The forthcoming and contentious Union-Pearson Express rail link is designed as a premium, high-fare service ($15 – $25 one-way) to carry a select few to the airport.
The train will cut through some of Toronto’s highest-needs neighbourhoods without stopping to offer local service or public transit to employment areas such as the the airport or downtown.
It will be largely hidden behind 16-foot-tall concrete noise walls, while leaving behind carcinogenic diesel exhaust.
An electrified Union-Pearson Express, like Vancouver’s Canada Line, would be cheaper to operate, non-polluting, quieter, and create the opportunity for more stations with faster stopping- and-starting trains.
Ask your provincial candidates in this election campaign:
• Should social justice be a consideration in transit planning?
• Does your party support electrification of the Union-Pearson Express?
• Does your party have a concrete plan, with deadlines and funding, to electrify the Union-Pearson Express?
On June 12, vote for cleaner, faster, quieter, cheaper, better rail transit. Vote for a party that has a real plan with funding and deadlines for electrification of the Union-Pearson Express.