[Markster]

fair enough,
lets see what the completed track layout will look like. On that note what makes those "special" areas special that they cant take concrete ties?

For comparison, the maintenance facility for KW's ION is 100% concrete ties. Special trackwork included.

 

[M II A II R II K]

Passed by Caledonia, still nothing taking place there or and the shops are still open where the station is supposed to go.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Passed by Oakwood, now a lot taking place there. Very deep excavation. Concrete has been poured and at least one wall of the station has been poured (below grade). Two huge green cranes hang over the site. It looks to be the most advanced station on the line.

 

[Allandale25]

Passed by Caledonia, still nothing taking place there or and the shops are still open where the station is supposed to go.

Was this always part of the plan to stagger the construction of some of the underground stations?

 

[TheTigerMaster]

News Release

Ontario Reaches Major Milestone on Eglinton Crosstown LRT Construction
August 9, 2017

Province Building More Transit for Commuters and Families in Toronto
Ontario is one step closer to bringing better transit to people across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with the first piece of track for the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT) project now installed.

Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transportation and Laura Albanese, MPP for York South-Weston were at the future site of Mount Dennis Station and the LRT maintenance and storage facility today to mark the milestone.

The 19-kilometre Eglinton Crosstown LRT, which will open in 2021, will connect Mount Dennis Station in the west with Kennedy Station in the east, and includes a 10-kilometre underground portion between Keele Street and Laird Drive, and 25 stations and stops that will link to bus routes, three subway stations, three GO Transit lines, and the Union Pearson Express.

When fully operational, the LRT will carry an estimated 5,500 passengers per hour in the peak direction, speeding up commutes and helping people get where they need to go faster and with greater convenience.

Ontario is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, public transit, roads and bridges in the province's history. To learn more about what's happening in your community, go to Ontario.ca/BuildON.

Building more rapid transit for commuters and families is part of our plan to create jobs, grow the economy and help people in their everyday lives.


QUICK FACTS

• Construction crews installed a “turnout track” -- part of the 8.5 kilometre track system that will move vehicles through Mount Dennis Station and adjoining maintenance and storage facility. The facility is the first major component of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT project scheduled for completion and will be finished in 2018.
• Ontario is fully funding the Eglinton Crosstown LRT to expand transit in the City of Toronto, with an investment of $5.3 billion.
• The Eglinton Crosstown LRT is being delivered as an Alternative Financial and Procurement (AFP) project, using the design-build-finance-maintain model.

When the three Toronto LRT projects are being delayed by one year, two years and seven years each, I don't believe these politicians deserve to be patting themselves on the back for helping "commuters and families".

 

[Amare]

We're just reaching new lows everyday with Del Duca. A photo-op to celebate track being laid, I mean really?

 

[Steve X]

Yeah, I can't believe they just used a crane to move this piece of track in place and made news out of it. I hardly consider this as installed without ballast in place.

The TTC achieved this at Dundas/Victoria in a few days just a couple of weeks ago. The TTC has a very narrow timeframe to install tracks in a live environment and they have done better and is always on time. Maybe John Tory should had his photo ops there. This is really nothing to be proud.

 

[Big Daddy]

To the west of Toronto (and presumably part of the GTA) lies Mississauga with more than 800,000 inhabitants and Brampton with more than 600,000 inhabitants. Yet this "crosstown" transit line stops at Mount Dennis. With a population greater than the city of Calgary just to the west, why would none of the transit plans connect to this area? As it stands, the most direct connection between Toronto and Peel is two major and overcrowded highways. The GO service here is focused on the lakeshore line (the Milton line only runs briefly during rush hour). Why is Peel not included in the overall transit plan given the car traffic that could be eliminated? I just don't understand. So incredibly short sighted. You are building a subway extension to Vaughn to service future development and ignoring 1.5 million people already residing to the west.

 

[TransitBart]

To the west of Toronto (and presumably part of the GTA) lies Mississauga with more than 800,000 inhabitants and Brampton with more than 600,000 inhabitants. Yet this "crosstown" transit line stops at Mount Dennis. With a population greater than the city of Calgary just to the west, why would none of the transit plans connect to this area? As it stands, the most direct connection between Toronto and Peel is two major and overcrowded highways. The GO service here is focused on the lakeshore line (the Milton line only runs briefly during rush hour). Why is Peel not included in the overall transit plan given the car traffic that could be eliminated? I just don't understand. So incredibly short sighted. You are building a subway extension to Vaughn to service future development and ignoring 1.5 million people already residing to the west.

You're jesting, right? It's not that anything you have written is outrageous, but you are aware of the path to this moment?

 

[TheTigerMaster]

To the west of Toronto (and presumably part of the GTA) lies Mississauga with more than 800,000 inhabitants and Brampton with more than 600,000 inhabitants. Yet this "crosstown" transit line stops at Mount Dennis. With a population greater than the city of Calgary just to the west, why would none of the transit plans connect to this area? As it stands, the most direct connection between Toronto and Peel is two major and overcrowded highways. The GO service here is focused on the lakeshore line (the Milton line only runs briefly during rush hour). Why is Peel not included in the overall transit plan given the car traffic that could be eliminated? I just don't understand. So incredibly short sighted. You are building a subway extension to Vaughn to service future development and ignoring 1.5 million people already residing to the west.

Well the Eglinton West LRT connecting Mississauga and Toronto would've been opened in 2015, but that was canceled due to budget overruns. That would've made an irresistible photo op for Mr. Del Duca.

In all seriousness, the Crosstown LRT + Mississauga Transitway would've been a wonderful step forward. The LRT would've been as fast as subways between Mississauga and TTC Line 1, and would've also connected to Pearson Airport, which is the second largest employment centre in the country.

I believe that one of biggest mistakes we made last decade was prioritizing the UPX over the Eglinton West LRT. The LRT would've been more expensive, but also would've served far more people, and without an absurdly high operational subsidy as well. Eglinton West was the best choice for GTA "families and commuters".

 

[Steve X]

Well the Eglinton West LRT connecting Mississauga and Toronto would've been opened in 2015, but that was canceled due to budget overruns. That would've made an irresistible photo op for Mr. Del Duca.

In all seriousness, the Crosstown LRT + Mississauga Transitway would've been a wonderful step forward. The LRT would've been as fast as subways between Mississauga and TTC Line 1, and would've also connected to Pearson Airport, which is the second largest employment centre in the country.

I believe that one of biggest mistakes we made last decade was prioritizing the UPX over the Eglinton West LRT. The LRT would've been more expensive, but also would've served far more people, and without an absurdly high operational subsidy as well. Eglinton West was the best choice for GTA "families and commuters".

The UPX is needed but it advertised to the public properly. To be honest, TTC and GO isn't making money either and need subsidies. So UPX isn't doing that bad.

The UPX only costed half a million oppose to 6+ billions. If they didn't build it, it would had become international embarrassment news as it was a commitment for the Pam Am games. But if they didn't spend that money on Pam Am games, they could had built the LRT to Pearson with that money. The games however did have a positive effect on Canadians, encourages a new generation of athletes, new stadiums around the GTA and introducing TO to South America. It hard to say which option is better.

 

[Palma]

Tory also confirmed today that the TTC will pay operating costs.

So if TTC is paying operational costs and will by running the trains is Metrolinx paying maintenance costs?

 

[TheTigerMaster]

The UPX is needed but it advertised to the public properly. To be honest, TTC and GO isn't making money either and need subsidies. So UPX isn't doing that bad.

The subsidy the UPX requires is literally an order of magnitude greater than the LRT would've required, while it servicing less people than the LRT. It's absolutely the worse choice from a financial perspective.

The UPX only costed half a million oppose to 6+ billions. If they didn't build it, it would had become international embarrassment news as it was a commitment for the Pam Am games.

The embarrassment factor due to the Games is the only comellling argument for building the UPX over the Eglinton West LRT, imo.

If I'm remembering correctly, the Eglinton West LRT was initially planned to open in 2015. In an alternate universe, with better coordination it might have been possible to get the LRT open in time for the games, and use GO Transit to shuttle people between Mt Dennis and Union Station.

Anyways the Crosstown West is better designed than the Eglinton West LRT was, so maybe it's for the best in the long run.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

The subsidy the UPX requires is literally an order of magnitude greater than the LRT would've required, while it servicing less people than the LRT. It's absolutely the worse choice from a financial perspective.



The embarrassment factor due to the Games is the only comellling argument for building the UPX over the Eglinton West LRT, imo.

If I'm remembering correctly, the Eglinton West LRT was initially planned to open in 2015. In an alternate universe, with better coordination it might have been possible to get the LRT open in time for the games, and use GO Transit to shuttle people between Mt Dennis and Union Station.

Anyways the Crosstown West is better designed than the Eglinton West LRT was, so maybe it's for the best in the long run.

High Speed Rail is a factor too. The HSR will provide marginally faster Downtown to Pearson travel times than UPX.

I'm not seeing a purpose for UPX with Eglinton LRT and HSR being built. HSR is capable of picking up UPX's role as a high cost, low capacity, "boutique" express service, while Eglinton LRT would've provided mass transit to Pearson and its employment lines. If we had a coordinated planning process in the GTA, I can't envision that the UPX would've been introduced.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Well the Eglinton West LRT connecting Mississauga and Toronto would've been opened in 2015, but that was canceled due to budget overruns. That would've made an irresistible photo op for Mr. Del Duca.

In all seriousness, the Crosstown LRT + Mississauga Transitway would've been a wonderful step forward. The LRT would've been as fast as subways between Mississauga and TTC Line 1, and would've also connected to Pearson Airport, which is the second largest employment centre in the country.

I believe that one of biggest mistakes we made last decade was prioritizing the UPX over the Eglinton West LRT. The LRT would've been more expensive, but also would've served far more people, and without an absurdly high operational subsidy as well. Eglinton West was the best choice for GTA "families and commuters".

They threw in the Eglinton West LRT extension (Mt. Dennis to YYZ) in with SmartTrack, after rejecting the heavy rail option along Eglinton West in Etobicoke for SmartTrack. See link. They are currently looking into doing revisions to the EA, for grade separations for some of the intersections, such as Martin Grove Road and others. In addition (make that subtraction), they may remove some of minor stops.

Wondering if they will have to change some of the stop names. Personally, they shouldn't.