First of all, the official OL document implies the cost to be higher than $550 million per kilometre: http://www.metrolinx.com/en/docs/pdf/board_agenda/20190912/20190912_BoardMtg_Ontario_Line_Initial_Business_Case_EN.pdf Page 2: length is 15.5 km. Page 4: total costs $10.4 to $12 billion. Cost...

It is benefitial that the line goes further north, no denial of that. But, that might come at a cost of being unable to extend the line further north of Eglinton, just because of the capacity limitations. If it gets close to 100% full within 10 years of opening, then it can'be extended further...

Fair enough. I was more concerned about the connection part. If that can be done without extraordinary efforts, all the better. The "which platform for the next departure" issue is less of a problem. Say, there could be two separate "Sheppard West" stations, the existing Line 1 station with the...

There exists a legitimate concern that by choosing a downsized option (OL), we are losing 25% to 30% in capacity, but will only gain 15 to 20% of saving in the per-km cost. Perhaps even less than 15%, if the cost of the new yard is taken into account. On the other hand, there is a legitimate...

The individual circumstances vary. Some people are in your situation, being able to keep a shorter commute in exchange for not getting a pay rise. But many other people get just one job offer. Or two job offers, but both jobs are located far from where they live. They have to either take the...

I get your point; the optics of two parallel lines just 2 km apart isn't great, when many other areas need transit improvements. On the other hand, if the Sheppard line swings to Wilson west of Dufferin, then it is not that bad. One line for the Sheppard - Wilson corridor, serving both streets...

It would be great to route the Sheppard trains onto the York extension, if the track configuration allowed that. Half of the trains coming from downtown could short-turn at Sheppard West, making room further north for the Sheppard trains. But it will be difficult to connect the Sheppard tracks...

For a lot of people, that's not an option. You either get the job offer, or don't get the offer. Very few employers will change their mind and hire you if you agree to work for 2% less, or even for 10% less.

That's true, but Gormick doesn't want to switch from OL back to high-capacity RL South. He wants to abandon both OL and RL, and rely on the enhanced GO service alone to decongest Yonge. Following that advice would lead to disastrous outcomes.

^ The optimal route partly depends on the technology. If Sheppard remains a TTC subway, then the pink route between Yonge and Hwy 400 should be the best. Easier to connect to the Line 1 tracks between Sheppard and Wilson, where the Line 1 tracks run at grade. And, there is enough room for the...

Oops .. Gormick's article is exemplary idiotic. One can reasonably debate the benefit of replacing the OL plan with the previous, higher-capacity DRL plan. Even that looks a bit risky now (sort of one bird at hand vs two in the sky), but if it can made certain that DRL is going to be built...

They should look at running more GO trains during the peak periods, on the Lakeshore East and Stouffville lines. If possible, short-turning some of those extra trains at the Rouge Hill and Mulliken stations. Not to say adding more trains is very easy. Yet, that should be more practical than...

But if you get to Victoria ahead of your streetcar, and then have to wait there before getting on the same streetcar again, it won't be faster overall :)

That's a very interesting finding. Although I'm still trying to get their motivation. Maybe, that's the way to add capacity to Line 4 without adding more operators, i.e. without adding the labor costs.

I do not support the idea of closing Line 4 entirely, and there is no case for that IMO. $17 is the "total daily cost per user", that includes the operational expenses, the payments on the public debt equivalent of the construction cost, and probably the capital maintenance as well. If you...

Pretty sure Eg West will not be replaced by buses during the late evenings. At nights, maybe, but only together with the whole Eglinton line. For Line 4, it would make perfect sense to use buses during the late evenings, say after 11 pm. Fewer transfers for the riders who travel east of Don...

Yes, that's somewhat ironic. But on the other hand, the boarding counts between Allen Rd and Don Mills should be pretty high. It's just the peak ridership that will be lower, because the riders will tend to transfer at one of the subway connections, and their paths will overlap less.

The opening day peak forecasts for EC LRT were in the range of 5,500 to 7,500. Definitely below 10,000. Might be greater in the west now, with EW LRT being fully grade separated. A failure? Definitely not. Sheppard subway had a peak of 5,500 pre-Covid. TYSSE is about same as Sheppard, or less...

Parliament is an interesting option, maybe another case where mixed-traffic streetcar makes sense. Could reach a decent ridership, and provide a bit of relief for Yonge. Since the route will be short, speed is not very critical. Although, I would evaluate Parliament vs Sherbourne vs Jarvis...

For the majority of riders, merely replacing mixed-traffic bus with mixed-traffic streetcar brings no benefit. Some people are nostalgic / emotional about the streetcars, they take a streetcar over a bus any day. Those people are present on transit blogs in greater numbers than in real life...