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

Grimace said:
Or you could have a bus from the terminal station for commuters.

Perhaps I will be mistaken but I'm concerned about this being under-used and think this have been more of a commuter line as well as airport express.

Travel times to the airport are often overstated. I have never had it take over an hour to get there from downtown. Usually 30 minutes; if rush hour, 45 minutes.

Last week had two guys from the US at the office with flights just after 6pm flying to the US. Left the office in rush hour, just after 4pm. They were at airport before 5. If they had left at the same time, walked with their bags to where the ARL station is going to be (10 minutes) and waited for the ARL to come, with a 25 minute travel time, they would have arrived about the same time with more inconvenience, likely for the about the same cost (as there were 2 of them). And these guys are the prime demo.
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Except that 4 isn't really rush hour. Im off work at Don Mills/Eglinton at 4:30 and it takes me 45 minutes to get home to Mississauga, just past the airport. When I leave at 5, it takes anywhere from an hour to an hour and 30 minutes. The Gardiner also gets pretty backed up around 5, but 4:30 its smooth sailing up until Spadina where it starts to crawl for a bit before picking up again.
 
Grimace said:
Travel times to the airport are often overstated. I have never had it take over an hour to get there from downtown. Usually 30 minutes; if rush hour, 45 minutes.

Last week had two guys from the US at the office with flights just after 6pm flying to the US. Left the office in rush hour, just after 4pm. They were at airport before 5. If they had left at the same time, walked with their bags to where the ARL station is going to be (10 minutes) and waited for the ARL to come, with a 25 minute travel time, they would have arrived about the same time with more inconvenience, likely for the about the same cost (as there were 2 of them). And these guys are the prime demo.
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I took this route daily for 3 months... and I can attest from my personal experience... of taking it daily... But what do I know...
 
Panontario said:
I took this route daily for 3 months... and I can attest from my personal experience... of taking it daily... But what do I know...
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Hate to "one up" you but as a Brampton commuter I have been traveling from downtown past the airport almost daily for about 25 or so years.

It is extremely rare to be at the airport in my homeward commute in 30 minutes. Most days I leave the office between 6:30 and 7:30 and am branching off of the 427 onto the 401 about 40/45 minutes into the drive.

If I do skip out of the office around 5.......it takes 20 - 30 minutes to get onto the Gardiner from King and Simcoe.
 
TOareaFan said:
Hate to "one up" you but as a Brampton commuter I have been traveling from downtown past the airport almost daily for about 25 or so years.

It is extremely rare to be at the airport in my homeward commute in 30 minutes. Most days I leave the office between 6:30 and 7:30 and am branching off of the 427 onto the 401 about 40/45 minutes into the drive.

If I do skip out of the office around 5.......it takes 20 - 30 minutes to get onto the Gardiner from King and Simcoe.
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I have similar times with you.
I was replying to Grimace who was saying that airport times are overstated, and are usually within 30 to 45 min range...
 
andrewpmk said:
The air rail link is completely useless for anyone who works in the many office parks surrounding the airport, because it is too expensive. Not designing the line to accommodate 12-car GO trains with lower fares is a mistake.
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What's wrong with the Malton stop for people going to the surrouding office park?
 
Grimace said:
Travel times to the airport are often overstated. I have never had it take over an hour to get there from downtown. Usually 30 minutes; if rush hour, 45 minutes.
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And in 2020 will you continue to make that personal guarantee?
 
TOareaFan said:
The UP/ARL will not go to Malton and Malton is north side of the airport....there are more offices south of the airport.
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So why wouldn't they be able to take whatever Mississauga Transit BRT route that will serve the transitway directly in front of those offices, probably from Kipling? ;)
 
DKsan said:
So why wouldn't they be able to take whatever Mississauga Transit BRT route that will serve the transitway directly in front of those offices, probably from Kipling? ;)
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Not saying they can't.....was just responding to the notion that somehow the UP/ARL could serve those offices via Malton....that is not possible.
 
I don't think I made any personal guarantees.

I said 30 to 45 minutes. It may be that if you leave downtown right at 5 or 5:30 you will be 15 to 30 minutes better off on the UP. All other times of day, no real time benefit. If you leave at 4 or 6:30, you can expect 45 minute travel times door to door, equal to or better than UP unless you work at Front and York.

If they price it at $10 then it makes more sense. But if it is $20 or $30 per person I think the target market starts shrinking significantly.
 
Platform 27 said:
The "office parks surrounding the airport" are nowhere near Terminal 1. You could spend a couple hundred million more to engineer a solution that gets 12 car trains to the terminal if you'd like, but 10 of those cars would be empty.
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There are a few office parks across the street from Terminal 3 and along Airport Road but yes, most of them are south and west of the airport. The Airport Corporate Centre area is already served by Mississauga Transit bus route 7 whose frequency could be improved, and bus routes could be created that go from Pearson to the Hurontario/401 area and Meadowvale. My point is, if you charge $20 for the airport rail link people who work at the airport or surrounding areas will not use it and it will have low ridership. If you charge a more reasonable fare like $3-5 lots of people will use it and with small trains it will become overcrowded, especially if there are several intermediate stops between the airport and downtown and there is frequent feeder bus service to employment areas.
 
Personally, I don't think the UP Link in it's current form is long for this world.

Let's be serious, this line is being built for the Pan Am Games so atleast Toronto has some form of rail to the airport. The ridership projections are extremely low and Torontonians will be increasingly pissed off that this has done nothing for their daily commute. There will be an over growing movement to transfer the line to regular rapid transit as they see the well heeled whizzing by while they wait for a packed bus in the rain. This of course will be made worse by the fact that the average tax payer who can't afford the luxury liner will still be subsidizing it.

Murray was interviewed and I got the definate impression that he is not a fan of the UP Link in it's current set up. It stressed electryfication and the need to connect the line to regular transit services. I got the definate impression that after the Pan Am Games are over, the UP Link in it's current form is toast.
 
ssiguy2 said:
Personally, I don't think the UP Link in it's current form is long for this world.

Let's be serious, this line is being built for the Pan Am Games so atleast Toronto has some form of rail to the airport. The ridership projections are extremely low and Torontonians will be increasingly pissed off that this has done nothing for their daily commute. There will be an over growing movement to transfer the line to regular rapid transit as they see the well heeled whizzing by while they wait for a packed bus in the rain. This of course will be made worse by the fact that the average tax payer who can't afford the luxury liner will still be subsidizing it.

Murray was interviewed and I got the definate impression that he is not a fan of the UP Link in it's current set up. It stressed electryfication and the need to connect the line to regular transit services. I got the definate impression that after the Pan Am Games are over, the UP Link in it's current form is toast.
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would love to read that interview....where was it?
 
He probably read Steve Munro's interviews with the minister.

http://stevemunro.ca/?p=7514

The Union-Pearson Express (UPX) project is well underway, and there is no question that it will be completed to its original design — an express, premium fare service — for its planned opening in late 2014. (After our meeting, the Minister was off to a groundbreaking at the future Airport terminal.) However, Murray sees this as an example of a line that can be rethought with electrification for 2017 and better integration with the overall regional network as well.
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I am not sure how the line can have better intergration with the regional network, other than lowering fares, making the line more affordable for airport workers, and a few more stations.
 
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A station at eglinton in 2020 would help to connect to the Eglinton Crosstown, and maybe a stop on king or for liberty village.
 
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