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

Jaye101 said:
The mistake was made when the McGuinty gov't decided to make the UPX focused on business travellers.

At the time there was no additional stations planned along the route, and the province continually told residents of the City that the corridor was not for them. There was no direct connections to the subway built into the plan, and residents of Weston were forced to organize as even their existing station was being overlooked. It's almost as if they didn't care for residents of the city to use this service at all.

It's a failure of government to create an Airport Express for business trailers before creating an adequate network for local travel. Especially with public funds. As city dwellers we deal with the brunt of the construction, the trucks daily, the rats infesting our neighbourhoods due to ground work, noise and fumes, god forbid we get a seat on the train. And built with our tax dollars.

It's laughable.

And again, I would bet my life savings that the local economic impact of making the UPX a metro line would dwarf whatever impact an extra 10-mins would cost business travellers. Perhaps when the GO network is electrified or upgraded this can be revisited, but now is the time to do what makes sense.
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I remember this all too well. It's funny how so many people forget the roots of many of our transit woes (for example, the never ending saga around the Eglinton LRT) are from the McGuinty / Wynne era.
 
Rendering of the St. Clair-Old Weston platform:

IMG_0551.png


If this rendering is accurate, that high-floor platform is much longer than the current 80’ish metre long UP Express platforms.

There isn’t enough existing equipment available to run 4 or more car UP Express trains, especially not at a higher frequency than today.

To me this design suggests the UP Express will not be converted to low platforms so the service can be integrated into the rest of the GO network (interlining the service with the Stouffville Line for example).
 
WB62 said:
Rendering of the St. Clair-Old Weston platform:

View attachment 695250

If this rendering is accurate, that high-floor platform is much longer than the current 80’ish metre long UP Express platforms.

There isn’t enough existing equipment available to run 4 or more car UP Express trains, especially not at a higher frequency than today.

To me this design suggests the UP Express will not be converted to low platforms so the service can be integrated into the rest of the GO network (interlining the service with the Stouffville Line for example).
Click to expand...
Would it kill to add some flair? This Toronto culture is so frustrating.
 
Jaye101 said:
The mistake was made when the McGuinty gov't decided to make the UPX focused on business travellers.

At the time there was no additional stations planned along the route, and the province continually told residents of the City that the corridor was not for them. There was no direct connections to the subway built into the plan, and residents of Weston were forced to organize as even their existing station was being overlooked. It's almost as if they didn't care for residents of the city to use this service at all.

It's a failure of government to create an Airport Express for business trailers before creating an adequate network for local travel. Especially with public funds. As city dwellers we deal with the brunt of the construction, the trucks daily, the rats infesting our neighbourhoods due to ground work, noise and fumes, god forbid we get a seat on the train. And built with our tax dollars.

It's laughable.

And again, I would bet my life savings that the local economic impact of making the UPX a metro line would dwarf whatever impact an extra 10-mins would cost business travellers. Perhaps when the GO network is electrified or upgraded this can be revisited, but now is the time to do what makes sense.
Click to expand...

I took the UPX in those early days, the prices were ridiculous, it was like $27 one way for a 25 min train ride!! I had the entire train to myself. What a stupid idea, catering to the expense account business travelers. Transit should be affordable to people on all incomes.
 
WB62 said:
Rendering of the St. Clair-Old Weston platform:

View attachment 695250

If this rendering is accurate, that high-floor platform is much longer than the current 80’ish metre long UP Express platforms.

There isn’t enough existing equipment available to run 4 or more car UP Express trains, especially not at a higher frequency than today.

To me this design suggests the UP Express will not be converted to low platforms so the service can be integrated into the rest of the GO network (interlining the service with the Stouffville Line for example).
Click to expand...
Is this what a GO station would look like with high platforms?
 
gabe said:
I took the UPX in those early days, the prices were ridiculous, it was like $27 one way for a 25 min train ride!! I had the entire train to myself. What a stupid idea, catering to the expense account business travelers. Transit should be affordable to people on all incomes.
Click to expand...
the idea was that Porter would be obliterated and the island airport turned into a land of milk and honey, because $22 or $27 was worth it to get to a jet departure in 22 minutes. So with UPX full of Porter's passengers, it would work. They even tried to copy Porter's appeal by having a distinct (weirdly military olive and brown) livery and a distinct business management. It was never about people on all incomes - that's what the Kipling bus was intended to cater to.
 
dowlingm said:
It was never about people on all incomes - that's what the Kipling bus was intended to cater to.
Click to expand...

The idea was originally pitched as a privatised operation. Private operators don't sell to the masses at transit level fares. The high fare probably had a solid business case, but that's the problem.... no one was planning for the public, only for the business market.

- Paul

PS - check out Flytoget in Oslo Norway, it was reported as the model that UPX emulated. It is successful (after cost escalations during construction) notwithstanding that the lower-fare and almost-as-speedy regular electric trains also stop at the Oslo airport.
 
crs1026 said:
The idea was originally pitched as a privatised operation. Private operators don't sell to the masses at transit level fares. The high fare probably had a solid business case, but that's the problem.... no one was planning for the public, only for the business market.

- Paul

PS - check out Flytoget in Oslo Norway, it was reported as the model that UPX emulated. It is successful (after cost escalations during construction) notwithstanding that the lower-fare and almost-as-speedy regular electric trains also stop at the Oslo airport.
Click to expand...

The other model was Vienna’s City Airport Train, but there, too, was a cheaper, somewhat slower S-Bahn option which my spouse and I took partly because it was cheaper and it stopped closer to the hotel booked for the conference she was attending.
 
PL1 said:
With another stop, they really should remove "Express" from the name... Maybe UP Line or something.
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It still skips Etobicoke North so it does technically meet the bare minimum definition of an express train!
 
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