Progressive Railroading's Passenger Rail At A Glance: Metrolinx in Ontario, Canada

CANADA

Metrolinx

An agency of the Ontario government, Metrolinx was created in 2006 to improve the coordination and integration of all modes of transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. GO Transit, a division of Metrolinx, provides regional rail and bus service. Commuter-rail service launched in 1967.

Route miles: 424 kilometers commuter rail

Rolling stock: 75 locomotives, average age 7 years, including 67 MP40 locomotives (average age 5 years) and 8 F59 locomotives; plus 10 locomotives on order from MotivePower Inc.; 480 standard coaches, average age 19 years, 61 accessibility coaches, average age 9 years, 56 cab cars, average age 22 years; plus 74 coaches, 67 cab cars and 5 accessibility coaches on order from Bombardier Transportation

Annual ridership: 50.7 million (2013/2014)

Annual operating cost: $235.3 million (2014/2015 projected)

Annual capital cost: $232.5 million (2014/2015 projected)

Number of stations: 65

Metrolinx is in the final phase of construction for the $1.2 billion Georgetown South project, which calls for infrastructure improvements to meet existing and future GO Transit ridership demand, and accommodate existing and future VIA Rail and CN service, as well as the new Union Pearson Express. The project extends from Bathurst Street in Toronto to Highway 427 in the region of Peel and includes two new tracks on the north half (for three tracks total) and one additional track on the south half (for five tracks total) of the GO Georgetown South corridor; seven new overpasses and underpasses to separate vehicle and train traffic; rail-to-rail grade separation to separate freight and commuter-rail traffic; major track and grading construction; civil work; signal installations; and utility relocations and the eventual building of a tunnel under Highway 401 in a future phase of the project. It also includes making the Bloor, Weston and Etobicoke North stations more accessible. The project is scheduled to be completed in December.

As part of the Georgetown South construction, Metrolinx is upgrading 22 kilometers of track that GO Transit Kitchener line trains will share with the future Union Pearson Express, a dedicated airport express rail service connecting Toronto's downtown core to Toronto Pearson International Airport. Scheduled to open in spring 2015, the $456 million UP Express also includes a three-kilometer spurt line connecting the existing Kitchener rail corridor and Toronto Pearson's Terminal 1. The spur rises above major highways and roadways with a high elevation of 28 meters above ground.

A $270 million revitalization of the Union Station train shed also is under way, which calls for rebuilding the roof on the 8.6-acre facility that was built in the 1920s. The north section of the train shed will be returned to its original finish, while the remainder of the structure will feature a 50,000-square-foot glass atrium rising 50 feet above platform level at the center of the roof. The east and west portions of the remaining roof will be renovated, as well, including the addition of a green roof. Work is scheduled to be completed in 2016, with Aecon Buildings serving as the contractor and Yolles, a CH2M Hill Company, serving as the engineer.

In 2011, Metrolinx began construction on the $5.3 billion Eglinton Crosstown light-rail corridor, which will run along Toronto's Eglinton Avenue between the Mount Dennis and Kennedy stations. The 19-kilometer line will include a 10-kilometer underground portion. It will link to 54 bus routes, three subway stations and various GO Transit lines. Tunnel boring began in summer 2013, and headwall construction is complete for two underground stations at Keele and Caledonia, with two more under way at Dufferin and Oakwood. Preparatory jet grout plant installation is taking place at a station site in Chaplin. Construction also has begun on extraction and launch shafts at Allen Road near Eglinton West Station. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2020. Vehicles are being supplied by Bombardier Transportation.

Meanwhile, Metrolinx is in the final stage of preliminary design and the Transit Project Assessment process for the $1.6 billion Hurontario-Main light-rail project. The 23-kilometer corridor would run from Hurontario Street at the Port Credit GO Station in Mississauga, around Mississauga's city center area and north on Hurontario Street to Brampton's downtown Main Street. The light-rail vehicles would run primarily in segregated lanes at-grade. A maintenance and storage facility also is proposed as part of the project. Once the environmental work is approved, Metrolinx will begin pre-procurement planning. The project is estimated to be completed in 2021. SNC-Lavalin is completing the preliminary design and environmental assessment work.

Preliminary design also is under way on the 13-kilometer Sheppard East light-rail line, which will run along the surface of Toronto's Sheppard Avenue from Don Mills Station to Morningside Avenue. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2017 and be completed in 2021. The project includes a 17,500-square-foot Sheppard East Maintenance and Storage Facility that will service the 100 light-rail vehicles that will operate on the Sheppard East LRT and Scarborough RT lines. CH2M Hill is serving as the project engineer and Dufferin Construction is the contractor. Vehicles will be supplied by Bombardier.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2017 on another light-rail line: The Finch West corridor, which will run 11 kilometers along the surface of Toronto's Finch Avenue, from the planned Finch West Subway Station at Keele Street to Humber College. Preliminary design and engineering work is under way by CH2M Hill. The line is scheduled to open in 2020.

Part 1: Passenger Rail at a Glance 2014: Preface

Part 2: Passenger Rail at a Glance 2014: Amtrak and transit agencies in California

Part 3: Passenger Rail at a Glance 2014: Transit agencies in Colorado and Florida

Part 4: Passenger Rail at a Glance 2014: Transit agencies in Georgia, Illinois and Missouri

Part 5: Passenger Rail at a Glance 2014: Transit agencies in New York

Part 6: Passenger Rail at a Glance 2014: Transit agencies in Tennessee and Texas

Part 7: Passenger Rail at a Glance 2014: Transit agencies in Virginia and the state of Washington

Part 8: Passenger Rail at a Glance 2014: Metrolinx in Ontario, Canada