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

Great for Pandrol, but wow....somehow Metrolinx built the airport spur with track fasteners that couldn't last 6 years.

The project was extremely rushed to meet the Pan Am Games deadline. I could see them knowing it would be an issue but to just "get it done" with something that could be fixed later.
 
The project was extremely rushed to meet the Pan Am Games deadline. I could see them knowing it would be an issue but to just "get it done" with something that could be fixed later.

I’m not sure we can be that generous. Sounds more like the whole design had deficiencies that should have been anticipated.

Imagine buying a set of boots that are so rigid that your ankles break when you try to walk. Replacing the laces with rubber bands may avoid the problem, but your design still sucks.

- Paul
 
I’m not sure we can be that generous. Sounds more like the whole design had deficiencies that should have been anticipated.

Imagine buying a set of boots that are so rigid that your ankles break when you try to walk. Replacing the laces with rubber bands may avoid the problem, but your design still sucks.

- Paul

My apologies, I didnt mean to imply that there were design deficiencies, that is clear. The OP asked why they would put track fasteners on that would only last 6 years, and I was answering because at the time they didnt have a choice, as it would have taken too long to engineer a lasting solution in time for the games.
 
How many extra stations are currently planned for UP? I saw in a photo here they are building a platform where the line meets the Eglinton Crosstown. Are they going to remove a station elsewhere, like Weston?
If they add too many stations they should really take the "Express" part out of the name. I get placing stations where other major transit lines intersect, but beyond that it wouldn't make sense.
 
How many extra stations are currently planned for UP? I saw in a photo here they are building a platform where the line meets the Eglinton Crosstown. Are they going to remove a station elsewhere, like Weston?
If they add too many stations they should really take the "Express" part out of the name. I get placing stations where other major transit lines intersect, but beyond that it wouldn't make sense.
Having an express airport rail station at Weston (where no other rapid/major transit lines intersect) never rally made sense to begin with, it was done soley as a way to get the local community onboard with the project. An UP station at Eglinton once the Crosstown is running will be far more beneficial to the regional transit network and riders as a whole.
 
My apologies, I didnt mean to imply that there were design deficiencies, that is clear. The OP asked why they would put track fasteners on that would only last 6 years, and I was answering because at the time they didnt have a choice, as it would have taken too long to engineer a lasting solution in time for the games.
Of course, the line had been being planned for well over a decade so any need for a 'rushed solution' should really not have been necessary!
 
Once GO is able to run 30 minute service on the inner Kitchener Line, all day, every day, the UP Express stops don’t matter so much for Weston, where there’s also frequent bus service to the airport.

Yes, the majority of people who use Weston UPX are actually commuters from downtown, it actually causes the UPX to be used for something it wasnt meant for.

I actually saw condo ads in the Weston area touting the UPX as a "subway station every 15 minutes in the area to downtown"
 
I do believe that the intent is to stop serving west on station once the station on the Eglinton line opens.

4 stations feels just about right for this service.
 
My apologies, I didnt mean to imply that there were design deficiencies, that is clear. The OP asked why they would put track fasteners on that would only last 6 years, and I was answering because at the time they didnt have a choice, as it would have taken too long to engineer a lasting solution in time for the games.
The problem isn't just with the track fasteners. Although, admittedly, the fact that they have only lasted 6 years is pretty damning.

It's the fact that the track fasteners are usually the most robust part of the whole track system. And if they are only lasting 6 years, how long are the other components, which usually have lifespans measured in years unlike the decades that the track plates are supposed to last, lasting? How much extra maintenance are the putting into the line?

Even with all of the connections that I and Paul have, we don't know this.

Dan
 
Is there any indication of UPX ridership going up recently? With the curve dropping and Porter still grounded until September I expect there to be a spike.
 

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