[gweed123]

read the article...GO is going further...they are saying there are no two separate services to "overlay"...they are saying one service, called RER and operated by ML.

I should clarify, I meant to say 'service patterns'. Same branding, same trains, same fares, same operator, just different service patterns. Think express vs local trains on the NYC subway.

 

[wopchop]

I should clarify, I meant to say 'service patterns'. Same branding, same trains, same fares, same operator, just different service patterns. Think express vs local trains on the NYC subway.

Not sure why you need to reference NYC. The service pattern will obviously be similar to what already exists on Lakeshore West and East

 

[salsa]

"Although ridership and the location and cost of stations has also to be determined, Tory said, 'I believe it is a no-brainer.'"

And "Smart Track is a Yonge subway relief line". Bunch of bullshit. Why is council wasting money on a bunch of consultants to study Smart Track if Tory will just keep dismissing their concerns and misrepresent the facts?

 

[nfitz]

There's no reason why a UPX train need have exactly the same number of cars as a RER train, but the cars can be the same fleet.

Can't make Pearson station any longer - not easily at least. And there's no way on the planet the province is going to let the Pearson express station become the terminus for a 12-station trip. It's fantasy.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

It's good that Tory is going to the UK to study transit, there is lots to learn....the irony is that (contrary to what the media claims), Crossrail is the antithesis of Smarttrack but somewhat analogous to the Relief line.
Wonder what visions he will come back with. Hopefully he sees the Overground too.

- PUl

In what wy is it the antithesis of SmartTrack?

 

[crs1026]

In what wy is it the antithesis of SmartTrack?

It has a massive amount of tunnel (26 miles' worth) in the middle. It is not a "surface subway". It does not overlay onto an existing route, interleaved with regional service.

It enables cross-city travel, connecting some of the termini of current radial routes.

It will relieve overcrowding on existing Tube lines. (OK, you got me there, but it's really going to do this, where ST apparently won't.)

- Paul

 

[ssiguy2]

I think what you will eventually see is a system where all trains from outside the city are Union express.

The GO trains will stop at the first stop within the 416 for anyone wanting to travel in the city except those going to Union/downtown. So for example the first and only stop in Toronto will be York U, Etobicoke North, Rouge Hill etc for those coming in from the 805 and the next stop will be Union. People from the 905 or Torontonians themselves would take more of a ST system with more stops between the first city GO station and Union.

Conversely those heading out of Toronto itself can either go to Union or take ST out to the final city stop and transfer onto the standard GO commuter rail.

This is a system that could still share the same track and stations but offers faster service to Union for the 905 crowd and more localized by still fast service for the 416. Of course anyone coming from the far reaches of the city would still be able to take the regular GO express train from the first station where they enter the city so it also offers much faster service for those in the far flung areas of the city such as Rouge Hill.

 

[Adjei]

"An independent and parallel service would be unaffordable and unworkable.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...-one-and-the-same-service-says-metrolinx.html

Good to see Metrolinx coming out to state what should have been said all along...

 

[Adjei]

"Metrolinx and the province believe that the (city report) should reflect the scenario where SmartTrack is an incremental increase in RER (regional express rail) service, rather than an independent and parallel service that co-exists with RER," he wrote.

"The risk of creating unmet expectations is too great," said McCuaig.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...-one-and-the-same-service-says-metrolinx.html

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Mr. Tory set very high expectations for ST in his campaign. He might face huge political fallout if he can't meet them.

 

[nfitz]

It has a massive amount of tunnel (26 miles' worth) in the middle.

Not sure where you are getting 26 miles from. There's five tunnelled sections that I know of, with the longest only being about 5 miles, two less than 2 miles, and one being only 900 metres. Are you counting one mile of twin-tunnel as two miles? I guess by that standard, the Eglinton line is 23 km long, and the Line 1 extension to Vaughan Mafia Centre is 17 km.

 

[Adjei]

Politicians especially municipal ones should stop proposing these useless transit plans which derail already established ones. Tory's SmartTrack has taken over the minds at city hall and seems Toronto wants to keep doubling down on it. SmartTrack is getting all the attention during the federal election. Not one mention of the DRL or other projects. When it was mentioned before that SmartTrack was shifting attention away from other projects like the DRL, we were told by SmartTrack boosters that the DRL was not ready to be funded but SmartTrack was? How is SmartTrack ready to be funded? Did anyone read the report out this week? SmartTrack is even more ambiguous than ever. They don't know the frequency, how different it will be from the DRL, capacity constraints at Union, what will happen on Eglington, a new route being drawn up to get into airport from the Northwest, fare policy, and other matters. Instead of the feds pitching money for the first leg of the DRL we now have SmartTrack gobbling up all available funding when no one even knows damn well what it will end up being.

 

[nfitz]

On the bright side, it might actually get Phase 2 of the Eglinton line constructed.

 

[Adjei]

On the bright side, it might actually get Phase 2 of the Eglinton line constructed.

Ha you know you're right. For awhile it seemed like it was dead in the water.

 

[M II A II R II K]

The GO service can be an express service from the 905 to downtown stops, and SmartTrack can be the localized version of it, particularly within the 416. Of course a lot depends on not having to pay more within the 416 and also capacity, frequency, and connectivity.

The new stations should have sidetracks to get to them so that the express trains can just keep on going.