Toronto Union Pearson Express | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | MMM Group Limited

The GO service to the airport will continue to be run out of Yorkdale, Square One, and Richmond Hill, and the TTC will continue to run its Airport Rocket from Kipling. The rail link to the airport has been designed in a way that will make it impossible to use longer train sets that GO is likely to use, even with GO frequent service. If GO serviced the spur with other stops at regular prices the 2 to 3 car single level trains would be so packed with commuters that people going to the airport wouldn't be able to get on. Unfortunately a whole new line will need to be built to the airport to make it part of a real network.

There used to be an IBI report that laid out a plan to create a passenger corridor diversion to the airport and if that had been built then GO and VIA would be able to serve the airport and the service would be much better. Unfortunately now that this Blue 22 style plan is going ahead the only chance of improved service to the airport for the GTA and Ontario as a whole, and for regular commuters working at the airport, is either the construction of the through-service corridor as part of a high-speed rail plan, or the upgrade of the airport people mover to run from a station on the Georgetown corridor to the terminal and then to the Renforth gateway.

The airport people mover upgrade is still our greatest hope for service accessible to the masses which integrates well with the existing network (GO Georgetown, VIA K-W, Mississauga BRT, Eglinton LRT/subway, GO 401/427 services, and Finch West LRT). Maybe the delay in GTAA decision to commit to a Eglinton LRT route into the airport will buy us time for a better solution. This is really one of the few cases where an additional transfer would provide better service because the airport people mover is traditionally automated and free, therefore GO, VIA, Mississauga BRT, and TTC passengers get access to the connection without additional fares, whereas a Eglinton LRT extension to the airport is likely to result in some group paying more.
 
Metrolinx to build, own and operate Air Rail Link

Key transit project to be complete for 2015 Pan Am Games

TORONTO, July 30, 2010 /CNW/ - Metrolinx, the province's regional transportation agency for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, has been asked by the Ontario government to build, own and operate the Air Rail Link (ARL) from Union Station to Pearson Airport.

Metrolinx will assume responsibility for the project including design, construction and operations and will incorporate the work that has already been done to date. Metrolinx's operating division, GO Transit, has a 40-year track record of running a successful passenger rail service.

The ARL will provide a premium express rail shuttle service between Union Station and Pearson Airport. The ARL will be an important link for business people and travellers and will be ready for the 2015 Pan American Games.

While the province and the Union Pearson Air-Link Group (UPAG), a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin, were able to make significant progress negotiating, financial market conditions prevented acceptable terms. The government will continue to work with UPAG to build on the design and development work that has been completed to date.

Construction is already underway on the GO Georgetown South Corridor to support the Air Rail Link connection. This project is expected to create approximately 10,000 jobs in the design and construction stages over the next five years.

Each year, more than five million people travel between downtown and the airport and that number is expected to reach nine million by 2020. The ARL will help meet the tremendous demand for a direct service by connecting the busiest airport in Canada with the busiest transit and passenger rail hub in the country and will take 1.2 million car trips off our roads in its first year of operation alone.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2010/30/c7540.html
 
Hopefully this means the fares will be cheaper... who knows. At least we're not spending hundreds of millions so SNC can make a nice profit.
 
This is NOT good news. It means the piece of infrastructure being built from 427 to the airport which cannot be used for through service did not have a viable business case to the private sector and now the taxpayer is stuck with the bill. When the private sector was paying for it, the fact that it is a far less than ideal design didn't matter as much. Now the chances of a proper connection which users from Kitchener can use is diminished even further because it would mean paying twice for the connection to the airport, not paying once. A good connection to the airport requires either a free people mover link from the rail corridor to the terminals and to the Renforth gateway, OR it requires a through route corridor diversion into the airport. This is neither and now the taxpayer is paying for it.

Swarley said:
At least we're not spending hundreds of millions so SNC can make a nice profit.
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The taxpayer wasn't paying for the slow curved and steep rail spur to the airport, nor was it paying for a unique train set of two cars in length which would not fit in anywhere else on the GO system, nor was it paying for the operators and maintenance of this service... that was going to be completely covered by SNC. The taxpayer was only paying for the Georgetown line upgrades which provide benefits to VIA and GO. Now we are stuck paying for rail link infrastructure which can only support trains two cars long and therefore cannot serve the large numbers of people that would be required for a viable cheap commuter service. The fact that SNC could not make a business case from this means we can expect this service to not be profitable. This is an admission by the private sector that this infrastructure as designed is a bit of a white elephant.
 
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EnviroTO, this latest article just reinforced what we knew all along. in fact, years ago, by their own ridership projections, the project was not shown to be profitable. maybe the hoped for operating subsidies disappeared now?

they should scrap the business class express service and build a line that services more communities along the way and with cheaper fares.
 
They should scrap the rail link and go straight to RFP for a new monorail / APM with stops at Malton station, long term parking, T3, T1 D-E-F, T1 G-H, and Eglinton and Renforth to replace the rinky-dink cable car APM that is currently there. Forget about the huge expense of elevated heavy rail into the airport, forget about the Eglinton LRT coming into the airport in a roundabout way, forget about the Finch West LRT coming into the airport. One piece of infrastructure (the monorail / APM) can save money on 2 LRT connections, 1 heavy rail spur, and allow GO, VIA, TTC, and Mississauga Transit passengers to access the airport from the north, west, and south as well as the east rather than only via a downtown centric Air Rail Link. End the Finch West LRT at Malton station and move the Mississauga Transit and Brampton Transit hub at Westwood Mall to Malton Station, have all VIA trains on the route stop at Malton Station, beef up the GO service to 20 minutes all day to Malton using smaller trainsets if required. End the Mississauga Busway and Eglinton LRT at Eglinton and Renforth for a hub which links to the airport and also supports both GO and intercity bus routes. It can all be done for less than what is currently planned and provides greater connectivity as an end result.
 
EnviroTO said:
They should scrap the rail link and go straight to RFP for a new monorail / APM with stops at Malton station, long term parking, T3, T1 D-E-F, T1 G-H, and Eglinton and Renforth to replace the rinky-dink cable car APM that is currently there. Forget about the huge expense of elevated heavy rail into the airport, forget about the Eglinton LRT coming into the airport in a roundabout way, forget about the Finch West LRT coming into the airport. One piece of infrastructure (the monorail / APM) can save money on 2 LRT connections, 1 heavy rail spur, and allow GO, VIA, TTC, and Mississauga Transit passengers to access the airport from the north, west, and south as well as the east rather than only via a downtown centric Air Rail Link. End the Finch West LRT at Malton station and move the Mississauga Transit and Brampton Transit hub at Westwood Mall to Malton Station, have all VIA trains on the route stop at Malton Station, beef up the GO service to 20 minutes all day to Malton using smaller trainsets if required. End the Mississauga Busway and Eglinton LRT at Eglinton and Renforth for a hub which links to the airport and also supports both GO and intercity bus routes. It can all be done for less than what is currently planned and provides greater connectivity as an end result.
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100% right!!!!!

This approach is probably cheaper than what was proposed/being developed by UPG but also has the added benefit of likely serving far more people!!
 
If the airport express rail line is being run and operated by Metrolinx, then at least the capacity is there to run other trains (be it GO or VIA) on the same track. The one thing that bothered me most about the SNC Lavalin proposal was the exclusivity of the tracks for a premium service.

Although, I do have to third the proposal to upgrade the people mover to airtrain status, as you could probably guess from my previous posts.
 
EnviroTO said:
They should scrap the rail link and go straight to RFP for a new monorail / APM with stops at Malton station, long term parking, T3, T1 D-E-F, T1 G-H, and Eglinton and Renforth to replace the rinky-dink cable car APM that is currently there. Forget about the huge expense of elevated heavy rail into the airport, forget about the Eglinton LRT coming into the airport in a roundabout way, forget about the Finch West LRT coming into the airport. One piece of infrastructure (the monorail / APM) can save money on 2 LRT connections, 1 heavy rail spur, and allow GO, VIA, TTC, and Mississauga Transit passengers to access the airport from the north, west, and south as well as the east rather than only via a downtown centric Air Rail Link. End the Finch West LRT at Malton station and move the Mississauga Transit and Brampton Transit hub at Westwood Mall to Malton Station, have all VIA trains on the route stop at Malton Station, beef up the GO service to 20 minutes all day to Malton using smaller trainsets if required. End the Mississauga Busway and Eglinton LRT at Eglinton and Renforth for a hub which links to the airport and also supports both GO and intercity bus routes. It can all be done for less than what is currently planned and provides greater connectivity as an end result.
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Exactly!!!
I would strongly suggest you submit this to all the local media outlets and see if we can get some traction. It's a much better solution. :)
 
dunkalunk said:
If the airport express rail line is being run and operated by Metrolinx, then at least the capacity is there to run other trains (be it GO or VIA) on the same track.
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But there isn't any way to operate VIA or GO on the Air Rail Link owned tracks. The only tracks which were exclusive to Air Rail are the ones branching off at the 427 and going to the airport and that track only connects from the airport to the east and it can't handle any equipment VIA or GO currently has. With the elevated and steep inclines on the route it would be a complete rebuild to handle trains longer than two cars in length since the elevated station at the airport only has a short platform and then immediately north of the station there is an incline.
 
I was under the impression that SNC Lavalin had exclusivity rights all the way to Union Station. Ah well.
 
Really...whether its a Pearson-Union direct service or people mover to a GO station both solutions are rubbish in their own ways.

The Union-Pearson option has been discussed to death but the fact that it only serves downtown (though maybe now a few local stops could be added), is/was expensive, and does not allow for GO or VIA service is a detriment.

A people mover to a GO stop has its own serious flaws. GO service on that line, and probably for a while to come, is hardly great. What is the frequency on trains going downtown? If you have to wait an hour for a GO train, how great is that kind of service? And adding yet one more transfer, especially with people with baggage to lug around, makes it even less attractive. It would basically be the same setup as the Newark Skytrain and rail link to Manhattan and after using it I have to say it is an option that should not be replicated.

Both will cost money. The people mover will cost money to extend, and if it has to be upgraded to a Skytrain style system, that adds even more to the cost. The Union-Pearson link has its own expenses too.

In the end both solutions are sub par and really only temporary until a proper through line can be built. In that respect both will require 'paying tiwice' (though I disagree with that idea since paying for something that will operate for 10 - 15 years and provide a service that doesn't exist is not paying twice....its making an investment in a first, temporary phase).

Whatever one you prefer is more of a personal preference I suppose. I would use a Pearson-Union direct link. I would not waste my time trying to take GO and then grabbing a people mover (if there was service every 30 minutes all times of the day that might be different, but it will be a long time before that happens on that line). Something needs to be built and when it is, it is really going to have no impact on the chances of a proper through line in the medium term...it is just a stop gap solution.
 
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