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

[saveyorksouthweston]

The tracks were there first, so Weston reisdents should shut up.

Not true.
This will answer your comment:

The first European settlement in the Weston area took place in the 1790s, when a saw mill was built on an old native trading path along the west side of the Humber River, named after the well-known Humber estuary in Yorkshire, England. In 1815 James Farr, a prominent local mill owner, named the growing settlement "Weston" after his birthplace, Weston, Hertfordshire. Weston initially developed along both sides of the river until a disastrous flood in 1850 destroyed the west bank settlement.[4] The former west bank settlement is now the site of the Weston Golf and Country Club.[5] Improvements to the Main Street, now Weston Road, and the 1856 arrival of the Grand Trunk Railway brought growth on the east side.[4] On October 5, 1869, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn attended the sod turning ceremony for the construction of the Toronto Grey and Bruce Railway. The spade which he used for the event is kept in the public library.

....wilkpedia....

 

[saveyorksouthweston]

Question:

If there were no Air Rail link and we just had 4 GO Trains per hour which everyone could use then would the community still be opposed? I will base my opinion on your answer to this question.

NO! From what I understand, Weston residents want the GO Train since it services Weston and other communities. It has been a part of Weston since the beginning.
The problem is the ARL will pass every 15 mintues in both direction. At $20 per ride, do they really think Weston residents will take it? Its use of old diesel bud cars is ridiculous considering we are in the 21st century.
The ARL has been a PR disaster from the beginning and should be sent back to the drawing board, which proper planners planning the link.
Then they are adding the Bolton Line.
Plus added frieght trains, VIA trains and the potential for the highspeed link from Toronto to Montreal to be built using this corridor.
Its not just about today, its about the future as well.

Electrifiy the line!

 

[unimaginative2]

If we're going to bury any rail corridor in the city, it should be the one behind Union Station. I completely support electrifying the tracks for various environmental and operation reasons, but what possible benefit would putting the tracks in a tunnel through Weston serve for the multi-billion dollar expenditure, other than perhaps providing a windfall to a handful of property owners. I don't even believe that the rail corridor significantly depresses property values. The Weston community group produced some valuable changes, but now it seems to have become self-perpetuating. The streets are staying open. The battle has been won. To now shift demands to a complete burial of the tracks is not good for the credibility of the campaign.

Well if any of the current residents of Weston were alive before 1856, then I suppose you have a point.

The problem is the ARL will pass every 15 mintues in both direction. At $20 per ride, do they really think Weston residents will take it? Its use of old diesel bud cars is ridiculous considering we are in the 21st century.

So what? A hundred GO trains a day pass right behind my home. Do I ride them? No. But not everybody has to benefit from every piece of infrastructure.

I think the use of the Budd cars with updated engines and refurbished interiors is great. They're recycling perfectly good stainless steel bodies rather than throwing them out and building new. That sounds like 21st century environmental consciousness to me. Dallas has used the same approach with its commuter rail system. Of course, I'd much rather seem them elecrify the route right away rather than buy these RDC only to have to throw them out ten years down the line.

Like I said, I completely agree with electrifying the line and I think anyone who were informed about the issue would also agree. Focus on that. Simultaneously demanding that the entire line be buried at a cost of billions destroys the group's credibility.

 

[kEiThZ]

^^ Let's hear you stop whining about Blue 22 and SNC-Lavalin. The majority of volume along that corridor is coming from improved Georgetown and Bolton GO service.

I have supported many of your grievances but I am sick of this kind of misinformation. At best, something like a third of the trains will be Blue 22. And so what if its a private enterprise. Many of us on here don't believe that we should be subsidizing express trips to the airport. Blue 22 is not meant to cater to those who would take the TTC. So I don't expect it to charge public transit like fares. Indeed, the airport express buses today charge a lot more than public transit fares and they seem to do quite well. I don't expect Blue 22 which is faster and more productive (with wifi) to charge less.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

i highly doubt that there will be a high speed rail line from toronto to montreal via the georgetown corridor through weston.

 

[kEiThZ]

From what I understand, Weston residents want the GO Train since it services Weston and other communities. It has been a part of Weston since the beginning.

And the rest of us want GO train service as well as a link from Union to the airport.

The problem is the ARL will pass every 15 mintues in both direction. At $20 per ride, do they really think Weston residents will take it?

Who cares if Westonites ride Blue22? It's designed to serve far more than the residents of Weston. I am willing to bet good money that the service will survive and do well, Budd RDCs and all without Weston.

Its use of old diesel bud cars is ridiculous considering we are in the 21st century.

And there's nothing to say that it can't be upgraded once the service is up and running. One would assume that they are using refurbished rail cars now just so that they can get the service up and running quickly. I would expect that they would upgrade later. And the funds for those upgrades would require that they charge 20 bucks. If they start charging GO fares, we might be relying on Budd RDCs forever.

The ARL has been a PR disaster from the beginning and should be sent back to the drawing board, which proper planners planning the link.

So what if it's a PR disaster (which by the way is only the view of a few like yourself)? That does not mean that it should be sent back to the drawing board. Bad PR does not mean its a bad project. The St. Clair ROW gets bad PR, should we stop work on that?

Then they are adding the Bolton Line.
Plus added frieght trains, VIA trains and the potential for the highspeed link from Toronto to Montreal to be built using this corridor.
Its not just about today, its about the future as well.

The trench more than accomodates all future demands. There's no need for a full-fledged tunnel....even if the high speed rail line runs through your area.

 

[Voltz]

No one has answered my (and a few others) questions yet...
Namely,

1) If the tracks are electrified, i.e. no pollution, then what purpose does burying the tracks serve?

2) What streets, aside from John St. are going to be shut down due to this expansion?

3) What sort of stop spacing, considering this would be a GO type of service on the tracks, would you like or do you expect to see? And what sort of service would you consider acceptable? All local stops and no express trains from the outer reaches of the GTA or would you permit some express trains to bypass the inner toronto stations?

Just my opinion,

1) I think the tracks would still have to be buried (but only where the current plans call for them to be buried, and even then it is just a decked over trench) because the increase in train traffic would be to much to allow for level crossings, some noise and safety issues are possible concerns.

2) As far as I know that is the only street

3) I would say 3-6 local trains per hour would be expected possibly one or two stops added in Toronto, along with rush hour express trains from the 905

 

[Second_in_pie]

From what I understand, Weston residents want the GO Train since it services Weston and other communities. It has been a part of Weston since the beginning.

You kind of contradicted yourself there.

*AHEM*

Not true.
This will answer your comment:

The first European settlement in the Weston area took place in the 1790s, when a saw mill was built on an old native trading path along the west side of the Humber River, named after the well-known Humber estuary in Yorkshire, England.

You said yourself that Weston has been around for over 200 years. Go has been around for a quarter of that.

The problem is the ARL will pass every 15 mintues in both direction. At $20 per ride, do they really think Weston residents will take it? Its use of old diesel bud cars is ridiculous considering we are in the 21st century.

The older cars are, as said before, simply to get the project started.
At $20 a ride, plenty of people will use it. In fact, people everywhere will be using it. Not only in the GTA, but from every country of the world. The price will probably drop anyways, after things get running smoothly.

The ARL has been a PR disaster from the beginning and should be sent back to the drawing board, which proper planners planning the link.

So it's a PR disaster, and that means we should go back to the Drawing Board? I guess that means we need to stop St. Clair (again) because it's a PR disaster too, eh?

Plus added frieght trains, VIA trains and the potential for the highspeed link from Toronto to Montreal to be built using this corridor.
Its not just about today, its about the future as well.

High speed rail will NOT be running along this corridor. I don't understand what made you think that at all. Please inform me where you got your information.

Electrifiy the line!

Ok, fine.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

1) trains are electrified, its still important to look at burying the train in various parts due to the pure volume of trains that will continue to grow using the tracks. streets through weston would still need to be kept open, strachan ave, denision etc would still need to be kept open....how, by burying the train through various sections of the city. this way, if more trains need to be added, its possible without distrupting the communities, nor incurring any additional costs. build it right the first time, build it once.

Quite simply, a tunnel will not keep any more streets open (again only John street is being closed). A tunnel will not 'allow' more trains to use the corridor vs the current proposed trench as the number of tracks in the tunnel/trench will be the same. The cost/benefits of the tunnel simply don't work. If noise is an issue than perhaps some sound barriers would be a much cheaper alternative.

2) who knows what other streets are going to close. first all streets in weston were to close, now only John Street. will see when the digging starts. Strachan Ave was to have the train buried, now its a hump bridge. So where does it end? Thats why its important to stay informed and watch every move being made.

Everyone has stayed informed and all but one street (save maybe for some streets in the industrial west, but no big loss right?), and we've all supported alternatives that kept as many streets open as possible. That's the outcome we've got, right?

3) more stops need to be added, no questions asked. but i believe most would prefer the GO Train operating the service, as oppose to private operate SNC Lavalin. Stations could be added at Woodbine, Junction, Liberty Village....why does the train not also added stops in mississauga and georgetown?

First off there is nothing wrong with GO operating alongside an ARL. Both serve different markets.

GO operates a commuter train system and I think the closest any 2 stations should be from each other is roughly 5 km, so potential stations would be, Liberty village, Junction (Keele and St Clair area), Weston (current station), Etobicoke North (current Station), Woodbine, and Pearson. However, this will not be the same stations that an ARL train would be stopping at, and GO would need to introduce express trains in order to properly serve the 905 and 416 areas.

However it seems that WCC protesters are against any proposal that does not have local stops, (see demands for the ARL to stop in Weston)

 

[unimaginative2]

High speed rail will NOT be running along this corridor. I don't understand what made you think that at all. Please inform me where you got your information.

High-speed rail would almost certainly use the corridor if it's ever built. It would connect Toronto to Pearson, Kitchener, and London.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

NO! From what I understand, Weston residents want the GO Train since it services Weston and other communities. It has been a part of Weston since the beginning.
The problem is the ARL will pass every 15 mintues in both direction. At $20 per ride, do they really think Weston residents will take it? Its use of old diesel bud cars is ridiculous considering we are in the 21st century.
The ARL has been a PR disaster from the beginning and should be sent back to the drawing board, which proper planners planning the link.
Then they are adding the Bolton Line.
Plus added frieght trains, VIA trains and the potential for the highspeed link from Toronto to Montreal to be built using this corridor.
Its not just about today, its about the future as well.

Electrifiy the line!

Great! The ARL is not meant for Weston residents, it's meant to take people from the downtown core to the airport and vice versa. The tracks for the ARL just happen to pass through Weston. To be against something that doesn't directly benefit you is pure NIMBY'ism and is really self centred.

Let's see 15 mins is 4 trains an hour, in both directions that's 8, times roughly 20 hours a day that's 160 ARL trains a day. The remainder of the 400+ or so trains that WCC is up in arms over are going to be GO trains that will, at least the majority will, directly serve Weston. You yourself said that if it serves (read benefits) Weston than you would support it.

As someone said the Toronto-Montreal highspeed rail would not use these tracks, however if it did would Weston be demanding that the high speed train stop in Weston just because it's using the tracks that pass through it?

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

Just admit it and stop the charade. Weston wants a subway, every greivance, every complaint, and every proposal, has moved towards the end goal of saying well we've got x, y, z, it's almost a subway, let's just build it as a subway and forget about this commuter rail thing called GO. This is what WCC wants. Notice specifically that it says 'subway'. However also notice that they place 3 stations within 2.5 kms of each other, and ironically they are right in the Weston area. If you add St. Clair, and Junction that's 5 stations within 6 km, those GO trains are going to have some fun along that stretch electric or otherwise. They aren't going to have any time to get up to full speed for any significant amount of time.

 

[saveyorksouthweston]

Strachan Ave

More issues due and more groups forming due to the ARL Metrolinx proposal.....time to rethink this proposal.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toronto-ON/STOP-METROLINX-Super-Bridge-on-Strachan-Ave/97235835210

 

[saveyorksouthweston]

Great! The ARL is not meant for Weston residents, it's meant to take people from the downtown core to the airport and vice versa. The tracks for the ARL just happen to pass through Weston. To be against something that doesn't directly benefit you is pure NIMBY'ism and is really self centred.

Let's see 15 mins is 4 trains an hour, in both directions that's 8, times roughly 20 hours a day that's 160 ARL trains a day. The remainder of the 400+ or so trains that WCC is up in arms over are going to be GO trains that will, at least the majority will, directly serve Weston. You yourself said that if it serves (read benefits) Weston than you would support it.

As someone said the Toronto-Montreal highspeed rail would not use these tracks, however if it did would Weston be demanding that the high speed train stop in Weston just because it's using the tracks that pass through it?

There would be NO ARL, meaning the GO Train would service the route and Weston. The GO Train would eliminate the need for the ARL.
Its not just about Weston, its about the entire corridor and affected communities.

Electrify the line.

 

[saveyorksouthweston]

So what? A hundred GO trains a day pass right behind my home. Do I ride them? No. But not everybody has to benefit from every piece of infrastructure.

We are talking of over 300 trains a day passing along the line, works out to a train every 4 mintues.