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The Backgrounder
What is being planned and implemented now?
A transportation project of this magnitude requires an Environmental Assessment (EA). Generally, an EA will take 1-3 years to complete, but the GSSE and UPRL will be the second initiative to undertake a new 6-month “fast tracked” EA process, a process approved for transit projects under recently passed provincial legislation. Metrolinx argues that the project has been studied extensively and that work needs to begin as quickly as possible.
The EA began in April 2009 and will be completed in July 1 2009. It begins with a 120-period of public consultation, followed by a 30-day period of report writing and a final 30-day period of report review and public input. The report is then given to the Minister of the Environment who will make a determination whether to approve, approve with changes, or reject the EA and return the project to the starting point.
Construction will begin once the project is approved. Four new tracks will be built to accommodate the increased train traffic and as a result several train bridges will have to be widened, as well as other structural accommodations. There will be many temporary road closures, some permanent road closures, and the possibility of a few properties being expropriated. It is projected that the construction period will last 4-5 years, from 2010-2014.
By 2015 the GSSE and UPRL should be in operation. Within Toronto city limits the project will begin with a minimum of 300 diesel trains per day; a number which climbs the further south you go as other regional trains (e.g., Milton, Bolton) are added to the corridor. This number will increase to 400 or more by 2030. Approximately 150 of these trains will be part of the UPRL, 200 of the trains will be GO, and the balance will be Via, CN and CP.
One new station is planned at Eglinton West, and possibly an additional station in time at Woodbine Racetrack.
SNC Lavalin and Metrolinx want the UPRL fare to maximize profits without crowding passengers; they have estimated a desired one-way fare of $20 per passenger.
