If ML goes with DD, there is another option that they be able to use. In Dallas the DART LRT system {which most cities would consider more suburban rail} was built in the early 1990s and still has much of the rolling stock. The trains have 2 stairs that must be used to board much like GO and of...

I'm curious, is there such a thing as a TRUE DD commuter train? By this I don't mean bi-levels where you enter on one floor and then either go up 4 steps or down 4 steps but rather you enter on one floor and it is the entire floor and then it's 12 steps up to the second level? In other words...

^^^ I totally agree. I think DD are ideal for commuter systems and GO should continue to use them for it's long distance rush hour services. Conversely, RER is more of a subway-lite system. Isn't the whole point of spending billion on this project to take GO from just being a commuter...

I just don't understand the advantages of bi-level trains. Yes, they obviously carry more passengers per train but GO stations are massive so they can simply run longer single levels without the need for any station rehab. Due to dwell times they are markedly slower and this is multiplied...

That Metra thing looks like war surplus. Of course functionality has to come first but that doesn't mean the trains have to be that unattractive or appealing. That said it didn't take them 7 years {and counting} to actually figure out the kind trains they want to run. If Toronto goes 100%...

DD double decker..................................................d'oh!! Why I didn't figure that out is beyond me. Anyway, that is where drum118 and I REALLY part company. I think DD would be a huge mistake for RER. People keep trying to compare Paris RER with Toronto's stating that it uses DD...

The only thing that stood out for me was that all the maps had RER ending at Burlington. I thought RER was suppose to go all the way to Aldershot?

Now take all those disruptions and mue toltiply them wholesale when they FINALLY decide that they want catenary trains and have to close down all the lines again to put up the polls and wires as opposed to doing it now. There's some forward planning for ya.

Interesting idea with 'splitting the trains'. Am I too assume, due to having charging stations, you would be most supportive of EMU/battery trains? Also, what the hell is DD?

I think it is a needed conversation because, contrary to popular belief in Toronto, VIA does serve areas that are outside Ontario. Perhaps you have heard of a small part of the country known as 'West of Windsor'? This is to say nothing of our Atlantic Canadian friends. I have always been a...

^^^ Yes, I can see that happening maybe in 10 years and especially when the entire GO network including outer commuter rail has to go emissions free. Curious drum118...................what do you think would be the best solution for RER technology and train types?

The entire VIA fleet has to go emissions free within 30 years and, except for maybe some short-run routes, hydrogen is the best option not least of which is because it is the ONLY option. To electrify VIA's monstrous system using catenary is beyond ridiculous. Of course CN & CP are going to...

You should care because what's the best solution for Metrolinx's finances does not necessarily mean it's the best solution for the travelling public.

I don't think HFR will get much federal attention because it doesn't get any attention from most people including in the Corridor and most of that is completely due to VIA itself. Higher frequency rail, to most people, just means more frequent slow boats to China and that isn't enough to sway...

Now that hydrogen is out of the picture, what do YOU guys think is the best answer? For myself it's obviously battery because I can't think of a single advantage catenary has over catenary battery. I am also on the record for single level EMU and think double level would be a ghastly mistake...

If you guys care to go back a way you will see that I have NEVER said I think hydrogen was the best option and I have always said that battery should be the preferred one. Battery is very much just catenary trains without the need for so many wires and infrastructure but the technology of the...

This is why I have always thought the DRL should be a RER tunnel and not a subway. Certainly build the DRL as planned with the same number of stations and frequency but use standard gauge with catenary. This way the system can be part of RER so electrfied RER trains can also use the tunnel...

If hydrogen is dead or even battery fine but that clearly exemplifies what a fiasco this entire procedure has been. By not making a decision years ago is why Toronto is the Gold Standard of transit projects coming in late and never on budget. If the catenary decision was made years ago, Toronto...

Such a system would also be ideal for commuter lines in smaller centres like London/St.Thomas and Hamilton/Brantford. These are hardly novel approaches as they are currently used all over Europe and Asia and are basically nothing more than the old style interurban.

Exactly. Unless the RER fare is the same as the standard local fare, it will be a monumental waste of money. It will infuriate people having the province spend billion on a two-tiered transit system built for the wealthier. Unless RER is a standard fare, it will be nothing more than a service...