[syn]

I'm not. My preferred alignment for Eglinton West is elevated, but this article reeks of classic NIMBYism and partisan bickering. " Weirdly, the only major project in Toronto where politicians are embracing above-ground construction is where it makes the least sense, with the decision to run the Ontario Line above ground through the denser and more-urban environs of Leslieville. " Ye, sure. Leslieville Elevated is bad, even though its using existing rail corridors.

Elliot is a fairly well respected writer on transit issues. He makes a very valid point. If the government can justify an underground investment in Eglinton West and Scarborough then having the OL run underground in the downtown core is a no-brainer.

Partisanship and division have been hallmarks of Ford's political career. It's what Populists do.

 

[slapped_chicken]

Very disingenuous post. REM is essentially a commuter/regional system. The Eglinton line has stops at every major intersection, so the travel time savings are much lower since its making the stops anyway (and reaches a much lower top speed in between stops). No one at Metrolinx is proposing we run GO trains in the street ROW (yet..)

REM's current stage 1 is pretty much rapid regional rail with some more stops in parts of the city and very spaced out stops elsewhere. That slide is for REM's North and East (Stage 2, i guess) and the design is somewhat different - the stations are a lot closer together and more similar to recent metro projects in Canada that have between 1-2 km stop spacing. One of REM's North-East branches is literally the Pink Line resurrected but with a different alignment! It's a fair comparison to Eglinton West which has similar spacing like Syn Noah said

If the government can justify an underground investment in Eglinton West and Scarborough then having the OL run underground in the downtown core is a no-brainer.

I'd rather think of it this way - If the OL can run overground wherever it reasonably can (in it's current design there are some sections that should go underground, tbh) then they should pursue overground options with that same energy and motivation for Eglinton West and Scarborough as well.

 

[NoahB]

It's a fair comparison to Eglinton West which has similar spacing like Syn said

Who are you calling Syn? lol

I do see this line as a Pink Line replacement. But would be nice to have that diagonal line through what now is an encircled area.

 

[slapped_chicken]

Who are you calling Syn? lol

I do see this line as a Pink Line replacement. But would be nice to have that diagonal line through what now is an encircled area.

I had a shot of coffee today, something i don't normally drink, that's my excuse

And yea, that empty spot looks appetizing for an original Pink Line alignment. Even so this new set of REM lines almost perfectly completes their rapid transit network. At that point, the island will have higher rapid transit capacity and coverage than Toronto proper by 2030. Wanna bet MTL's 'relief line' is going under construction before ours? I'm honestly thinking about betraying y'all and moving to Montreal at this point ✌ vive la quebec

 

[NoahB]

I had a shot of coffee today, something i don't normally drink, that's my excuse

And yea, that empty spot looks appetizing for an original Pink Line alignment. Even so this new set of REM lines almost perfectly completes their rapid transit network. At that point, the island will have higher rapid transit capacity and coverage than Toronto proper by 2030. Wanna bet MTL's 'relief line' is going under construction before ours? I'm honestly thinking about betraying y'all and moving to Montreal at this point ✌ vive la quebec

I was about to move there a month ago, but I ended up moving to Downtown Toronto. haha

Montreal already had a 'broader coverage' feel than Toronto thanks to encircling the mountain and being bounded by the rivers. But now it will almost cover the whole island from one side to the other. Very exciting prospect.

 

[syn]

REM's current stage 1 is pretty much rapid regional rail with some more stops in parts of the city and very spaced out stops elsewhere. That slide is for REM's North and East (Stage 2, i guess) and the design is somewhat different - the stations are a lot closer together and more similar to recent metro projects in Canada that have between 1-2 km stop spacing. One of REM's North-East branches is literally the Pink Line resurrected but with a different alignment! It's a fair comparison to Eglinton West which has similar spacing like Syn Noah said



I'd rather think of it this way - If the OL can run overground wherever it reasonably can (in it's current design there are some sections that should go underground, tbh) then they should pursue overground options with that same energy and motivation for Eglinton West and Scarborough as well.

For sure.

The problem is that the OL needs maximum capacity. The current plan undercuts this core objective.

If they're overbuilding the EWLRT and SSE they're underbuilding the OL. Not to mention wasting the money spent on an excellent phase one plan, nearly ready to go.

 

[asher__jo]

For sure.

The problem is that the OL needs maximum capacity. The current plan undercuts this core objective.

If they're overbuilding the EWLRT and SSE they're underbuilding the OL. Not to mention the money spent on an excellent phase one plan, nearly ready to go.

120 m platforms should be a consideration.

 

[afransen]

Very disingenuous post. REM is essentially a commuter/regional system. The Eglinton line has stops at every major intersection, so the travel time savings are much lower since its making the stops anyway (and reaches a much lower top speed in between stops). No one at Metrolinx is proposing we run GO trains in the street ROW (yet..)

The fact that it stops at every intersection is an indication that it is not truly a 'crosstown' line.

 

[W. K. Lis]

The fact that it stops at every intersection is an indication that it is not truly a 'crosstown' line.

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT (including west and east) would be a "local" line.

From link.

From link.

From link.

For an "express" line, we'll need the GO Midtown Train. (As is the Union Pearson Express, an "express" line.)

From link.

 

[NoahB]

The fact that it stops at every intersection is an indication that it is not truly a 'crosstown' line.

Your logic doesn't make sense. It's only a 'crosstown' if you remove all the stations? Note that duffo specifically wrote 'major intersections.

I think a better barometer is the fact that it truly does go from one end of the city to the other. That is what makes it a 'crosstown'. The speed of service, number of stops, and technology are not relevant to the definition.

 

[Tuck]

Eglinton West has no business being underground - the entire line should be elevated. But that speaks more to Eglinton West and the province's twisted priorities than it does to the OL. The OL presents some serious benefits by going above ground (at least in the east end), which allows for easier GO connections, and I believe the downtown portion is meant to run much closer to the surface.

I just really hate it ending at Exhibition.

View attachment 289151
Slide from REM presentation, Toronto should take some notes.

More relevant to Eglinton East than west at this point, but yeah, Toronto transit planners do seem to love taking the "Rapid" out of "rapid transit."

 

[TheTigerMaster]

I think a better barometer is the fact that it truly does go from one end of the city to the other. That is what makes it a 'crosstown'. The speed of service, number of stops, and technology are not relevant to the definition.

Kind of a ridiculous debate in the first place, since few people on this line would be using it to travel from Etobicoke to Scarborough in the first place. How many people are travelling from Kipling to Kennedy (or Islington to Warden) on Line 2? I'd suppose not many. If that's the kind of travel demographic we're targeting, we need to build a regional rail line. A single line cannot be everything to everyone, simultaneously serving local (<5 km) and regional travel needs

 

[Steve X]

Kind of a ridiculous debate in the first place, since few people on this line would be using it to travel from Etobicoke to Scarborough in the first place. How many people are travelling from Kipling to Kennedy (or Islington to Warden) on Line 2? I'd suppose not many. If that's the kind of travel demographic we're targeting, we need to build a regional rail line. A single line cannot be everything to everyone, simultaneously serving local (<5 km) and regional travel needs

That's why I think LRT would attract more people as a local line while the have RER to reinforce the crosstown travels. Instead everyone wants subways to be the middle ground while being ideal to nobody. Locals would take 15 mine to get to a startion while it'll still take an hour to get from one end to the other

 

[ARG1]

Eglinton West has no business being underground - the entire line should be elevated. But that speaks more to Eglinton West and the province's twisted priorities than it does to the OL. The OL presents some serious benefits by going above ground (at least in the east end), which allows for easier GO connections, and I believe the downtown portion is meant to run much closer to the surface.

I just really hate it ending at Exhibition.


More relevant to Eglinton East than west at this point, but yeah, Toronto transit planners do seem to love taking the "Rapid" out of "rapid transit."

tbh, I kind of meant it more in a general at grade LRT context, looking at stuff like Sheppard East, Don Mills, and Eglinton East LRTs which I find the choice of at grade LRTs absolutely ridiculous.

 

[ARG1]

Kind of a ridiculous debate in the first place, since few people on this line would be using it to travel from Etobicoke to Scarborough in the first place. How many people are travelling from Kipling to Kennedy (or Islington to Warden) on Line 2? I'd suppose not many. If that's the kind of travel demographic we're targeting, we need to build a regional rail line. A single line cannot be everything to everyone, simultaneously serving local (<5 km) and regional travel needs

Well might as well go out and say that Line 1 is ridiculous because nobody will travel from Finch to VMC. This point is ridiculous, nobody builds metros with the expectation that people will ride it end to end. RER serves far more longer distance based travel meanwhile metros serve more specific demands.