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June 25, 2007
MoveOntario 2020
10:42 PM
I don’t know if you guys have been following the transit news the past few weeks, but there has been tonnes of new transit annoucments. First, Premier McGuinty announced an ambitious $17.5 billion infrastructure plan that would blanket the Greater Golden Horseshoe to improve transit access within the region.
McGuinty announced that the Ontario government would invest $11.5 billion in transit projects, with an expectation that the federal government will chip in $6 billion. Many of you might be think that such a condition would hinder any kind of projects to move forward, and that’s why McGuinty has promised that projects will continue regardless of support by the Feds.
There are a total of 52 projects presented, some of which I am very pleased to be hearing about. For instance, there are long-overdue plans to extend the Yonge subway to Highway 7, the full implementation of the TTC Transit City light rail plan, as well as the construction of dedicated transitways on the VIVA network. Aside from municipal projects, GO Transit will see the expansion of new rail lines into north Pickering, the extension of existing routes to Barrie in the north and Bowmanville in the east, as well as Bolton in the northwest. GO bus rapid transit projects are also planned in the 905 regions.
The ambitious plan has not been well-received in local papers as it has been criticized for being a blatant pre-election campaign promise. The Toronto Star was definitely cynical by publishing this announcement in Page 6 of the paper. While I can understand a bit of cynicism about these plans, especially as McGuinty has not been the greatest promise keeper (i.e. Ontario Health Premium), I think that he cannot afford to not keep his promise on this issue. I think that our transportation woes have become such a state of urgency that no party can ignore.
So yes, I support McGuinty and his great transit plan. I hope to see fast results if he gets elected, or otherwise I will hope a huge political grudge against him. I encourage all you readers to do the same and rise to the occasion to ensure that he keeps his promise.
Let us all not forget what he promised on June 15, 2007!
MoveOntario 2020 Backgrounder - [ontario.ca]
MoveOntario 2020 Projects - [ontario.ca]
MoveOntario 2020 Map - [ontario.ca]
Filed under Transit, published In Toronto
7 Comments
June 26, 2007 12:31 AM
What is that thing about GO electrification? Does that turn it into something like the KCR?
June 26, 2007 10:04 AM
My prof mentioned that the GTTA was never notified prior to this announcement and that's a huge source of conflict with the local municipalities- with the province trying to take credit for everything.
what do you think about the governance issue?
June 27, 2007 04:39 PM
I believe that it will run on electric power instead of current diesel powered locomotives. I read somewhere that electrification will some how increase passenger capacity, as trains would be able to be operate more frequently.
Yes, I have heard too that the GTTA was out of the loop when McGuinty announced MoveOntario. If you read in the disclaimer underneath the projects page (http://www.premier.gov.on.ca/news/Product.asp?ProductID=1385), it says that "Projects subject to the review of the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority." I got the impression that the political side really decided to announce it, without the proper review by ministry staff.
As for whether there is a source of conflict with the local municipalities, I personally don't think so. I feel that municipalities and transit authorities have welcomed this announcement-- since these are the very projects that municipal governments have been lobbying for. There will be no way unless the province steps in.
June 28, 2007 12:55 AM
Really? But aren't electric trains much smaller than these large diesel trains?
June 28, 2007 11:51 PM
You should be right. The capacity of the line can grow, since the trains (which are smaller) can be operated closer together-- which means shorter headways, and that ultimately means higher line capacity.
July 3, 2007 12:34 AM
Another thing is that do electric trains go as fast as diesel ones? When I'm on the GO, it seems to go at 100 km/hr but the subway seems to only go at like 60 km/hr.
July 4, 2007 11:22 PM
According to my textbook, subway trains have the ability to travel 100 km/hr too-- though they hover usually around 70 km/hr. However, they are constrained by safety regulations, the closeness to other trains, the spacing between stations, among a few other conditions.
So in that sense, I don't think it's a speed issue, but more of an acceleration/deceleration issue. Electric trains, from my unscientific research, can accelerate and decelerate faster, which usually means you can have smaller gaps between trains.