TheTigerMaster said:
From the TTC:

"The TTC’s Wilson Yard is undergoing a significant expansion of the rail yard and supporting maintenance facilities. The expansions are required to accommodate the needs for Toronto Rocket (TR) train storage and as a result of the introduction of the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE) and increasing service demands on Line 1 (Yonge University Spadina)."

Basically what's happening is that we need extra space in the yard to accommodate additional trainsets that will be operating on Line 1. These additional trainsets are needed because of the TYSSE, and because Automatic Train Operation (ATO) will allow more trains to operate on Line 1, increasing line capacity.
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Cheers, thanks for the info!
 
Does anyone know if it's possible to open this line in stages (i.e bring subways to York U station where they can turn back?). I recall this being discussed awhile back, but don't know if or why it was dismissed. I think 2018 is a long time to wait. Students starting in Fall could finish an undergrad over that time.
 
44 North said:
Does anyone know if it's possible to open this line in stages (i.e bring subways to York U station where they can turn back?). I recall this being discussed awhile back, but don't know if or why it was dismissed. I think 2018 is a long time to wait. Students starting in Fall could finish an undergrad over that time.
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Isn't the York station, though, one of the ones furthest from completion?
 
TOareaFan said:
Isn't the York station, though, one of the ones furthest from completion?
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Oh, possibly. Though I thought a main issue was a contractor (Arup?) for VMC station, and that they only did that station's "big pour" recently. Perhaps if a station like York U was still usable for subway riders, but didn't have its architectural flair or surface components completed yet, it could've been open early?
 
44 North said:
Oh, possibly. Though I thought a main issue was a contractor (Arup?) for VMC station, and that they only did that station's "big pour" recently. Perhaps if a station like York U was still usable for subway riders, but didn't have its architectural flair or surface components completed yet, it could've been open early?
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See this article for this quote from Del Duca back in March:
<<
But that’s a non-starter for Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca, who represents the riding of Vaughan and has long championed the line.
“We made a contribution of $900 million to the Move Ontario Trust and that was a contribution that was delivered with the expectation that the project would be running all the way to York Region and that’s what we anticipate will occur,” he said.
>>

Unfortunately, yes, a non-starter.

York Station was the furthest behind as it sat abandoned for 18 months and full of unpumped water buildup. Major contract dispute (and possibly contract abandonment?) between contractor and TTC.
 
I think this was discussed earlier this year?

If you break the opening into two segments you have to do a lot of the finishing and commissioning in two chunks. That may mean breaking procurement in two or warehousing half of the order until the second phase is ready to proceed. And doing commissioning tests, and training twice. So it may be much more costly.

Even if it's technically possible, it's potitically undersirable. The public has processed the message that the opening is delayed. They have modified their expectations and the sad story of the delay has died in the public's eyes. Opening one half would reopen that wound, or rub salt into it, or whatever the metaphor is. Better to just let things sit (the opportunity cost of not using the first half is invisible to the average voter) and then when the whole thing opens the delay is forgotten, or moot. This is good politics for TTC even if we don't get full value out of the investment in the meanwhile.

- Paul
 
Well hopefully they will take the lessons learned from this inept piece of work and
apply to their future projects. One thing for sure is to never let the TTC manage their own large projects ever again
 
crs1026 said:
I think this was discussed earlier this year?

If you break the opening into two segments you have to do a lot of the finishing and commissioning in two chunks. That may mean breaking procurement in two or warehousing half of the order until the second phase is ready to proceed. And doing commissioning tests, and training twice. So it may be much more costly.

Even if it's technically possible, it's potitically undersirable. The public has processed the message that the opening is delayed. They have modified their expectations and the sad story of the delay has died in the public's eyes. Opening one half would reopen that wound, or rub salt into it, or whatever the metaphor is. Better to just let things sit (the opportunity cost of not using the first half is invisible to the average voter) and then when the whole thing opens the delay is forgotten, or moot. This is good politics for TTC even if we don't get full value out of the investment in the meanwhile.
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Hm, I guess there are more complex reasons as to why a phased approach was seen as undesirable. And yes, it definitely was discussed here and in the media. I just wasn't sure if we got a definitive, valid answer (other than the vague notion of it being seen as politically unfair). This is the second largest university in the country...any way I look at it, a phased opening should've been strongly considered. Perhaps even as a shuttle only servicing Downsview and York U.

I'd wager you're correct that it would increase TYSSE's scope and capital cost. However, alternately it could mean running hundreds of fewer buses - and freeing up resources and manpower in the process. So perhaps the cost-savings in operations could outweigh any added capital expenditure (and therefore be in the taxpayer's and public's favour).
 
I happened to come upon one of the emergency exit buildings. This one is at Sheppard & Chesswood Dr.

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These are the renderings:
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Nice pics.

I really enjoy the park bench beside the exit. I suppose after you escape from whatever disaster happens in the tunnels (knock on wood), you can have a romantic picnic beside the exit.
 
Beautiful emergency exits. But the whole emergency exit thing irks me. Why spend so much on tunnels and structures for something that will likely never be used, when for a little more you could have an additional entrance/access point? You could even incorporate it into a development to recoup the costs.
 
The answer is that the assumption that the seven emergency exits on the Spadina extension could have been full-blown stations for only a little more is just completely wrong. That's almost an emergency exit every kilometre. And yet the cost of a kilometre of the tunnels (which included the emergency exits) is far less than the cost of a station!
 
nfitz said:
The answer is that the assumption that the seven emergency exits on the Spadina extension could have been full-blown stations for only a little more is just completely wrong. That's almost an emergency exit every kilometre. And yet the cost of a kilometre of the tunnels (which included the emergency exits) is far less than the cost of a station!
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Okay, I think I misunderstood what the structures were for. From what you're saying it sounds as though these are exits from the tunnel between stations, in case there is an evacuation from within the tunnels. I thought these were exit-only structures from the stations, added in order to meet the fire code requirement that there be two independent sources of egress not connected by a common mezzanine.

The TTC has its "second exit" program, which is meant to update the existing stations to meet the aforementioned fire code requirement. Although in most cases they have been adding combined exits/entrances, they also consider exit-only structures.
 
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