The Great Canadian Transit Thread

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by ffx-me

woohoo! This will skyrocket montreal to being the city with the 8th to the 6th longest metro system in north america, precisely doubling the toronto subway. Most exciting development in modern canadian transit history.

lol (over the number of kilometre comparison to actual urban, walkable subways in both Montreal and Toronto and not about the excitement)

[TorontoDrew]

Does that number include the Crosstown?

[mistercorporate]

Originally Posted by gunnar777

Perhaps, as long as continued large-scale investment isn't immediately cancelled should the liberal government lose next year's election and as long as that government also swiftly gives up on the latest hydrogen nonsense they're pedalling. But in any case, Montreal will still be able to claim a much longer metro system.

GO RER will fit the definition of metro even if it's not underground. 15 min service at worst with full connectivity with the rest of the subway network. A metro, unless London and New York's systems don't count?

[caltrane74]

GO RER is gonna take forever to complete compared to the Montreal system. However it also comes with advantages Montreal will not have including having the line compatible with High Speed Rail to Kitchener and possibly London.

[TorontoDrew]

So this new line will not be like the metro lines because it will not be using rubber tires right? That technology doesn't work well in the elements namely snow.

[nephersir7]

Originally Posted by FFX-ME

Woohoo! This will skyrocket Montreal to being the city with the 8th to the 6th longest metro system in North America

Kind of disingenuous to put it that way. The Metro and the REM will be two distinct systems.

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

So this new line will not be like the metro lines because it will not be using rubber tires right?.

This new network will also be different from the Metro because it will

• run above ground for most of its length
• be powered by catenary instead of third rail
• be fully driverless
• have platform screen doors
• have shorter, but wider trains
• be privately owned and operated

[SkahHigh]

Originally Posted by DrJoe

I've noticed Montreal is the new city that likes to circle jerk itself on this forum now.

You could argue GO RER will be more impactful btw...

Holy jealousy lol... Can't you be happy that Canada is building more mass transit? As I am with Toronto's projects.

[Acajack]

Why do Canadians have to be like this?

[gunnar777]

Originally Posted by SkahHigh

Holy jealousy lol... Can't you be happy that Canada is building more mass transit? As I am with Toronto's projects.

I couldn't agree more. I'm rooting for all of our rail transit-starved cities to break ground on more projects. Eglinton X-town and RER will be transformative for Toronto and make the city so much more accessible without a car.

As for REM, one of the things that impresses me about it is that it is managing to avoid the "cheapening" that almost all Canadian projects are hit with, which usually starts when Joe McBlow from some big-box suburb, who drives a giant minivan into downtown everyday and has no relevant city-planning nor accounting nor engineering qualifications yet is somehow calling the shots on what gets built and mostly, what doesn't, simply because he's loud and obnoxious and measures the cost of a much-needed megaproject in terms of how many Tim Horton's coffees that could buy his constituents.

The REM project is different for us because it combines platform screen doors, expensive, super-deep connections at Edouard-Montpetit, wifi along the line, driverless operation and high frequency. No other project in the country ticks all those boxes and has so little in the way of cut corners. Where I currently live in Sydney, they're currently constructing a pretty analogous metro line of 60+ kilometres and as with all other Australian projects, they LOVE to splash cash - to them, it's a demonstration of prosperity and cementing their position as "world-class". This line is costing ~$20 billion and there are already hundreds of what would be considered RER stations here, as well as a couple other massive projects on the books, yet we can't possibly spend half as much on a downtown relief line for Toronto, for no good reason other than provincialism and the notion that every elected official should be heard on every matter. I get the feeling our politicians just haven't travelled much. I'm repatriating soon and would urge politicians to go on a trip to Australia or really anywhere for that matter, come home properly embarrassed and end the curse placed over our largest city by the basically 2 subway lines forever god, who has also apparently decided that we should have a commuter rail system that looks like it belongs in some Soviet outpost (ditto for Montreal). I still like living in Canadian cities a bit more, except maybe for Melbourne, which is super dope, but seriously, it's catch-up time for us! Ok, rant over.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

67 km of new light rail. Well done!

Originally Posted by DrJoe

I've noticed Montreal is the new city that likes to circle jerk itself on this forum now.

You could argue GO RER will be more impactful btw...

Originally Posted by mistercorporate

GO RER will fit the definition of metro even if it's not underground. 15 min service at worst with full connectivity with the rest of the subway network. A metro, unless London and New York's systems don't count?

Originally Posted by caltrane74

GO RER is gonna take forever to complete compared to the Montreal system. However it also comes with advantages Montreal will not have including having the line compatible with High Speed Rail to Kitchener and possibly London.

The 3 major cities of Canada; Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver; are experiencing rapid expansion of their transit systems. To argue that one should be praised more than the others is almost sad. They all have their challenges to building rapid transit.

The new Montreal LRT is replacing a commuter rail line and adding a bit more to it. This is akin to GO RER.

I doubt that GO RER will be implemented within the next 10 years. Right now, whether we want to admit it or not, Ontario is broke. Toronto is also broke. If the federal government offers billions to Toronto to build GO RER, it might get built sooner.

Lets admit it, all major cities need more investment in transit. The problem is how to pay for it.

[DrJoe]

Originally Posted by SkahHigh

Holy jealousy lol... Can't you be happy that Canada is building more mass transit? As I am with Toronto's projects.

I honestly don't really care it's just an observation I've made. I stopped posting here for awhile and it used to be the Calgary forumers I found insufferable but now it's the Montreal contingent.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

I doubt that GO RER will be implemented within the next 10 years. Right now, whether we want to admit it or not, Ontario is broke. Toronto is also broke. If the federal government offers billions to Toronto to build GO RER, it might get built sooner.

They really aren't though. It's an artificial financial "crisis" spurned by a general refusal to address revenue and only focusing on spending. Both still have excellent credit ratings and the tools to generate a massive amount of revenue while remaining relatively competitive, if they so wished. In the case of the province they could look at income tax brackets, the HST or actually increasing education tax revenue (it's been static and funding a decreasing share of education taxes). The City has a host of revenue tools that don't do a whole lot, but could increase residential property tax revenue considerably and still have a lower residential tax burden than the rest of the GTA.

[Mister F]

Ontario isn't even close to broke.

While I'm not in the "RER isn't rapid transit" camp, it does say something about Toronto and Ontario that this is even a conversation. The GTA needs some fundamental changes in how its transportation system is structured and governed, IMO.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Mister F

Ontario isn't even close to broke.

While I'm not in the "RER isn't rapid transit" camp, it does say something about Toronto and Ontario that this is even a conversation. The GTA needs some fundamental changes in how its transportation system is structured and governed, IMO.

The Ontario economy has rebounded and finally we understand that the urban areas are the generators of wealth.

After 20 years of tax cuts and small government philosophy in which infrastructure investment either contracted or stagnated, we are finally understanding the need to re-invest particularly in urban areas, at least I hope our politicians understand this.

In Ontario, I fear the next election and what does the Conservatives really stand for in this way? For years, they stood for building highways in rural and fringe suburban areas and did not invest in cities themselves. Has this changed?

Toronto is in bad need of both Go RER and the DRL. The city itself is choking on the lack of subways, while the greater area can no longer live on highways alone. If Toronto is to remain livable and be Canada's prime representative on the world stage, it needs to improve its transportation infrastructure and bring it into the 21st century.

[TorontoDrew]

Toronto should do what Vancouver is doing. Build elevated rail lines. They are much cheaper and faster to build then a subway. Anything outside of the core could benefit from them. They may need to be covered to keep the occasional snow we get off the tracks though.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

Toronto should do what Vancouver is doing. Build elevated rail lines. They are much cheaper and faster to build then a subway. Anything outside of the core could benefit from them. They may need to be covered to keep the occasional snow we get off the tracks though.

For Montréal, the REM will have autonomous rail snowplows.

[ssiguy]

RER will be a huge game changer for Toronto.

A also don't think the Tories will cut back on the expansion, in fact I can see them accelerating them. RER is still mostly beneficial for people outside of downtown Toronto and the Tories need those votes to gain power. If there is one thing the Tories might do is stall the DRL as it is downtown focused and the Tories will never get a inner city seat.

[SkahHigh]

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

For Montréal, the REM will have autonomous rail snowplows.

No, they'll simply run the trains during a snow storm so snow doesn't accumulate.

Toronto should indeed go elevated instead of going all-underground subway or cheapening out with LRT.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by SkahHigh

No, they'll simply run the trains during a snow storm so snow doesn't accumulate.

Toronto should indeed go elevated instead of going all-underground subway or cheapening out with LRT.

This is not what CDPQi mentionned in their meetings. You are better placed than me to answer though.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by SkahHigh

No, they'll simply run the trains during a snow storm so snow doesn't accumulate.

Toronto should indeed go elevated instead of going all-underground subway or cheapening out with LRT.

I don't think LRT is cheapening out. In more dense areas it can have more stops with shorter distances. But in our outer boroughs elevated is a great way to go.