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The argument that a Dufferin alignment is too close to Line 1 University is valid. But are there any projections of when University south of Bloor will become overycapacity?

IIRC, University is at ~80% capacity southbound at St George during rush. This is before the Line 1 extension to Vaughan, and the opening of Line 5 and 7 which will act as feeders.

How much of this will be offset by SmartTrack via Dundas West?

This line would also have the added benefit of reducing the burden on Western streetcar routes (and potentially being able to remove either the King or Queen route).
 
This line would also have the added benefit of reducing the burden on Western streetcar routes (and potentially being able to remove either the King or Queen route).

The streetcars would remain to provide "local" service, while the SmartTrack/Relief Line/UPX/GO would provide more "express" service.
 
The streetcars would remain to provide "local" service, while the SmartTrack/Relief Line/UPX/GO would provide more "express" service.

Possibly. If a subway relief line runs under Queen, I could see them removing the streetcar tracks, as they did with Yonge streetcar line.
 
Possibly. If a subway relief line runs under Queen, I could see them removing the streetcar tracks, as they did with Yonge streetcar line.

They won't since the Relief Line would not follow the entire length of Queen Street. For such a short distance, they won't tear up the tracks, especially for reconstruction, detours, service disruptions on the Relief Line itself, and short turns.
 
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They won't since the Relief Line would not follow the entire length of Queen Street. For such a short distance, they won't tear up the tracks, especially for reconstruction, detours, service disruptions on the Relief Line itself, and short turns.

Would make sense to keep the trackage on Queen, for the reasons you mentioned.
 
Not sure if there is a relevant distinction you're drawing there.
Similar to how it is incorrect to call the TYSSE a new subway line, it is also wrong to call the Relief Line West a new subway line, as it will most likely be an extension of Line 3. Therefore, the goals and operations of the extension should be similar to the rest of the line. We already know that the 501 Queen will not be going away with the opening of the Relief Line South, since the stop spacing of the Relief Line does not serve the areas along Queen Street well, not does it stay primarily on the route.

The next part is a bit less back by facts, but I find it hard to believe that the Relief Line extension to the west will have close enough stop spacing to allow for the 501 to be cut back to somewhere like Roncesvalles, nor would it stay along Queen Street for the entire rest of the route towards Humber Bay Shores, replacing the plan Waterfront West LRT, and not turning north towards Line 2.

Basically, I don't think the Relief Line West should serve a purpose that differs greatly from the Relief Line South.
 
The argument that a Dufferin alignment is too close to Line 1 University is valid. But are there any projections of when University south of Bloor will become overycapacity?

IIRC, University is at ~80% capacity southbound at St George during rush. This is before the Line 1 extension to Vaughan, and the opening of Line 5 and 7 which will act as feeders.

The proximity of Dufferin to Line 1 is not a big problem, IMO. South of St Clair, all Line 1 "University" stations are much further from Dufferin than they are from Yonge. Both the "University" and the "Yonge" stations are very well used, thus no reason to expect the Dufferin stations to slack.

As the western leg of Line1 veers west to Allen, Relief Line West could swing west as well to keep the distance. One possible route:
- Under Dufferin, from Queen to St Clair (or Rogers Rd)
- Swinging north-west to hit Eglinton at Keele
- Further north-west under Treteway, with a mid-block station somewhere west of Black Creek to serve the highrises
- Hitting Jane at Lawrence
- In the very long term, the line can be extended into Rexdale (to Albion Mall)
 
The proximity of Dufferin to Line 1 is not a big problem, IMO. South of St Clair, all Line 1 "University" stations are much further from Dufferin than they are from Yonge. Both the "University" and the "Yonge" stations are very well used, thus no reason to expect the Dufferin stations to slack.

As the western leg of Line1 veers west to Allen, Relief Line West could swing west as well to keep the distance. One possible route:
- Under Dufferin, from Queen to St Clair (or Rogers Rd)
If you dip down to Liberty before heading north on Dufferin, you can intercept every east-west streetcar route westbound into downtown. While a Dundas West route would relieve the 504 and 501, a Dufferin route could also relieve the 505 and the god awful 506 midway into downtown. Not to mention the route is shorter and (in theory) less expensive.

Talk about bang for your buck.

From a network perspective this route seems to provide the most benefit, IMHO.
 
The proximity of Dufferin to Line 1 is not a big problem, IMO. South of St Clair, all Line 1 "University" stations are much further from Dufferin than they are from Yonge. Both the "University" and the "Yonge" stations are very well used, thus no reason to expect the Dufferin stations to slack.

As the western leg of Line1 veers west to Allen, Relief Line West could swing west as well to keep the distance. One possible route:
- Under Dufferin, from Queen to St Clair (or Rogers Rd)
- Swinging north-west to hit Eglinton at Keele
- Further north-west under Treteway, with a mid-block station somewhere west of Black Creek to serve the highrises
- Hitting Jane at Lawrence
- In the very long term, the line can be extended into Rexdale (to Albion Mall)

We don't need more subways to malls, do we ??
 
The main question is where the west arm of the DRL should lead. Here’s an overview of the leading options:

1) Follow Queen to Dufferin. Turn North. Connect to Bloor-Dufferin. One day extend to... Eglinton-Dufferin? ... the Junction?

2) Terminate at Exhibition. Serve Queen-West, Liberty Village, and the CNE.

3)Continue to Dundas Station. Connect with Line 2 and UPX. Extend NW to Junction, Stockyards, etc.
 

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