencies all day fully integrated with local transit. Every project should be geared to rolling out this service concept.

Not to mention the fact that they could save billions on track construction and expropriation if they hired SNCF, DB, or JR to design a signalling system for them. It's ridiculous that they need up to eight tracks to deliver 15 minute peak frequencies on the Weston corridor.
 
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unimaginative2 said:
As I think I've said in another post, one of the biggest problems is that GO/Metrolinx isn't looking at this with the end goal in mind.
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I think the problem is more severe than that. I think the end goal is really to have an airport rail link which doesn't impact GO service. No thought into a GTA wide system of routes tying together, no thoughts on the province wide network, and no target to convert a certain number of people that currently arrive at the airport in taxis or cars into transit users. Simply a goal of connect big downtown to airport and don't mess up other stuff.
 
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