The Willowbrook Maintenance Facility in Etobicoke is GO Transit's main servicing centre for the Lakeshore West line. It lies north of the main Windsor-Montreal Corridor and just across the tracks from from Via Rail's Toronto Maintenance Centre. Together, the two make up one of the largest passenger rail servicing facilities in North America.

Willowbrook in the context of the City of Toronto, image from Google Earth

Willowbrook Maintenance Facility above and VIA Rail Toronto Maintenance Centre below main tracks, image courtesy of Google Earth

The detailed schematic below was captured through the window of an on-site construction office and does not appear to be available online. It illustrates the project at a level of detail not provided by publicly-available maps (futher below) which are far more elementary.

Plan of expansion, image by Nigel Terpstra

Willowbrook's expansion is split into four main parts: an extension of Preventitive Maintenance (PM) Bay 2, a new wheel shop, an upgrade to the fuel-delivery system and, most notably, the expansion and relocation of PM bays 3 and 4 into a newly-constructed ancillary building. These two bays will house and service the 18 Nippon Sharyo / Sumitomo Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) used on the AirRail Link connecting Pearson Airport and Union Station. 

Map of the four projects which make up the Willowbrook expansion project, image courtesy of GO Transit

Let's examine each of these elements individually to get the best sense of how the facility will operate.

Extension of PM Bay 2

Map indicating location of PM Bay 2 which is to be extended, image courtesy of GO Transit

PM Bay 2 is being constructed by Topside Contracting and will cost just over $3.9 million, according to Metrolinx. Unfortunately, because of its trackside location, it was not possible to obtain an image of the construction progress on the PM Bay 2 expansion project.

The New Wheel Shop

Map indicating location of new Wheel Shop, image courtesy of GO Transit

The expanded wheel shop will be constructed by Unimac-Unlimited Management Corp. and will cost just over $3.6 million. (Metrolinx).

Detail of new wheel shop, image by Nigel Terpstra

Expansion and relocation of PM bays 3 and 4 into a newly-constructed ancillary building.

Map indicating location of PM Bays 3 & 4 which are to be extended and housed in a new building, image courtesy of GO Transit

The largest element of GO Transit's Willowbrook expansion is the relocation of PM bays 3 and 4 into a newly-constructed ancillary building. The facility, which will also contain offices on its street-facing side, is being constructed by Pommerleau at a cost of $51 million (Metrolinx). The AirRail Link trains which will be housed and maintained here are planned to be running before the 2015 Pan Am Games arrive in Toronto.

Detail of PM Bays 3 & 4 inside weather-protected structure, image by Nigel Terpstra

Maintenance platforms being formed and poured on the west side of the new facility, image by Nigel Terpstra

Completed platforms on the east side of the facility, image by Nigel Terpstra

Expanded PM Bay 3 & 4 with Toronto's skyline in the background, image by Nigel Terpstra

Panorama of new ancillary building and PM Bays 3 & 4 from the north, image by Nigel Terpstra

Upgraded fuel-delivery system

Map indicating location of upgraded fuel-delivery system, image courtesy of GO Transit

This portion of the Willowbrook expansion is still out for public tender so we will have to wait to see who will construct it and at what cost. The posting indicates that candidates will have to have experience in:

"[the] disposal of contaminated soil, supply and installation of DEF dispensers for fueling islands, connections to the existing systems, disconnection, draining, capping and filling with grout the existing neutralized engine oil pipes."

Location of upgraded fuel delivery facility, image by Nigel Terpstra

While other GO Transit expansion projects such as the Georgetown South capacity expansion and the revitalization of Union Station are far more public and thus receive a far greater deal of media attention, it is important to remember that running a regional commuter rail service is a complex endeavour and investments must be made at all levels. GO Transit and Metrolinx' investment of over $60 million in the Willowbrook Maintenance Facility will allow the carrier to service more GO trains while adding space for new projects such as the AirRail Link. Though often overlooked by the media, projects like Willowbrook are an important part of GO  Transit's strategy of improving service and expanding access to a greater number of Ontarians.