Transit Fantasy Maps

[Ritachi]

Very cool map! Looks very nice, and TTC font is always a plus.
Quite interesting what you did with the GO lines - you've got a lot of new ROWs and new track (Stouffville and RH lines to Mt Albert, Barrie line to Sutton, RH line to Bradford).
I also see you truncated the GO lines to Barrie, Niagara Falls, and Kitchener - would you picture these being run by VIA or some other agency? What sorts of frequencies do you picture?
Also, a Kipling, Jane, St. Clair, Finch, and Sheppard subways plus 3 Peel LRTs but no YNSE to Langstaff? I think York needs a bit more stuff lol.

The GO Lines that run to Niagara and Kitchener would ideally be served by Via operated HSR, however GO would still run commuter rail styled service to Barrie and Kitchener as they do currently (it just isn't shown because it isn't frequent service).

As for the GO services that are shown on the map they would generally be operating at 5-20 minute headways in either direction. The only lines that wouldn't make sense with these headways are the ones to Claremont and Alliston, and while they aren't particularly big right now but they aren't restricted by the greenbelt afaik so development will eventually come to these areas (and in Alliston's case development is booming). The GO lines would also be runningdifferent rolling stock as the lines would be mostly electrified, think Japanese-style EMU that run in Tokyo or Osaka.

York Region wouldn't be without some rail rapid transit, Major Mackenzie would have a Crosstown LRT similar to how Eglinton is currently withthe central portion in Richmond Hill underground, and the portions in Markham and Vaughan located in a median with signal priority, I just didn't go that far north on this map. York Region is rather well serviced by the GO Lines however which is the reason why I didn't extend Yonge up to Langstaff, and why Highway 7 doesn't have anything more than the current BRT with some signal priority improvements. Peel Region isn't serviced as well by the GO Lines just because the ROWs that exist were limited, Peel actually has 4 lines: one Subway and 3 LRT, (Hurontario, Eglinton, Burnhamthorpe, Queen St Brampton). Durham Region would have 2 LRT lines (Simcoe, Brock), and Hamilton would have 3 subway lines.

I will send a link to the outline I have, which I made for this diagram, it has all the rapid transit and the rough geographic location. It also has BRT labelled which the diagram doesn't. That should clear up where everything is to a reasonable degree of accuracy.
Here's the link: Link to map outline (Google My Maps)

 

[sche]

The GO Lines that run to Niagara and Kitchener would ideally be served by Via operated HSR, however GO would still run commuter rail styled service to Barrie and Kitchener as they do currently (it just isn't shown because it isn't frequent service).

As for the GO services that are shown on the map they would generally be operating at 5-20 minute headways in either direction. The only lines that wouldn't make sense with these headways are the ones to Claremont and Alliston, and while they aren't particularly big right now but they aren't restricted by the greenbelt afaik so development will eventually come to these areas (and in Alliston's case development is booming). The GO lines would also be runningdifferent rolling stock as the lines would be mostly electrified, think Japanese-style EMU that run in Tokyo or Osaka.

York Region wouldn't be without some rail rapid transit, Major Mackenzie would have a Crosstown LRT similar to how Eglinton is currently withthe central portion in Richmond Hill underground, and the portions in Markham and Vaughan located in a median with signal priority, I just didn't go that far north on this map. York Region is rather well serviced by the GO Lines however which is the reason why I didn't extend Yonge up to Langstaff, and why Highway 7 doesn't have anything more than the current BRT with some signal priority improvements. Peel Region isn't serviced as well by the GO Lines just because the ROWs that exist were limited, Peel actually has 4 lines: one Subway and 3 LRT, (Hurontario, Eglinton, Burnhamthorpe, Queen St Brampton). Durham Region would have 2 LRT lines (Simcoe, Brock), and Hamilton would have 3 subway lines.

I will send a link to the outline I have, which I made for this diagram, it has all the rapid transit and the rough geographic location. It also has BRT labelled which the diagram doesn't. That should clear up where everything is to a reasonable degree of accuracy.
Here's the link: Link to map outline (Google My Maps)

Thanks for the info - very interesting! Very grand vision to say the least, but definitely won’t happen till 2200 maybe lol.

 

[north-of-anything]

The eastward extension of the Sheppard Line that I would like to see happen. There would be tight curves, yeah, but if Line 4 was this long it could get its own dedicated cars that could take those corners tighter. Maybe the eventual Ontario Line technology with TTC gauge.

 

[44 North]

The eastward extension of the Sheppard Line that I would like to see happen. There would be tight curves, yeah, but if Line 4 was this long it could get its own dedicated cars that could take those corners tighter. Maybe the eventual Ontario Line technology with TTC gauge.

Looks good to me. With the supposed OL technology could build it sized for 50m trains. Heck can get away with 25m lengths. People Mover size, but a subway with relatively sufficient capacity.

 

[Rainforest]

View attachment 274305

The eastward extension of the Sheppard Line that I would like to see happen. There would be tight curves, yeah, but if Line 4 was this long it could get its own dedicated cars that could take those corners tighter. Maybe the eventual Ontario Line technology with TTC gauge.

TTC gauge vs standard gauge is not a big deal; changing the gauge isn't hard or very costly.

If it is possible to order agile cars that have the same width as TRs and use same voltage, but can handle those tight turns, then you can retain the TTC gauge as well.

But if other changes to the stations are needed, such as widening the platforms to allow narrower cars, then you can change the rail gauge as well.

 

[JSF-1]

Ok so here are some hypothetical maps I made. For this I thought how would our commuter network look if it was split between multiple companies like what is seen in Japan. Luckily we have 2 companies that own/owned trackage in Toronto, those being CN and CP. So I created some commuter maps based on there trackage around the GTHA. I also included some lines which no longer exist. I included some more stations on lines as well to match what you would find over in Japan in regards to stop spacing.

First up is CN Rail. The CN Network largely follows what GO is today, minus the Milton Line. New lines include the Scarborough line which uses the now long gone branch that used to cut through central Scarborough (you can still see part of it by Warden station). The Belt Line is on here as well as CN's bypass line around Toronto. The "North Toronto Line" as I called it really reminds me of Tokyo's "Musashino Line" which also orbits around the outer periphery of the central cities (and also serves as the main Freight line for JR Freight around Tokyo).

Second map is the CP Network which is significantly smaller then CN's. The only changes I made to the network was the addition of the Bolton Line, and an extention of the Milton Line to Kitchener. I believer the tracks to Hamilton also extend beyond and go to Fort Erie but I didn't include that on the map. Lastly I think its interesting that in this hypothetical world, while CN would dominate, CP would probably do well in Durham as its trackage is much more centralized in Whitby, Oshawa, and Bowmanville.

Lastly is a smaller railway; the Orangeville-Brampton Railway. Since the line is in the GTA I have included it in this collection. These small 1 line railroads are quite common in Japan, often referred to as "Third-Sector Railways" as they are jointly owned by the prefecture government and a private company. In this case the OBR serves a similar function of being a small 1 line railway. (The logo I made is just something I threw together).

I know there are other railway lines around Ontario, however I wanted to keep this to the GTHA. Its also interesting to note what commuter rail in Toronto may have looked like had CP and CN not got out of the passenger business (although there is no way you are getting some of this stop spacing without electrification). In total the stats are as follows: CN Rail has the largest network with 9 Lines totalling 130 Stations. CP Rail has 4 Lines totalling 44 Stations, and the OBR is just 1 Line with 11 stations. I actually made a spreadsheet with a breakdown of station numbers per municipality. I would show it if I knew how.

 

[Ritachi]

Ok so here are some hypothetical maps I made. For this I thought how would our commuter network look if it was split between multiple companies like what is seen in Japan...

^ Those are some pretty impressive diagrams, though I do think that if regional rail service would be introduced to those corridors that they'd be bought up by Metrolinx or the government (especially in the case of CP which is very resilient about any proposals using their trackage). It is an interesting concept nonetheless and the execution is mostly very good, I just a have a few nitpicks.

First nitpick is that I'd avoid doing the following (image below)

It reduces the map's overall readability (I'd suggest moving the text elsewhere or breaking the coloured line where it meets the text for greater readability.

Second nitpick is the spacing between station names and station markers, I notice that stations names for stations that have multiple lines have the same y axisstarting location as stations without multiple lines. Since stations with multiple lines have an additional black outline that takes up space, some of the names clip that outer outline. I'd probably adjust the names to have the same distance between the station icon andwhere the text starts even if it shifts station names out of linecompared to stations without multiple lines.

Third nitpick are the few spelling mistakes/typos that were probably overlooked ([CN] Scaresdale - Scarsdale {I would also name this station Windfields but that's a personal preference}; [CN] Lower Bathust - Lower Bathurst; [OBR] Walness - Wanless; [CP] Ponty Pool - Pontypool {one word}; [CN] Normhurst - Normanhurst; [CN] Merriton - Merritton {I used to misspell this one too}; [CN] Crownpoint - Crown Point {2 words})
Those are the ones I could find, just for future reference.

Fourth nitpick (technically 2 but in very close proximity on the CN map)

1. Downsview Park has a mistake in the station numbering and it affects all the stations on the Barrie Line north of it
2. The way you've placed the text for Etobicoke North & Winston Park stations makes them hard to differentiate unless you know beforehand which is which (readability)


Other than the (probably many) nitpicks I really like those maps you made especially the style which you should work on a bit in terms of readability but I like them a lot. I'd say to work on a combined map that shows the entire network between the 3 companies if it suits you.
Coincidentally I finished a (very very fantastical) GO Train diagram (companion map to my TTC map above) but I'll wait a day to post it.

 

[Ritachi]

Here's the GO RER map I've made that is a companion map to my TTC map above (I've altered the TTC map a slight bit but it's mostly accurate; I'll post the updated TTC map here as well just for easier reference)

TTC Subway/LRT Map, showing GO RER lines in grey.

Full Sized Image

GO RER map, this map doesn't show GO bus services, or connections to rapid transit (unfortunately)

Full Sized Image

 

[aquateam]

Here's the GO RER map I've made that is a companion map to my TTC map above (I've altered the TTC map a slight bit but it's mostly accurate; I'll post the updated TTC map here as well just for easier reference)

GO RER map, this map doesn't show GO bus services, or connections to rapid transit (unfortunately)

This is gorgeous! But just an idea, why not through-run some of the lines instead of terminating them at Union/Summerhill and forcing a transfer? That seems to be the direction most commuter rail systems go when they turn into a regional metro.

Another suggestion: "Réseau du Trains de Banlieue" isn't exactly correct, since I'm assuming that your map shows that our commuter rail network has been superseded by a bidirectional all-day service (and it should be de Trains instead of du Trains.) "Plan du Réseau de Trains", "Réseau Ferroviaire Régional" or "Réseau Express Regional" (if you want to copy Paris) would be more appropriate.

Sorry, just nitpicking.

Overall it looks amazing.

 

[Ritachi]

This is gorgeous! But just an idea, why not through-run some of the lines instead of terminating them at Union/Summerhill and forcing a transfer? That seems to be the direction most commuter rail systems go when they turn into a regional metro.

Another suggestion: "Réseau du Trains de Banlieue" isn't exactly correct, since I'm assuming that your map shows that our commuter rail network has been superseded by a bidirectional all-day service (and it should be de Trains instead of du Trains.) "Plan du Réseau de Trains", "Réseau Ferroviaire Régional" or "Réseau Express Regional" (if you want to copy Paris) would be more appropriate.

Sorry, just nitpicking.

Overall it looks amazing.

I noticed the mistake in my French when I did an exo (Montreal) map, just didn't correct the mistake here. I still think trains de banlieue applies here because it is still suburban rail, just more in the style of Paris' RER or Melbourne/Sydney Trains rather than strictly commuter rail. (Though RFR doesn't seem too bad)

Also I would have made the lines run through Union & Summerhill on the map/diagram if I was able to name them something other than "Line 1" or "Line A" (etc). In practice most trains would run through these main stations but with a slightly longer wait/dwell time.

Also I don't mind the nitpicking, usually nitpicking helps with marginal improvements which are always good. (I also nitpicked a map above myself)

 

[Undead]

Here's the GO RER map I've made that is a companion map to my TTC map above (I've altered the TTC map a slight bit but it's mostly accurate; I'll post the updated TTC map here as well just for easier reference)

Great maps, thank you. I'm curious - why did you route RH GO away from Union?

 

[Ritachi]

Great maps, thank you. I'm curious - why did you route RH GO away from Union?

The current alignment for RH Go goes through the Don River floodplain, which will in the future likely flood more frequently than it does now, GO trains have gotten stuck/cancelled/flooded in major rainstorms and thunderstorms.

 

[blacksquirrels]

The 2nd map is really great.

Here's the GO RER map I've made that is a companion map to my TTC map above (I've altered the TTC map a slight bit but it's mostly accurate; I'll post the updated TTC map here as well just for easier reference)

TTC Subway/LRT Map, showing GO RER lines in grey.View attachment 275252
Full Sized Image

GO RER map, this map doesn't show GO bus services, or connections to rapid transit (unfortunately)
View attachment 275251
Full Sized Image

The 2nd map is really great. Nice work!

You should outline the service level each line/branch would have though. It would be much easier to understand your vision/plan. If every branch had 6 trains per hour or more and passengers could transfer to the TTC for free then this could replace most if not all planned extensions in my opinion. It would be better than anything ever proposed by any level of government, Metrolinx or the TTC.

 

[MrGoose]

Hmmm, I wonder how running trains to Summerview would work. The ROW doesn't really have room for an additional set of double tracks unless CP allowed Metrolinx to build a viaduct on top of the existing tracks similar to the Davenport grade separation project.

This assuming that CP wouldn't grant use of that ROW to Metrolinx which they haven't done so far.

 

[Ritachi]

This kind of network would be impossible politically. Expropriating both CN and CP's freight mainlines would be impossible unless the government essentially built entirely new mainlines for both companies (even that is questionable). The service levels on these lines would be similar to the differences of headways on the current TTC lines, it wouldn't matter to show how often trains run because they run often enough that you wouldn't need to base your schedule around the train, you could just show up at a station and wait a few minutes. The premise for both the TTC and GO map is where Toronto is built very much like a european-east asian hybrid city (with a population and density that matches). I chose to increase the density of the Toronto CMA by 140% (arbitrary number, could have been anything from 100% to 150%)