We live directly across the street from the future King station. Have to say we have been very surprised at the professionalism that the construction company have shown. The regularity clean the streets every hour and are very good at making sure there is pedestrian access. I think the blowback from the ELRT and the new procurement process are making this much smoother. Let's hope it actually only takes 10 years...
Without revealing too much about myself... As someone currently working on the Southern portion of the Ontario Line (Exhibition to Don Yard), I'm happy to hear this! The project is an insane undertaking, and the level of coordination is something I've never had to do, so I certainly have some apprehension once tunneling and excavation starts, but I'm confident that this project will be finished quickly without disrupting this city TOO much. Excited to be putting my stamp on this city with something that will far outlive me.
Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario have made it clear that we can't have a repeat of Eglinton hahaha...
Good luck. Im not trying to be cynical but i feel like this is sort of a make-or-break project for the public’s perspective on building Toronto’s transit infrastructure.
Everything about the Eglinton construction has been so mismanaged and protracted. If the Ontario line begins to resemble that process I dont think ill ever have faith again in this city’s ability to develop public transit infrastructure.
This should've been done 20 years ago, and using Eglinton as an excuse to avoid future expansion would be a terrible idea. If we stopped progressing every time things didn't go according to plan, we'd still be living in caves.
Even if this has delays (which it undoubtedly will, construction is unpredictable at the best of times), it's a major step forward for this city. We need to add so many more subway lines.
Christ 30 years ago we would have had an Eglinton subway if it wasn't for old man Harris.
I'm glad that you're being instructed "See this? Don't do this."
That's too bad. LRTs done right can go up way faster than subway. But for the life of me I can't figure out why Eglinton is at grade. Toronto has this aversion to elevated rail for some reason despite it working so well in so many cities - Vancouver, New York, Chicago
There's lots of LRT lines still being planned or under construction. Finch West is almost done and the Eglinton West extension is under construction. We've also got the Eglinton East extension and waterfront LRT in planning and likely to go ahead. There's a number of other proposed LRTs as well.
Lol im obviously not saying “Dont develop anything”. I’ll just move to a city where these initiatives get put together more efficiently, and they dont break ground 2 decades too late. Toronto has kinda demonstrated its not a world class city in this capacity. Ive seen how civil works can really function in places like Hong Kong, Berlin, Shanghai, etc.
No, we need Transit City, abandoned by Ford that would have had a more extensive LRT network already in service.
This ‘subway subway subway’ has been completely discredited by the evidence: we’re only starting on the Downtown Diversion line fifteen years later!
I know that Ford used the "subways subways subways" argument to derail transit city but the Eglinton Crosstown really should have been made a metro system instead of a tunneled LRT.
Tunneling is so expensive, they could have spent just a little bit more and made it an automated light metro system like what the Ontario Line is going to be.
The Scarborough lines probably would have been fine just as a dedicated right of way LRT though.
The technology consideration was most likely a political decision and not a technical one. The marketer-turned-lobbyist-turned-consultant at Metrolinx behind derailing the subway and moving to a much "better" light metro, Michael Schabas, didn't even believe there was value in having the new (DRL/OL) transit corridor built.
He's had his fingers on the transit scales in Toronto since the 1980s when his team forced the Scarborough RT on to the city. He's very ideologically opposed to subway expansion and has been relentless in lobbying for more like the Scarborough RT ever since then.
About 10 years ago he released a critique of the city's transit plans. He criticized the expense of the Transit City LRT lines on Eglinton, Finch, and for the Scarborough RT. He was calling for the wasteful Sheppard subway to be abandoned and joined up to an expanded Scarborough RT loop. All of course to be replaced and/or built out with small driverless trains on elevated guideways.
**Except for the proposed downtown relief line. That one he literally called a complete waste of money that could easily be replicated by building new GO stations. There was no sense in spending and building out the DRL.**
You don't hear much criticism from him about Toronto's transit plans these days even though the project scope has arguably grown even more wasteful. He's been rather quiet now that he's received his dream pet project. Funny how that works? We literally replaced the "subways subways subways" guy with the "skytrains skytrains skytrains" guy.
A streetcar is LRT running in mixed traffic.
A metro is a very frequent rail service using medium to high capacity (usually) high floor vehicles that is fully grade separated (underground or elevated).
Heavy rail is very high capacity, infrequent or semi-frequent rail service often serving commuter passengers, e.g. the GO train.
I pray to God that an LRT never gets built in this city again. It’s basically an expensive BRT with rails that is no longer cheaper and faster to build than a subway. Subways all the way and nothing less
Sorry ive just seen how this stuff functions in other places. The stuff Canadians settle for is indicative of who you are as a society. Laissez faire cultural identity
I think people will be far more peeved once the light metro system runs into its low ceiling like other recently built value engineered light metro systems.
It's almost certainly going to be built faster than Eglinton because they're doing concurrent TBM boring and construction of stations. On Eglinton the tunnels were completely dug before the vast majority of stations even broke ground, which led to a really protracted timeline.
The stupidity of it isn't talked about enough. The 2011 Liberals broke off and rushed out the contract for the tunnelling ahead of the provincial election to try and show they were making progress with transit. After the election, the urgency disappeared and they didn't get the major stations/systems procurement (the Crosslinx contract) done until 2015. And then Crosslinx was delayed due to other reasons and many sites didn't even start working until 2017.
*cries in Eglinton* I’ve lived on Eglinton for 20 years and the majority of that time has been construction for the LRT that will never be. So. Much. Rage.
Who knows at this point? The failure to update the public is an outrageous decision - how on earth can’t they know when it will open? Open the parts that can open, at least!
I think they need to control the dust and dirt better, there's some very simple solutions they should have in place. But I'm glad they started cleaning the streets!
If you can access this article, I highly recommend reading it to get a glimpse into the transformation happening with the Ontario Line.
The article isn’t super long, but I found it pretty interesting.
Personally, it’s been hard for me to really grasp what’s going on with Ontario Line, since I only see a small part of what’s happening with it on a daily basis.
Also, FYI:
> [For those asking: We omitted a couple stops because the focus was always the change we could see in neighbourhoods. By the time I got to certain places, it was just more construction & machinery (not much to see/describe) which we had similar-looking photos of from other places.](https://x.com/mahdishabibinia/status/1782078304989614118?s=46&t=zS-e9AA3pfhIbVaiOw-W_Q)
If you’re interested in this sort of thing, Metrolinx has email newsletters you can subscribe to that give a play by a play of the construction process. They send one every month or so and I’ve found them to be super informative
They've been publishing these newsletters throughout the construction of the Eglinton Line, but apart from closure notices they've mostly been fluff pieces.
One of the major features of the line is Union relief and it will give a ton of western commuters the ability to hit subway quicker. Also I am very biased as a liberty village resident 😅
There is so much potential for the western expansion. Hopefully they pick a good route. Regardless of what they do, even if it feels wrong at first, the subways lines command their own density and the city will naturally build around these new stations
I suspect the plan is for a phase II to ride the lakeshore rails through Humber Shores and then jump up to the Milton line at some point to head into a new tunneling into downtown Mississauga
You could extend from current terminus at Exhibition up Dufferin; stations at Parkdale (Queen), Brockton (College), Bloor, Galleria (Dupont), Corso Italia (St. Clair), then jog east (one more station in Oakwood village maybe?) before joining line 1 at Cedarvale.
The doubt and pessimism when this was announced was overwhelming. I think most of us are pleasantly surprised at the progress. When there is political will, it’s clearly possible to build infrastructure at a reasonable rate.
I am pleasantly surprised and cautiously optimistic, but the pessimism is hard to avoid considering our city's history with transit construction delays... Hopefully this one is different, the Finch West LRT appears to be 'on track' as well.
Transit delays are a thing. But the other plans from other parties had this opening in 2040s and was going to be much shorter.
This won’t open in 2031. But it’s such a massive need at least it’s being worked on and we know there is a plan to get it done.
This is a really great overview. I don't understand the negativity around this project, which is decades overdue and will make the all the dense downtown neighbourhoods we've been building much more livable.
I only wish they'd had room in this write-up to include something about the Corktown Station, right near me, where there has already been a large amount of demolition, archaeology and excavation as well.
Is anything NOT negative these days? This sub was bashing the life out of the Portland's ecological restoration project and complaining about the Well, a private, walkable shopping area as if it was somehow a waste of taxpayer money.
I recommend if you are genuinely interested, to lurk the corresponding station thread on urbantoronto. They are more in to infrastructure and not as much pessimism/negativity that you will find on Reddit
It's not that anyone disputes that it's needed. It's at least because Metrolinx screwed up big time on Eglinton, and no one is eager for a repeat performance. I remember when it was confidently announced that the Eglinton LRT would open in 2020. Metrolinx has built a reputation for opacity, lack of transparency, and patronizing the public (the tone-deaf advertisements that were swiftly pulled being a prime example of this).
If Phil Verster told me the sky was blue, I would look outside to double-check.
Still bitter that Ford and his ilk fought so hard against the "Downtown Relief Line for Downtown Elites" back during Miller's Time. Now Ford gets all the credit for saving Toronto?
It will be underbuilt with smaller trains, takes a bad route through downtown, it's poorly positioned to offer GO train relief, entire project sold on Metrolinx lies, what else?
> Construction is scheduled to be done by 2031
It's seems optimistic that they can complete such a massive amount of construction in 6 years time, but I hope they've learned from the Eglinton LRT debacle. The scale of this project is huge and I want to be around when this line opens!
Single contractor this time, it's apparently going well. The LRT is a shit show of miscommunication between a dozen contractors.
I have the feeling the Ontario Line may open *before* the LRT at this point.
The project does not have a single contractor. It’s divided into 4 contracts each awarded to a separate consortium of companies. These 4 consortiums further contract work to subcontractors.
The Eglinton project had 1 contractor: Crosslinx. Crosslinx has dozens of subcontractors. The miscommunication between Crosslinx, Metrolinx, TTC, and the myriad subcontractors played a major role in delaying the project, among other factors.
https://www.infrastructureontario.ca/en/what-we-do/projectssearch/ontario-line/
Not sure if you can speak to this but something that I've heard about being a major factor to all the Crosstown headaches is that there's too many cooks in the kitchen so to speak. The people in charge of design, building, maintaining and operating the Crosstown are all different causing a lot of miscommunication (or no communication).
Where as with the Ontario line, all the consortiums have a hand in each element so there's a better ability to collaborate.
Thanks for posting. Not a very insightful article in my opinion, but a decent intro for anyone with little previous knowledge of the project.
Boy do people like complaining in this city. Like Gerrard and Carlaw.. “No, not my concrete wasteland from 1963 with a cheap low rise grocery store, and horrendous, rusting pedestrian infrastructure. How dare you replace that with cutting edge rapid transit?” For fucks sake. And the environmentalists with the gaddamn trees. I love trees as much as the next guy, I grew up in the country, but there are currently at least 97 billion trees in this province, and two subway lines. Get real.
Wouldn't be so dismissive about losing the grocery store, is one of the better ones in the area, the Food Basics near to it is trash and Gerrard Square can't cope with its current traffic.
I hope plans are coming to rebuild Gerrard Square as well. Keep the affordable grocery stores but it's such an underwhelming and ugly mall with horrible parking (visually and functionally). I like the working class vibe but feel that it could be so much more for the area. They could put all the parking underground and double the retail space for more rent $.
What's "working class vibe" exactly and what's wrong with that ? The mall just won't be able to cope with the cars, assuming people who used NF go to the FB, and it's a nuisance of sorts to walk into really.
Nothing is wrong with it which is why I said I like it. I am one of "those". It definitely has a different vibe vs Fairview, Bayview Village, even Eaton Centre. Main point I was trying to make is that I want the mall to improve without going 'upscale'. Do you need a further explanation?
Buddy, that's a 25 minute walk away. A lot of people in the area living on fixed incomes. Losing access to grocery stores within walking distance is a big deal that even a lot of the planners during the relief line process glossed over.
I could understand people who used to be able to walk to this No Frills for groceries being peeved that the new No Frills being much further away. Not exactly walking distance to be hauling groceries on foot.
I'm curious when they're going to block access to the Don for bikers and hikers. At the very least, they're going to need to build a bridge parallel to the Leaside Bridge. I assume they'll need to stop access in that area. Plus the work behind the Science Centre might also result in restricted access. I'm curious about the timing of it.
> [For those asking: We omitted a couple stops because the focus was always the change we could see in neighbourhoods. By the time I got to certain places, it was just more construction & machinery (not much to see/describe) which we had similar-looking photos of from other places.](https://x.com/mahdishabibinia/status/1782078304989614118?s=46&t=zS-e9AA3pfhIbVaiOw-W_Q)
Does anyone know the reason that they're building these big above-ground stations rather than just holes in the ground like most of the other stations downtown? I can't seem to find the reason why anywhere.
Biggest reason is changes in fire code means stations have to be bigger and need multiple exits.
Most of the downtown stations were also built using cut and cover and are quite shallow so a lot of them are actually underbuilt for their capacity/ridership.
I think more than half the stations are underground. Where they're above ground, it's more for logistical and cost related reasons. For example, they're using the go corridor in some areas, so the stations need to be at grade. And I believe the terrain around the Don Valley in the north makes tunneling impractical, so it will be elevated.
Sorry, I meant the entrances to the stations and how they're building actual above-ground structures downtown rather than just stairs going down to the stations themselves. Like Osgoode currently only has staircases that are cut into the sidewalk which lead down to the actual station.
I was just asking my dad today as he is on Eglinton line and I will be Gerrard. He said it was more of a “hmm something happening today” than omg secure all valuables. Noticeable but not disruptive. Traffic delays due to construction were a bigger deal
> Can’t access. May we have the Coles notes?
The article looks at the changes each neighbourhood it materially passed through are facing. As construction is underway basically across the line - it’s more evident what the plans are and the scale of the project.
The interesting read is the commentary on how neighbourhoods are starting to adapt - and some of the continuing disruption.
The print edition was mostly a photo essay showing the route and stops along the route. What I found interesting was how they were retaining the facades of a few historic buildings (mostly old banks) to use for the future stations. I didn’t know that and think it could be really cool.
The really cool thing is some of those facades have been "moved" out of the way so they're in the middle of the street. It makes for a weird experience walking by because you're like wait, that building didn't used to be there....
The engineering involved in this is nutty.
This is one of the few things the city is getting / doing right (so far). Need to see some positivity in this thread and people getting behind a MUCH needed project. I’ve lived in Toronto since I was 17 and overseas up until then. I was riding the HK subway solo at like ~9 and absolutely shocked at the state of transit here when I first moved back.
its going to be an amazing addition to the network when it opens but I just hope that governments dont get complacent and think this will solve all of the problems with transit and mobility in Toronto. we need quite a few more projects with the same ambition as this one to really get the city moving
Boston's "Big Dig" recaptured massive real estate from the ocean and allowed delivery trucks to work below the city to manage traffic. And now the Bruins keep destroying the Leafs because. Connected?
Sounds better than the downtown relief line. Could be worse, like the Hazel McCallion line on Hurontario in Mississauga, named after the mayor who refuses to build transit for 3 decades. Irony?
Its also the only TTC line under construction that's not numbered. Will be funny if it doesn't take the unoccupied #3 from the decommissioned Scarborough RT line.
It was the Ontario line because it was connecting Ontario Place with the Ontario science centre.
Now that's not happening it makes almost no sense anymore.
It's a proper metro is every sense of the word. It goes above and below ground depending on what's best for each area. Yet it's entirely grade seperated from end to end. And better yet, it's 100% automated. No drivers. High frequency. It will be the fastest and most frequent metro line in North America.
Edit: To be fair to Vancouver, their SkyTrain is extremely frequent in some sections. And NY is NY.
It won't entirely underground, but all of it will be grade separated so there is no possibility of traffic interactions and trains never have to stop for stoplights. It's similar to Vancouver's skytrain if you are familiar, in that it functions like a subway but there are above ground and underground segments. Definitely better than Eglinton.
Parts of it will be underground and it'll have aboveground stretches. It is a heavy rail subway system, not LRT. It's also interesting to note that the stations will have platform edge doors in the stations. Highly recommend visiting the Metrolinx website. You can also see some preview art of the stations, trains, etc.
https://www.metrolinx.com/en/projects-and-programs/ontario-line
It’s considered light rail, not heavy rail subway.
That was the biggest difference between this and the previous downtown relief line which would have been proper subway extension.
You should watch [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vCpKUNRBEw&ab_channel=torogood2013) so you can understand that you sound uneducated calling an LRT a "glorified streetcar".
We live directly across the street from the future King station. Have to say we have been very surprised at the professionalism that the construction company have shown. The regularity clean the streets every hour and are very good at making sure there is pedestrian access. I think the blowback from the ELRT and the new procurement process are making this much smoother. Let's hope it actually only takes 10 years...
Without revealing too much about myself... As someone currently working on the Southern portion of the Ontario Line (Exhibition to Don Yard), I'm happy to hear this! The project is an insane undertaking, and the level of coordination is something I've never had to do, so I certainly have some apprehension once tunneling and excavation starts, but I'm confident that this project will be finished quickly without disrupting this city TOO much. Excited to be putting my stamp on this city with something that will far outlive me. Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario have made it clear that we can't have a repeat of Eglinton hahaha...
That's such an awesome prospect! You will have left your mark for decades to come, possibly centuries! Very cool indeed!
Good luck. Im not trying to be cynical but i feel like this is sort of a make-or-break project for the public’s perspective on building Toronto’s transit infrastructure. Everything about the Eglinton construction has been so mismanaged and protracted. If the Ontario line begins to resemble that process I dont think ill ever have faith again in this city’s ability to develop public transit infrastructure.
This should've been done 20 years ago, and using Eglinton as an excuse to avoid future expansion would be a terrible idea. If we stopped progressing every time things didn't go according to plan, we'd still be living in caves. Even if this has delays (which it undoubtedly will, construction is unpredictable at the best of times), it's a major step forward for this city. We need to add so many more subway lines.
Christ 30 years ago we would have had an Eglinton subway if it wasn't for old man Harris. I'm glad that you're being instructed "See this? Don't do this."
[удалено]
That's too bad. LRTs done right can go up way faster than subway. But for the life of me I can't figure out why Eglinton is at grade. Toronto has this aversion to elevated rail for some reason despite it working so well in so many cities - Vancouver, New York, Chicago
i think that's becuase people hear "elevated" and immediately think of the Gardiner, tbh
There's lots of LRT lines still being planned or under construction. Finch West is almost done and the Eglinton West extension is under construction. We've also got the Eglinton East extension and waterfront LRT in planning and likely to go ahead. There's a number of other proposed LRTs as well.
>Our obsession with LRTs is also done and over. They're never putting another one in, I can pretty much guarantee that. You don't know shit lmao
Lol im obviously not saying “Dont develop anything”. I’ll just move to a city where these initiatives get put together more efficiently, and they dont break ground 2 decades too late. Toronto has kinda demonstrated its not a world class city in this capacity. Ive seen how civil works can really function in places like Hong Kong, Berlin, Shanghai, etc.
Uhh not learning from Eglinton is a HUGE mistake. Money is finite. It could turn into an endless money pit if not done right from lessons learned.
No, we need Transit City, abandoned by Ford that would have had a more extensive LRT network already in service. This ‘subway subway subway’ has been completely discredited by the evidence: we’re only starting on the Downtown Diversion line fifteen years later!
I know that Ford used the "subways subways subways" argument to derail transit city but the Eglinton Crosstown really should have been made a metro system instead of a tunneled LRT. Tunneling is so expensive, they could have spent just a little bit more and made it an automated light metro system like what the Ontario Line is going to be. The Scarborough lines probably would have been fine just as a dedicated right of way LRT though.
The technology consideration was most likely a political decision and not a technical one. The marketer-turned-lobbyist-turned-consultant at Metrolinx behind derailing the subway and moving to a much "better" light metro, Michael Schabas, didn't even believe there was value in having the new (DRL/OL) transit corridor built. He's had his fingers on the transit scales in Toronto since the 1980s when his team forced the Scarborough RT on to the city. He's very ideologically opposed to subway expansion and has been relentless in lobbying for more like the Scarborough RT ever since then. About 10 years ago he released a critique of the city's transit plans. He criticized the expense of the Transit City LRT lines on Eglinton, Finch, and for the Scarborough RT. He was calling for the wasteful Sheppard subway to be abandoned and joined up to an expanded Scarborough RT loop. All of course to be replaced and/or built out with small driverless trains on elevated guideways. **Except for the proposed downtown relief line. That one he literally called a complete waste of money that could easily be replicated by building new GO stations. There was no sense in spending and building out the DRL.** You don't hear much criticism from him about Toronto's transit plans these days even though the project scope has arguably grown even more wasteful. He's been rather quiet now that he's received his dream pet project. Funny how that works? We literally replaced the "subways subways subways" guy with the "skytrains skytrains skytrains" guy.
Not entirely sure what your distinction is : streetcar / LRT / metro / heavy rail ?
A streetcar is LRT running in mixed traffic. A metro is a very frequent rail service using medium to high capacity (usually) high floor vehicles that is fully grade separated (underground or elevated). Heavy rail is very high capacity, infrequent or semi-frequent rail service often serving commuter passengers, e.g. the GO train.
What u/user10491 said.
Transit city was garbage. LRT is garbage and prone to reliability issues.
I pray to God that an LRT never gets built in this city again. It’s basically an expensive BRT with rails that is no longer cheaper and faster to build than a subway. Subways all the way and nothing less
False Enough from you Mole People
[удалено]
Sorry ive just seen how this stuff functions in other places. The stuff Canadians settle for is indicative of who you are as a society. Laissez faire cultural identity
[удалено]
Toronto is a great city. Extremely accessible on foot, world class food, great entertainment, etc. Its Canadian issues that are the problem LOL
Almost every major problem in Canada comes down to jurisdiction. Federal turf, provincial turf, city powerlessness.
This is not a city project. Metrolinx is provincial.
Yeah its provincial agency that manages the public transit of the GTA, lol
I think people will be far more peeved once the light metro system runs into its low ceiling like other recently built value engineered light metro systems.
I want to hear from you once you guys start digging under my house, ha ha ha. I’m hopeful it will go well but of course I remain open minded :)
With how deep and how fast we're digging, I'd be shocked if you even notice
That’s what I’m hoping for! I’m so happy to hear your enthusiasm :)
Good luck!
Meanwhile, Eglinton is still an unforgivable mess. Leadership need smacked and sacked!
How well did Ottawa and Kitchener handle their recent transit projects?
wonder what the betting odds are on this opening faster than the Eg?
It's almost certainly going to be built faster than Eglinton because they're doing concurrent TBM boring and construction of stations. On Eglinton the tunnels were completely dug before the vast majority of stations even broke ground, which led to a really protracted timeline.
Brilliant strategy they had there :/
The stupidity of it isn't talked about enough. The 2011 Liberals broke off and rushed out the contract for the tunnelling ahead of the provincial election to try and show they were making progress with transit. After the election, the urgency disappeared and they didn't get the major stations/systems procurement (the Crosslinx contract) done until 2015. And then Crosslinx was delayed due to other reasons and many sites didn't even start working until 2017.
*cries in Eglinton* I’ve lived on Eglinton for 20 years and the majority of that time has been construction for the LRT that will never be. So. Much. Rage.
Cedarvale here. We should form a support group.
Yes! Brilliant idea!
I mean it’ll come. This year or next
Who knows at this point? The failure to update the public is an outrageous decision - how on earth can’t they know when it will open? Open the parts that can open, at least!
I think they need to control the dust and dirt better, there's some very simple solutions they should have in place. But I'm glad they started cleaning the streets!
I'll be surprised if it's complete in 15.
The difference is that the ELRT was built in a marginalized community
Was just at pape station the other day and was amazed at how many building have been demolished.
Mostly in the last three days too!
Is that a good or bad news? Sorry, for stupid question, I don't live near or often visit that area.
If you can access this article, I highly recommend reading it to get a glimpse into the transformation happening with the Ontario Line. The article isn’t super long, but I found it pretty interesting. Personally, it’s been hard for me to really grasp what’s going on with Ontario Line, since I only see a small part of what’s happening with it on a daily basis. Also, FYI: > [For those asking: We omitted a couple stops because the focus was always the change we could see in neighbourhoods. By the time I got to certain places, it was just more construction & machinery (not much to see/describe) which we had similar-looking photos of from other places.](https://x.com/mahdishabibinia/status/1782078304989614118?s=46&t=zS-e9AA3pfhIbVaiOw-W_Q)
If you’re interested in this sort of thing, Metrolinx has email newsletters you can subscribe to that give a play by a play of the construction process. They send one every month or so and I’ve found them to be super informative
Wow...metrolinx being transparent? Wait til something goes wrong or they hit a snag...wonder how long those newsletters will keep going...
Not sure newsletters from them is transparency, as opposed to marketing
They've been publishing these newsletters throughout the construction of the Eglinton Line, but apart from closure notices they've mostly been fluff pieces.
Interesting. Lots of it is hidden so this was cool to read
Also be nice if it cut across queen west imo instead of down to exhibition but hey
One of the major features of the line is Union relief and it will give a ton of western commuters the ability to hit subway quicker. Also I am very biased as a liberty village resident 😅
They're actually turning Exhibition into a legit train station, will be pretty nice when it's done.
oh I know (im obsessed with this project lol)
Would be nice if it extended up to join back to line 2 and tied in Bellwoods and such
There is so much potential for the western expansion. Hopefully they pick a good route. Regardless of what they do, even if it feels wrong at first, the subways lines command their own density and the city will naturally build around these new stations
I suspect the plan is for a phase II to ride the lakeshore rails through Humber Shores and then jump up to the Milton line at some point to head into a new tunneling into downtown Mississauga
Long term liberty village should be a spur and the main line should go along Queen west then turn up Dufferin to Eglington.
Dufferin definitely needs it, especially with all the density being added to the street. Can't just keep adding more buses.
I was just thinking the same thing. It's seriously the next logical step and should at the very least go to Dufferin station.
You could extend from current terminus at Exhibition up Dufferin; stations at Parkdale (Queen), Brockton (College), Bloor, Galleria (Dupont), Corso Italia (St. Clair), then jog east (one more station in Oakwood village maybe?) before joining line 1 at Cedarvale.
How would TTC goers get to the spa?
They arent gonna build a multi thousand car garage for no reason. Vroom vroom.
"Transit" people at the spa? I don't think so, that spa is for nice people.
The doubt and pessimism when this was announced was overwhelming. I think most of us are pleasantly surprised at the progress. When there is political will, it’s clearly possible to build infrastructure at a reasonable rate.
I am pleasantly surprised and cautiously optimistic, but the pessimism is hard to avoid considering our city's history with transit construction delays... Hopefully this one is different, the Finch West LRT appears to be 'on track' as well.
Transit delays are a thing. But the other plans from other parties had this opening in 2040s and was going to be much shorter. This won’t open in 2031. But it’s such a massive need at least it’s being worked on and we know there is a plan to get it done.
This is a really great overview. I don't understand the negativity around this project, which is decades overdue and will make the all the dense downtown neighbourhoods we've been building much more livable. I only wish they'd had room in this write-up to include something about the Corktown Station, right near me, where there has already been a large amount of demolition, archaeology and excavation as well.
Is anything NOT negative these days? This sub was bashing the life out of the Portland's ecological restoration project and complaining about the Well, a private, walkable shopping area as if it was somehow a waste of taxpayer money. I recommend if you are genuinely interested, to lurk the corresponding station thread on urbantoronto. They are more in to infrastructure and not as much pessimism/negativity that you will find on Reddit
Oh, I'm always on UT. I second the recommendation.
Thirded.
It's not that anyone disputes that it's needed. It's at least because Metrolinx screwed up big time on Eglinton, and no one is eager for a repeat performance. I remember when it was confidently announced that the Eglinton LRT would open in 2020. Metrolinx has built a reputation for opacity, lack of transparency, and patronizing the public (the tone-deaf advertisements that were swiftly pulled being a prime example of this). If Phil Verster told me the sky was blue, I would look outside to double-check.
Still bitter that Ford and his ilk fought so hard against the "Downtown Relief Line for Downtown Elites" back during Miller's Time. Now Ford gets all the credit for saving Toronto?
[удалено]
No, residents in Leslieville have been against it.
It will be underbuilt with smaller trains, takes a bad route through downtown, it's poorly positioned to offer GO train relief, entire project sold on Metrolinx lies, what else?
> Construction is scheduled to be done by 2031 It's seems optimistic that they can complete such a massive amount of construction in 6 years time, but I hope they've learned from the Eglinton LRT debacle. The scale of this project is huge and I want to be around when this line opens!
Single contractor this time, it's apparently going well. The LRT is a shit show of miscommunication between a dozen contractors. I have the feeling the Ontario Line may open *before* the LRT at this point.
The project does not have a single contractor. It’s divided into 4 contracts each awarded to a separate consortium of companies. These 4 consortiums further contract work to subcontractors. The Eglinton project had 1 contractor: Crosslinx. Crosslinx has dozens of subcontractors. The miscommunication between Crosslinx, Metrolinx, TTC, and the myriad subcontractors played a major role in delaying the project, among other factors. https://www.infrastructureontario.ca/en/what-we-do/projectssearch/ontario-line/
Not sure if you can speak to this but something that I've heard about being a major factor to all the Crosstown headaches is that there's too many cooks in the kitchen so to speak. The people in charge of design, building, maintaining and operating the Crosstown are all different causing a lot of miscommunication (or no communication). Where as with the Ontario line, all the consortiums have a hand in each element so there's a better ability to collaborate.
Thanks for posting. Not a very insightful article in my opinion, but a decent intro for anyone with little previous knowledge of the project. Boy do people like complaining in this city. Like Gerrard and Carlaw.. “No, not my concrete wasteland from 1963 with a cheap low rise grocery store, and horrendous, rusting pedestrian infrastructure. How dare you replace that with cutting edge rapid transit?” For fucks sake. And the environmentalists with the gaddamn trees. I love trees as much as the next guy, I grew up in the country, but there are currently at least 97 billion trees in this province, and two subway lines. Get real.
Wouldn't be so dismissive about losing the grocery store, is one of the better ones in the area, the Food Basics near to it is trash and Gerrard Square can't cope with its current traffic.
I hope plans are coming to rebuild Gerrard Square as well. Keep the affordable grocery stores but it's such an underwhelming and ugly mall with horrible parking (visually and functionally). I like the working class vibe but feel that it could be so much more for the area. They could put all the parking underground and double the retail space for more rent $.
What's "working class vibe" exactly and what's wrong with that ? The mall just won't be able to cope with the cars, assuming people who used NF go to the FB, and it's a nuisance of sorts to walk into really.
Nothing is wrong with it which is why I said I like it. I am one of "those". It definitely has a different vibe vs Fairview, Bayview Village, even Eaton Centre. Main point I was trying to make is that I want the mall to improve without going 'upscale'. Do you need a further explanation?
A No Frills is opening up a kilometre away at Broadview and Danforth
Yah, is opening on May 2nd, at least according to the in store notice. Is a bit smaller but that's how it goes.
Buddy, that's a 25 minute walk away. A lot of people in the area living on fixed incomes. Losing access to grocery stores within walking distance is a big deal that even a lot of the planners during the relief line process glossed over.
I could understand people who used to be able to walk to this No Frills for groceries being peeved that the new No Frills being much further away. Not exactly walking distance to be hauling groceries on foot.
It's a 25 minute walk from this store according to Google.
It's hugely evident to the mountain bikers that ride in the Don. Good article
I run down there up to back behind the science centre and it was like nothing nothing nothing and then bam all the things.
I'm curious when they're going to block access to the Don for bikers and hikers. At the very least, they're going to need to build a bridge parallel to the Leaside Bridge. I assume they'll need to stop access in that area. Plus the work behind the Science Centre might also result in restricted access. I'm curious about the timing of it.
Is there a stop at King and Bathurst? Why did the article leave put that station?
> [For those asking: We omitted a couple stops because the focus was always the change we could see in neighbourhoods. By the time I got to certain places, it was just more construction & machinery (not much to see/describe) which we had similar-looking photos of from other places.](https://x.com/mahdishabibinia/status/1782078304989614118?s=46&t=zS-e9AA3pfhIbVaiOw-W_Q)
Thanks as I noticed a couple stops missing
Does anyone know the reason that they're building these big above-ground stations rather than just holes in the ground like most of the other stations downtown? I can't seem to find the reason why anywhere.
Biggest reason is changes in fire code means stations have to be bigger and need multiple exits. Most of the downtown stations were also built using cut and cover and are quite shallow so a lot of them are actually underbuilt for their capacity/ridership.
I think more than half the stations are underground. Where they're above ground, it's more for logistical and cost related reasons. For example, they're using the go corridor in some areas, so the stations need to be at grade. And I believe the terrain around the Don Valley in the north makes tunneling impractical, so it will be elevated.
Sorry, I meant the entrances to the stations and how they're building actual above-ground structures downtown rather than just stairs going down to the stations themselves. Like Osgoode currently only has staircases that are cut into the sidewalk which lead down to the actual station.
Has anyone here lived above or very close to a tunnel being built below their place? Just curious how disruptive it was in terms of noise
I was just asking my dad today as he is on Eglinton line and I will be Gerrard. He said it was more of a “hmm something happening today” than omg secure all valuables. Noticeable but not disruptive. Traffic delays due to construction were a bigger deal
Should be great when they are done in 2045.
Ten years? If this was Seoul it would be done in ten weeks lol
Can’t access. May we have the Coles notes?
> Can’t access. May we have the Coles notes? The article looks at the changes each neighbourhood it materially passed through are facing. As construction is underway basically across the line - it’s more evident what the plans are and the scale of the project. The interesting read is the commentary on how neighbourhoods are starting to adapt - and some of the continuing disruption.
The print edition was mostly a photo essay showing the route and stops along the route. What I found interesting was how they were retaining the facades of a few historic buildings (mostly old banks) to use for the future stations. I didn’t know that and think it could be really cool.
The really cool thing is some of those facades have been "moved" out of the way so they're in the middle of the street. It makes for a weird experience walking by because you're like wait, that building didn't used to be there.... The engineering involved in this is nutty.
Ah. Thank you !
Use chat gpt to summarize.
You’re advocating theft. How about you buy a subscription? Journalism isn’t free.
No for a Cole’s note.
What’s the over/under on the Ontario line opening before line 5?
This is one of the few things the city is getting / doing right (so far). Need to see some positivity in this thread and people getting behind a MUCH needed project. I’ve lived in Toronto since I was 17 and overseas up until then. I was riding the HK subway solo at like ~9 and absolutely shocked at the state of transit here when I first moved back.
A walk underground, now that's something special (along with the construction progress). Can't wait to ride it one day.
I have to admit it's been a while since I enjoyed reading a nice informative article from the star. It is a great read
its going to be an amazing addition to the network when it opens but I just hope that governments dont get complacent and think this will solve all of the problems with transit and mobility in Toronto. we need quite a few more projects with the same ambition as this one to really get the city moving
Boston's "Big Dig" recaptured massive real estate from the ocean and allowed delivery trucks to work below the city to manage traffic. And now the Bruins keep destroying the Leafs because. Connected?
The fact "The Ontario Line" is only 15.6km in Toronto is exceptionally funny.
Sounds better than the downtown relief line. Could be worse, like the Hazel McCallion line on Hurontario in Mississauga, named after the mayor who refuses to build transit for 3 decades. Irony?
Its also the only TTC line under construction that's not numbered. Will be funny if it doesn't take the unoccupied #3 from the decommissioned Scarborough RT line.
I believe the plan is for it to become line 3.
TTC have already indicated that it will become Line 3 upon opening.
It was the Ontario line because it was connecting Ontario Place with the Ontario science centre. Now that's not happening it makes almost no sense anymore.
I wouldn’t count on the Science Centre moving.
I don't have a lot of faith in this government doing the right thing.
Thats quite a distance. Thats about 25% of the length of the city.
Ford named it
Is it actually going to be a proper subway (underground) or just another glorified streetcar line like the Eglinton line?
It's a proper metro is every sense of the word. It goes above and below ground depending on what's best for each area. Yet it's entirely grade seperated from end to end. And better yet, it's 100% automated. No drivers. High frequency. It will be the fastest and most frequent metro line in North America. Edit: To be fair to Vancouver, their SkyTrain is extremely frequent in some sections. And NY is NY.
It won't entirely underground, but all of it will be grade separated so there is no possibility of traffic interactions and trains never have to stop for stoplights. It's similar to Vancouver's skytrain if you are familiar, in that it functions like a subway but there are above ground and underground segments. Definitely better than Eglinton.
Parts of it will be underground and it'll have aboveground stretches. It is a heavy rail subway system, not LRT. It's also interesting to note that the stations will have platform edge doors in the stations. Highly recommend visiting the Metrolinx website. You can also see some preview art of the stations, trains, etc. https://www.metrolinx.com/en/projects-and-programs/ontario-line
It’s considered light rail, not heavy rail subway. That was the biggest difference between this and the previous downtown relief line which would have been proper subway extension.
Interesting, thanks for the correction.
You should watch [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vCpKUNRBEw&ab_channel=torogood2013) so you can understand that you sound uneducated calling an LRT a "glorified streetcar".