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TheTigerMaster

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Making this thread because we don't yet have a one dedicated to Metrolinx. As the GTA's second largest transit operator, and coordinator of GTHA transit expansion, Metrolinx oughta have its own thread; obviously in the same vein as the TTC: Other Items thread.
 
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Metrolinx updated The Big Move today. Changes are overviewed on Steve Munro's blog: https://stevemunro.ca/2017/08/21/metrolinx-previews-the-next-big-move/. I haven't yet found a link to the presentation.

Most major update is the addition of the Relief Line Long subway line, up to Don Mills & Sheppard. Crosstown West LRT is also included. Crosstown East LRT is excluded because it's a TTC project. There's no update on RER timelines, but the project is supposed to be completed in 2025.

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Interesting idea. I kinda like design and stuff, so a recent Metrolinx-related surprise of mine is that they changed their logo as well as colour scheme. I dunno, I figured they should've had public input or something. But even then why'd they feel the need for this change, and what was wrong with the old colours and logo?

Metrolinx updated The Big Move today. Changes are overviewed on Steve Munro's blog: https://stevemunro.ca/2017/08/21/metrolinx-previews-the-next-big-move/. I haven't yet found a link to the presentation.

Hm. I don't care for this map from the report. The circle sizes don't seem to correlate to anything, other than maybe the space to fit in in the image. It's misleading.
 
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Interesting idea. I kinda like design and stuff, so a recent Metrolinx-related surprise of mine is that they changed their logo as well as colour scheme. I dunno, I figured they should've had public input or something. But even then why'd they feel the need for this change, and what was wrong with the old colours and logo?

Tricia Wood at Torontoist certainly wasn't a fan of the rebranding: http://torontoist.com/2017/08/dear-metrolinx-problem-not-communication-strategy-branding/

Personally, I don't see the point either. Metrolinx's job is to coordinate transit buildout in the GTHA and to operate GO Transit. They have few customer-facing services, and banal "Ministry of Transport" branding would serve commuters just as well. I can only assume they have aspirations to one day become similar to Transport for London. Good luck with that.

But this is a fairly small issue, so I'm not going to get all worked up over it.
 
Phil Verster to Join Metrolinx as CEO

Brings Strong Experience Running Large British Rail Services

Toronto, August 24, 2017 - Today the Board of Directors of Metrolinx appointed experienced rail operator Phil Verster as its new President and CEO.

Over the last 12 years, Mr. Verster has overseen operations and major construction of some of the most complex and customer intensive rail services in England, Scotland and Ireland. Among his most recent assignments as a Managing Director of Britain’s Network Rail have been running Scotland’s railway operations, the ScotRail Alliance, and initiating work on the East West Railway, a new rail line linking Britain’s high tech corridor between Oxford and Cambridge.

Mr. Verster was selected following an international search on behalf of Metrolinx. His start date is October 1, 2017.

Rob Prichard, Chairman of the Metrolinx Board, pointed to the unique set of criteria in Metrolinx’s search:

“We’re implementing a $34-billion transit build – the biggest transit investment in Ontario’s history and one of the largest in the world today. We’re quadrupling the number of weekly GO Train trips - from 1,500 to 6,000. We’re electrifying key GO rail lines to provide 15-minute express service all day long throughout the region, and we’re building new LRT lines to tie the region together.

“Moreover, as we execute this massive transformation, we need to continue providing the current high level of daily transit service that people throughout the region depend on. We sought as our next CEO a person with deep domain expertise and substantial executive experience operating and building railways. There are few people in the transit and rail industry with the know-how, experience and executive skills to drive transformation and maintain service at the same time. Phil Verster is one of them.

“Mr. Verster has graduate degrees in both engineering and business and a post-graduate diploma in law. He has operated, built and electrified commuter rail. He has the expertise and executive experience we need to deliver on our ambitious agenda, leading the 4,000 employees of Metrolinx and working with all of our partners. We are delighted the Mr. Verster has chosen to join Metrolinx.”

At ScotRail, Mr. Verster oversaw the delivery of $3 billion of new electrification of the Scottish railroad.

Most recently, at the East West Railway, Mr. Verster led successful efforts to re-launch the project through creative partnerships with the municipalities and local leaders it will serve while simultaneously designing and engineering the project in the most cost effective way.

Mr. Verster said: “I am very excited about joining the team of dedicated women and men at Metrolinx, and to be part of one of the most exciting transit transformations taking place anywhere in the world. I believe Ontario is the place to be. Not just because of the very large scale of investment being made in transit, but because of the dynamism, optimism and quality of life that has made this region so envied all over the world.

“At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that all the investment, all the construction, all the new trains and services are not an end in themselves. They’re about improving the experience of passengers, contributing to communities and to the economy.”

TTC CEO Andy Byford welcomed Mr. Verster’s appointment: “I am delighted Phil Verster is coming to Toronto to lead Metrolinx. We worked together in London just over a decade ago in an executive team that turned around a poorly performing train operating company. He will be a superb leader for Metrolinx. He is smart, driven, good at delivery and gets things done. He will deliver both the projects and the change agenda for Metrolinx and GO. I very much look forward to working with him as our partner at the TTC.“

Sir Peter Hendy, Chair of Network Rail in Britain said: “Phil Verster is a great leader, a loss to the UK rail industry and a gain to the Canadian railroad industry. He has made a great contribution to ScotRail and to Network Rail as a Managing Director for the last six years. He has a great customer focus and a strong track record in supporting and developing teams to improve customer service and train service performance.”

Metrolinx is planning, building and delivering hundreds of projects and services across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area to move the region forward, and provide residents and businesses with a transportation system that is modern, efficient and integrated. Find out more about Metrolinx's Regional Transportation Plan for the GTHA. Find out more about GO Transit, PRESTO, and Union Pearson Express, divisions of Metrolinx.

Phil Verster Bio

Phil Verster is one of the UK’s rail leaders, having managed train operations, infrastructure builds and infrastructure management for passenger rail systems in England, Scotland and Ireland.

An engineer by training, Phil began his career in the electricity sector in his native South Africa. He moved to the UK in 1996, joining Rolls-Royce as a Director responsible for manufacturing and control systems projects. From 2001 to 2003, he was Depot Manager and Production Director for a UK division of Bombardier Rail.

Phil moved from the supplier side to passenger rail operations in 2003, as Engineering Operations Director of Southeastern Trains. He also spent five years at Irish Rail, where he served in different roles including Deputy CEO.

In 2011, Phil joined Britain’s Network Rail. His first assignment was Managing Director London North East and East Midlands Route (which includes the East Coast Main Line between London and Scotland), the second largest route in the Network Rail system. He pioneered a new approach to structured continuous improvement that delivered improved safety and train performance as well as an enhanced passenger experience.

Phil put the same innovation and discipline to work in his subsequent assignment for Network Rail running Scotland’s ScotRail passenger rail service, from 2015 to 2017. Since early 2017, Phil has served as Managing Director of Network Rail’s East West Railway, which will link Britain’s “Silicon Valley” between Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

Phil has a Bachelors of Engineering and a Masters of Engineering, both from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. He has an MBA from the University of Newcastle Business School and an LLM Post Graduate Diploma (Commercial Law) from the University of Northumbria, both in the UK.

Phil is married to Carol and they have two children, Jack and Robyn. He is an active marathoner, and an avid do-it-yourself home renovator.
 
Scotrail has a good mix of relevant issues and operations - regional and intercity, new and old equipment mix, operations and new system construction using business models other than traditional GO type. I don't know anything about this individual or his past performance, but his background experience sounds right on for the job.

I think I do know where he will land on the issue of pets on trains......

- Paul

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Metrolinx pressured to approve GO station in minister’s riding

Documents obtained through a freedom of information request show that ministry drafted press releases to announce stations the agency had not approved

The provincial transportation ministry pressured Metrolinx leadership to approve a new $100-million GO Transit station in the minister’s riding, according to documents obtained by the Star.
 
The documents, which include more than 1,000 pages of emails sent by Metrolinx and ministry officials as well as draft agency reports, show that on the advice of agency staff, the Metrolinx board approved, at a closed-door meeting in June 2016, a list of new stops that did not include Kirby or Lawrence East.

A day later, Metrolinx officials were shocked to receive copies of draft press releases from the ministry indicating that the following week Del Duca would announce that stations the board hadn’t approved were going ahead.

In the ensuing days, following conversations between Metrolinx executives and ministry officials, agency staff revised a board report to support Kirby and Lawrence East.The board then reconvened in public and voted to build the two stops.

The emails show McCuaig asked Metrolinx staff for an “alternative analysis” of the stops. He told Prichard he was “trying to see if there is a credible way to improve the business case” for stations in Vaughan.

Metrolinx didn’t release the business case analyses for any of the potential new GO stations until last March, almost nine months after the board vote. The conclusion of the public version of the Kirby analysis was altered from earlier drafts to remove references to its “poor results.”
 
WRT Lawrence East, good! This is where "evidence-based" analysis fails and people higher up (i.e. the government minister responsible for transit) should interfere. Metrolinx basically said that Lawrence East would have little to no ridership because the current fare system makes it extremely expensive for TTC passengers to transfer onto Go Transit. That's only a reasonable conclusion if you ignore all the fare integration planning that Metrolinx is currently doing to eventually make those transfers free or low-cost.
 
Metrolinx pressured to approve GO station in minister’s riding

Documents obtained through a freedom of information request show that ministry drafted press releases to announce stations the agency had not approved

The provincial transportation ministry pressured Metrolinx leadership to approve a new $100-million GO Transit station in the minister’s riding, according to documents obtained by the Star.
Maybe Del Duca should just stick to standing in front of a podium like he usually does.
 
WRT Lawrence East, good! This is where "evidence-based" analysis fails and people higher up (i.e. the government minister responsible for transit) should interfere. Metrolinx basically said that Lawrence East would have little to no ridership because the current fare system makes it extremely expensive for TTC passengers to transfer onto Go Transit. That's only a reasonable conclusion if you ignore all the fare integration planning that Metrolinx is currently doing to eventually make those transfers free or low-cost.

It's valid to point out that Lawrence East stations would be operating under a different fare system than at present. However, it's a huge stretch to claim that these transfers would be "free" or "low-cost". Metrolinx's fare integration initiative is about providing better value for commuters, without subsidizing fares. Some fares might get more expensive, and other fares might get cheaper, but overall commuters across the GTHA will be spending the same amount of money on transit.

Since there is no fare subsidy, I would not expect incredibly cheap fares between Lawrence East and downtown. We might get something a dollar or two cheaper.
 
Metrolinx's fare integration initiative is about providing better value for commuters, without subsidizing fares.

Metrolinx doesn't care about keeping the subsidy low. Go Transit's subsidy has increased dramatically over the last few years and it's going to keep increasing as they expand off-peak services.

Go Transit ridership is elastic. The counterflow rush hour, mid-day, evening and weekend trains would be lightly used under the current fare system. Any revenue from new passengers at a lower fare, especially on short-distance and medium-distance trips (for example, trips within Toronto) would more than offset lost revenue from their few existing passengers, resulting in fewer subsidies. That's especially true if they focus the fare changes on trips within Toronto, since there are virtually none of those at the moment.

I don't expect that Go Transit will make inter-city trips any cheaper than they currently are, because that's where they actually wouldn't pick up new revenue. What I expect is harmonized intra-city trips (i.e. Go Trains within Toronto included on a TTC fare, Go Trains within York Region included on a YRT fare, and so on) or a very cheap co-fare arrangement for Toronto (i.e. the same price as the TTC to take the train, and an extra 50¢-$1.00 to take the bus/streetcar/subway on the same trip), perhaps excluding the RH Line.
 
Since there is no fare subsidy, I would not expect incredibly cheap fares between Lawrence East and downtown.

I agree with this. However, that statement doesn't eliminate the possibility of price parity with the subway for the same trip in a decade.

After 2018 elections we're going to have a choice if we want to continue this pace of transit expansion with a province that's less inclined to pay for 100% of the municipal contribution. I expect that will be a combination of a transit tax (see Ford's subway tax but on a larger scale) + some kind of significant fare increase for rapid transit (see Metrolinx hybrid fare proposal).

In return for paying higher fares, the city free's up a few hundred million in TTC subsidies for things like the Bloor/Danforth resignalling project, new trains, etc and TTC riders get to use GO trains for the same price as subway/LRT trains. Buses will still be cheap.


I think even a Wynne government in 2020 will have run out of steam on transit spending and start kicking more responsibility down to the city. Minimum wage increases make it quite a bit easier to boost transit prices by say 1 penny per station? Once the mechanism is in place, price adjustments over the following decade will occur until both agencies at at parity with each-other.
 
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