More Transit for More Communities - Sooner

The Ontario Line will bring more transit to more in-need communities sooner than previous plans would have by using a mix of at-grade (surface) track, elevated guideways and underground tunnels. This type of approach comes with many benefits, including:

• Shorter construction timelines – Limiting the amount of tunnelling and excavation needed for the project reduces its complexity, which in turn helps reduce construction timelines. This will be done by aligning Ontario Line operations within sections of existing above-ground rail corridors in the western and eastern segments of the line, and along elevated structures in the northern segment. In communities like Leslieville, we are also able to streamline our work with existing GO Expansion plans along the rail corridor, which reduces the number of construction zones and related impacts in the surrounding community.
• Faster and more convenient transfers – Customers using at-grade stations will be able to get where they need to go sooner by avoiding lengthy journeys underground and by taking advantage of faster transfers to other surface transit routes. For instance, an underground East Harbour station would have needed to be built nearly 40 metres underground to reach under the Don River. This very deep station would have added 4.5 minutes to each transfer, adding significant time to people’s commutes.
• More rapid transit for more communities – The use of existing rail corridors and elevated structures means we can extend the Ontario Line investment farther and reach transit-deprived communities sooner. These include the growing and vibrant neigbourhoods of Flemingdon Park, Thorncliffe Park, Liberty Village and Fort York, which were not included in the former Relief Line South plans. While it will be more than twice as long as the previous Relief Line South proposal, it can be built for a similar cost.

Running along a mix of above-ground and underground tracks is not a new approach --- the TTC has done this with Line 1,Line 2 and Line 3, and many other transit systems have adopted it to deliver superior rapid transit within impressive timeframes. For example, the majority of stations and tracks for world-class transit services like Vancouver’s SkyTrain network and London, England’s Docklands Light Railway system are above ground. Since those systems began in the 80s, the SkyTrain has become the longest rapid transit system in Canada and the Docklands Light Railway system has grown to nearly 40 kilometres’ worth of track.