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Toronto Crosstown LRT | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | Arcadis

Any construction updates? When they awarded the tunnelling contract, they said tunnelling should start in February - which is almost over. I'd think that if they are anywhere close to schedule, they should have the TBMs being assembled in the launch site by now. Has anyone noticed what's going on over at the launch site?
 
nfitz said:
Any construction updates? When they awarded the tunnelling contract, they said tunnelling should start in February - which is almost over. I'd think that if they are anywhere close to schedule, they should have the TBMs being assembled in the launch site by now. Has anyone noticed what's going on over at the launch site?
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The first piece of the first TBM was delivered on site today.
 
nfitz said:
Any construction updates? When they awarded the tunnelling contract, they said tunnelling should start in February - which is almost over. I'd think that if they are anywhere close to schedule, they should have the TBMs being assembled in the launch site by now. Has anyone noticed what's going on over at the launch site?
Click to expand...

They have just started to deliver the TBMs.
 
Voltz said:
They have just started to deliver the TBMs.
Click to expand...

See Anne Marie Akins' (Metrolinx media relations manager) twitter account for some photos:

https://twitter.com/femwriter

Full disclosure: they're shots of a truck carrying boxes. Don't expect anything spectacular; the TBMS are coming in pieces and being assembled onsite. But there are the photos for anyone who wants them.

She says in her feed that tunnelling will likely begin in April, and from a question by nfitz there, that they are running a bit late but should still be on schedule for 2020.
 
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DavidH said:
She says in her feed that tunnelling will likely begin in April, and from a question by nfitz there, that they are running a bit late but should still be on schedule for 2020.
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Though the original Metrolinx schedule only 4 years ago had a partial opening in 2016, and service to Pearson by 2020 ... along with SRT open in 2015, Finch West open in 2014, and Sheppard East open in 2013.

I wonder what the opening dates will be 6 years from now :)
 
nfitz said:
I wonder what the opening dates will be 6 years from now :)
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Don't get me started. We're not even close to the point-of-no-return that would prevent cancellation should Hudak become premier and be interested in doing so.
 
DavidH said:
Don't get me started. We're not even close to the point-of-no-return that would prevent cancellation should Hudak become premier and be interested in doing so.
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Any idea what the timeframe is of the second set of TBMs entering the ground at Don Mills Road? It will be pretty hard to short the project, other than the surface section east of Don Mills, at that point.

We are beyond the point where Harris cancelled Eglinton last time ... I can't see nothing being built at this stage ... but I can see the line being a lot shorter - say from only Allen or Yonge to Weston.
 
innsertnamehere said:
probably around 2015.
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Hopefully before then. I have to congratulate whoever decided to start tunnelling from both ends though - it does make it difficult to shorten the tunnel!

Here are some of the photos posted on Twitter of TBM parts arriving. Click on them for more detail and resolution.







 
The star had a bit more detail on tunnel timing. http://mm.thestar.com/news/gta/tran...glinton-crosstown-lrt-tunneling-a-step-closer

Black Creek to Eglinton West. Start April 2013 (and second twin tunnel in June 2013). Finish August 2014.
Eglinton West to Yonge. Start September 2014. Finish May 2016
Don Mills to Yonge. Start late Fall 2014. Finish May 2016
Tunneling Rate = 10 to 15m per day
Click to expand...

I am not sure if these are all one Contract with staggered start times, or separate Contracts. Also not sure if once the tunnels are finished will all remaining stations, track, signals, street level in-median portion, SRT conversion and extension all be part of the same P3 (AFP) Contract or will there be several smaller ones. Generally, I would have thought that if it is P3 then it would make sense to have everything in one big Contract.
 
BurlOak said:
I am not sure if these are all one Contract with staggered start times, or separate Contracts. Also not sure if once the tunnels are finished will all remaining stations, track, signals, street level in-median portion, SRT conversion and extension all be part of the same P3 (AFP) Contract or will there be several smaller ones. Generally, I would have thought that if it is P3 then it would make sense to have everything in one big Contract.
Click to expand...
The tunelling from Black Creek to Eglinton West and Eglinton West to Yonge are not part of the P3, but a simple stand-alone contract that was awarded last year (following a separate contract that was done to build the Black Creek portal). I'm not sure if the Don Mills to Yonge work is part of the P3 or not - but I'm guessing not, as I didn't think they were getting financial close on the P3 until late 2014.
 
snowystar said:
The keyword is "other alternatives" - other technologies (third rail rotary motor?), other operating conditions (shorter train, higher headway?), different requirements, combination of technologies, etc. The report seems almost black and white as its either long LRT or ICTS trains, and it is set up in a way that either options would be very expensive. For instance, they got the cost estimate of the ICTS yard from Vancouver, but due to TTC's different "maintenance practice", the yard would cost 200M more here. AFAIK, Vancouver's yard doesn't even cost 200M. So what's with this special "maintenance practice" that would more than double the cost? And how come a MkII train in Toronto would only hold 70 people while the same train in Vancouver can hold 134? Is it not allowed to have more than 30 standees per vehicle in Toronto? The same applies to LRVs, but to a less degree.

I'm not sure about the LRT options, but comparing the ICTS option, Vancouver's Expo Line have 65% higher capacity and 2.5x longer, but served with only 60% more trains. And yet the maintenance center in Toronto is going to cost 200M more? Why is it so expensive to build anything in Toronto...
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Those are very good points. However, they hint that all transit costs in Toronto are bloated for one or another reason, compared to other cities in the world or even in Canada.

If so, then the whole approach needs to be fixed. Replacing the technology (say, ICTS instead of LRT) is not going to help.
 
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