The Ontario Line is the name used for a planned rapid transit route introduced in Ontario's 2019-2020 budget, on April 10, 2019.[1][2]
The Doug Ford government budgeted $10.9 billion Canadian dollars for this 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) route.[1] Its northern terminus would be at Eglinton Avenue and Don Mills Road, at Science Centre Station, on the Eglinton Crosstown route. Its southern terminus would be at a new station, at Ontario Place.
The Doug Ford government characterized the route as a "standalone" route, one that would use lighter rolling stock, and shorter trainsets, than the Toronto Transit Commission's existing subway lines.
The City of Toronto had been planning to build a Downtown Relief Line, between Pape Station on the Bloor-Danforth Subway Line, and Osgoode Station on the Yonge-University Line. However, in the months prior to announcing this budget the Province had announced its plans to take over the city's subway lines. The Province made clear, on budget day
Route
editThe number of stations on the line were not specified, when the line was announced.[3] However, the next day, April 11, 2019, the Provincial budget included a list of stations, Science Centre, Flemingdon Park, Thorncliffe Park, Cosburn, Pape, Gerrard, Leslieville, East Harbour, Sumach, Sherbourne South, Queen, Osgoode, Queen-Spadina and King-Bathurst and Ontario Place.[4]
Rolling stock
editThe route is reported to use smaller trainsets, and a smaller guage.[5] It is claimed that, by using driverless trains, with automatic train control, the same number of passengers will be able to be carried, by running trains more frequently.
Relationship with the Relief Line
editThe City of Toronto had been working, for years, on subway line known as the Downtown Relief Line or simply Relief Line, which would have used the same conventional heavy rail subway vehicles as used on Lines 1, Line 2, and Line 4. After consultations with the public, and environmental assessments, that took years, a final choice of right of way and station location had been agreed upon.[6]
However Premier Doug Ford's government began the process of uploading ownership and management of Toronto's subway lines from the City to the Province.
References
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"Doug Ford commits $11.2B for 4 major GTA transit projects, including new 'Ontario Line'". CBC News. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
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Doug Ford (2019-04-10). "Premier Ford Unveils Transportation Vision: Ontario Announces $28.5 Billion to Get Ontario Moving". Office of the Premier (Ontario). Toronto. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
Joined by Jeff Yurek, Minister of Transportation, and Monte McNaughton, Minister of Infrastructure, Ford announced a $28.5 billion expansion to Ontario's transit network. This is the most money ever invested to get shovels in the ground and get new subways built.
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Oliver Moore (2019-04-10). "Ontario unveils $28.5-billion transit plan, vows to double length of Toronto's downtown relief line". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
The province said the relief line would be done as early as 2027. The timeline is contingent on factors including the upload of transit to the province. The announcement comes amid talks between the province and city on the Ontario government's plan to take over ownership of Toronto's subway network and control of expansion planning.
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Rob Ferguson (2019-04-11). "Ontario budget reveals locations for downtown relief line subway stations". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
Fedeli's budget included a detailed list of stops for the 15-kilometre project, with stations at Flemingdon Park, Thorncliffe Park, Cosburn, Pape, Gerrard, Leslieville, East Harbour, Sumach, Sherbourne, Queen, Osgoode, Queen/Spadina and King/Bathurst, before the final terminus at Ontario Place/Exhibition.
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Brian Lilley (2019-04-10). "LILLEY: Ford plan takes city forward". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
The province, though, is not promising a monorail or a levitating train but instead a subway line that will use a smaller track gauge and even smaller train cars that will still move hundreds of thousands of riders per day.
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Rhianna Jackson-Kelso, Emerald Bensadoun (2019-04-10). "How Doug Ford's $28.5-billion transit overhaul compares with Toronto's existing plans". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
Under the city's plan, the downtown relief line would run 7.4 kilometres connecting Queen and Osgoode stations to Pape station. The latest estimates had put the cost of the line at $7.2 billion. The project had a tentative completion date of 2029 following a recently approved plan to spend $325 million over two years finish more quickly. The environmental assessment for the city's version of the project, one of the final steps before the construction phase, was completed last October.
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