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Transit Fantasy Maps

Made a little map of possible lines if Metrolinx owned all the tracks in the GTHA/Golden Horseshoe instead of having to work with CN and CP. I avoided using abandoned and disused lines with an exception being the connection between the Midtown and Richmond Hill lines. I am really bothered by the fact there is no connection between West Habour and Hamilton and building one would be hard as there is an inconveniently placed cemetery in the way.

GOMap.jpg
 
Made a little map of possible lines if Metrolinx owned all the tracks in the GTHA/Golden Horseshoe instead of having to work with CN and CP. I avoided using abandoned and disused lines with an exception being the connection between the Midtown and Richmond Hill lines. I am really bothered by the fact there is no connection between West Habour and Hamilton and building one would be hard as there is an inconveniently placed cemetery in the way.

View attachment 450443

I love the concept here. I've been working on my own road/rail fantasy maps of Niagara via copying OpenStreetMap data. Thanks for including in areas of south Niagara in this one!
 
Here's a proposal I came up with a couple years ago concerning a Niagara LRT system, which would make use of Trillium Railway's main Canal Line as well as both of CPR's Stevensville Spur (ex-Fort Erie Subdivision) and Montrose Subdivision. Such would use the Townline Tunnel to bypass the Bridge 6 bottleneck (after all, ships have the ROW on the Welland Canal over cars and trains) to feed people from all of Niagara's main population centres into the Lakeshore West GO. I'd toss in two additional GO Transit stops at Merritton (off Glendale Avenue in St Catharines) and Clinton (off Stanley Avenue in Niagara Falls) to boot.
Niagara LRT.png
 
Made a little map of possible lines if Metrolinx owned all the tracks in the GTHA/Golden Horseshoe instead of having to work with CN and CP. I avoided using abandoned and disused lines with an exception being the connection between the Midtown and Richmond Hill lines. I am really bothered by the fact there is no connection between West Habour and Hamilton and building one would be hard as there is an inconveniently placed cemetery in the way.

View attachment 450443
Love the map! Just to nitpick... It's Thorncliffe Park with an "e" at the end.
 
Unless the stop meant for Hamilton falls around Copetown (crossing of old Highways 52 and 99), it would be best to put it at Aldershot.
 
Another little map I made, this one for a High-Speed Rail line from Windsor to Quebec City. I split the line into services Local and Express although this may not be necessary. I also made a little mock up of the trains based on the N700 series Shinkansens.

View attachment 450782
I wonder if it really makes sense to route HSR through Hamilton as opposed to KW. KW will have a larger population by the time HSR would ever be delivered, and Hamilton will have pretty good connectivity to Union via GO. Plus, HSR will likely have a stop at Pearson, making it difficult to get to Hamilton en route to London.
 
I wonder if it really makes sense to route HSR through Hamilton as opposed to KW. KW will have a larger population by the time HSR would ever be delivered, and Hamilton will have pretty good connectivity to Union via GO. Plus, HSR will likely have a stop at Pearson, making it difficult to get to Hamilton en route to London.
Agreed, but a high-ish speed, high-frequency intercity service from Niagara (or Buffalo) through Hamilton to Union would be hugely complementary. Consider it a SuperDuperGOexpress. That, or a 'branch' of HSR from KW to Hamilton and then Niagara. Links Hamilton-Niagara into the network and closes the gap.
 
This is an idea I've presented before. It was on my mind again, and this is a bit more detailed. It's in response to the mammoth cost and time to expand Union Loop for a waterfront LRT. A project that singlehandedly has delayed any new streetcar service to the waterfront. Rebuilding said loop requires a lengthy shutdown of current streetcar service, and when all is said and done and we're $500M out of pocket, the result is no net increase in transit kms.

So what if instead we brought the subway to the waterfront LRT (by way of a severed and extended Yonge line)? Poke holes if you want. But I see merit in it.

Yonge-University-separation-waterfront-LRT.png
 
This is an idea I've presented before. It was on my mind again, and this is a bit more detailed. It's in response to the mammoth cost and time to expand Union Loop for a waterfront LRT. A project that singlehandedly has delayed any new streetcar service to the waterfront. Rebuilding said loop requires a lengthy shutdown of current streetcar service, and when all is said and done and we're $500M out of pocket, the result is no net increase in transit kms.

So what if instead we brought the subway to the waterfront LRT (by way of a severed and extended Yonge line)? Poke holes if you want. But I see merit in it.

View attachment 454378
I have thought the same, except a more expensive version which would extend the Yonge side west to the CN Tower/Fort York, and the University side east to the Port Lands. Your idea is much more practical (although the transfer at Union would be a big of a hike)
 
This is an idea I've presented before. It was on my mind again, and this is a bit more detailed. It's in response to the mammoth cost and time to expand Union Loop for a waterfront LRT. A project that singlehandedly has delayed any new streetcar service to the waterfront. Rebuilding said loop requires a lengthy shutdown of current streetcar service, and when all is said and done and we're $500M out of pocket, the result is no net increase in transit kms.

So what if instead we brought the subway to the waterfront LRT (by way of a severed and extended Yonge line)? Poke holes if you want. But I see merit in it.

Aren't there utilities, etc in the way of your proposed pedestrian connection between Union and ... Union East?

I know it's an unrelated project. However I had suggested extending the Lower Bay Concourse under Bay st to connect with the Bay East Teamway as a way of eliminating some of the jay walking that happens on Bay. I recall the buried utilities posed a barrier to this suggestion.
 
Aren't there utilities, etc in the way of your proposed pedestrian connection between Union and ... Union East?

I know it's an unrelated project. However I had suggested extending the Lower Bay Concourse under Bay st to connect with the Bay East Teamway as a way of eliminating some of the jay walking that happens on Bay. I recall the buried utilities posed a barrier to this suggestion.
Wouldn’t connecting lower Bay and the Bay East Teamway be impossible because of the streetcar?
 
Line 1 does not even need to be continuous through Union. How many people make that U-turn journey? Even if some people make it, it won't be a loss to them because they will only need to walk about 600 meters extra.

That should also help with managing delays as problems on Yonge line won't affect University line and vice versa.

Also, we can boast having our 5th subway line without doing much work :cool: (just like how UK "added" lanes on its highways by converting shoulder lanes into traffic lanes)
 

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