Toronto Ontario Line 3 | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx

Funny how people have been saying for years here that the DRL should go up to Sheppard and finally the people in charge of transit get a clue. They should be reading this place to get some insight.
 
The study clearly indicates that GO RER Plus (Similar to SmartTrack) along Richmond Hill / Stouffville / Barrie corridors has very limited impact on the Yonge Line, reducing ridership by only 1.2%

Yes, I saw that. That's routing all GO RER trains through Union though, and the RH line not hitting anything south of Sheppard though (maybe south of Eglinton if they re-route using the Don Branch). A lot of the relief would come from interchanges with the Eglinton and Bloor-Danforth lines, which the current RH alignment doesn't have.

Run the RH Line (GO RER + GO RER Local/SmartTrack) through a tunnel starting at Lawrence following the 'traditional' DRL alignment into downtown, and you get the farther reach of RER, and the same connectivity as the TTC Subway option. If extending the DRL to Sheppard provides additional relief to Yonge, surely going to RHC with stations at all concession roads in between would provide even greater relief. If you can manage to eliminate the uselessness of the RH line south of Sheppard (in the valley), you'd have a pretty damn good relief line.
 
That option would be far more expensive as the tunnels would need to be a large diameter to fit the trains & overhead wires. There will still be few people transferring from the Yonge line since your proposed route has a longer length (and presumably longer travel time if stop spacing is similar to a DRL).
 
That option would be far more expensive as the tunnels would need to be a large diameter to fit the trains & overhead wires. There will still be few people transferring from the Yonge line since your proposed route has a longer length (and presumably longer travel time if stop spacing is similar to a DRL).

You can have at grade with third rail, and I don't think users are as sensitive to travel time (which is probably going to be worse with a Line 1 extension to Richmond Hill in any case) compared to frequency of service.

AoD
 
It would be great to eliminate the need for an interchange station at Don Mills and Sheppard and just have the Sheppard line turn south towards Don Mills thereby finally justifying the existence of the stubway and ending the Sheppard East subway debate once and for all. Would be difficult though given the location of Don Mills station... the curve south would have to be a wide one and stretch east of Don Mills and curve south under Parkway Forest Drive (following the curve of that road for example) then onto Don Mills. Just blue-skying.
 
You can have at grade with third rail, and I don't think users are as sensitive to travel time (which is probably going to be worse with a Line 1 extension to Richmond Hill in any case) compared to frequency of service.

AoD

Are you suggesting that this line should be RER or subway? RER != third rail.

I should also point out that the RH GO corridor does not offer the same connectivity as a Yonge street subway as it meanders through Richmond Hill through low density housing and industrial areas.

In short, it's not gonna happen.
 
It would be great to eliminate the need for an interchange station at Don Mills and Sheppard and just have the Sheppard line turn south towards Don Mills thereby finally justifying the existence of the stubway and ending the Sheppard East subway debate once and for all.
I'm not sure how much value that would actually add to the system, beyond connecting lines on the map.
 
Are you suggesting that this line should be RER or subway? RER != third rail. I should also point out that the RH GO corridor does not offer the same connectivity as a Yonge street subway as it meanders through Richmond Hill through low density housing and industrial areas. In short, it's not gonna happen.

Subway - third rail. And if you follow the Line 1 extension to RH, the stretch north of Steeles is pretty much all low density strip malls/housing anyways - and you'd be hitting a few redevelopable industrial areas using the current RH line alignment (e.g. Steeles, John St) - by the time you get to Langstaff, the alignment would be for all intents and purposes the same.

AoD
 
Why stop at Sheppard. It could veer eastward to hit Seneca College directly, and then slightly more east to hit that McNicoll office park at the 404, then slightly into Markham.
 
1. Why wouldn't it be?

2. Anything is possible with enough money
I swear I remember reading somewhere (maybe from Steve Munro) that the depth of Don Mills station and the drop to the Don River westwards would at least pose challenges. Of course now I can't find that information but I'd like to think I'm not imagining things.
 
I swear I remember reading somewhere (maybe from Steve Munro) that the depth of Don Mills station and the drop to the Don River westwards would at least pose challenges. Of course now I can't find that information but I'd like to think I'm not imagining things.

Yeah I remember reading that from Steve Munro's blog.
 
Is it even possible to build an interchange station at Sheppard/Don Mills?

I understand that the Don Mills station is quite deep (probably to reduce the grade climbing along Sheppard from the Don River near Leslie). I would expect that the Don Mills subway could go above this station. It also appears that they were smart enough to put the station on the NE corner and not directly under the intersection. This would make an interchange less disruptive. (Of course, I do not think they were that smart in planning for the ECLRT).

Anyway, there numbers were only about 20k, which would fit nicely with SkyTrain. This would be compatible with what should have been built on Eglinton. This smaller train will also allow the line to be elevated along parts of Don Mills to reduce costs and better handle the curves that are needed through downtown and across the Don near Overlea. If Sheppard is converted to SkyTrain as well (as described by Michael Schabas - http://www.neptis.org/sites/default...eptis_schabas_report_dec_2013_finaljuly23.pdf ), then these could all be connected.
 
I know it may look like it from Google Maps, but that intersection is most certainly not a bridge. The two roads do run on embankments North and East of the intersection but that shouldn't be an issue.

Don Mills does cross over the Don shortly north of Moatfield so the line would have to be tunneled somewhat deeply.
Isn't the soil soft over there though. But nice to hear, that's always been my only issue with the Don Mills subway so it's nice to hear that's a minor issue.
 
Sheppard-Don Mills wouldn't be a particularly heavily used the interchange. I'm sure building the station immediately south of Sheppard would be a satisfactory solution.
 

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