Clean Train Coalition asks Prichard to come clean on air-rail plans

It seems that wherever Metrolinx CEO Rob Prichard goes these days, so go members of the Clean Train Coalition (CTC) pushing for electrification on the expanded Georgetown GO line that will also accomodate the air-rail link from Union station to Pearson.

This week the CTC's Rick Ciccarelli put Prichard on the record about the air-rail link and the electrification issue at both the Monday Board of Trade breakfast and the Metrolinx board meeting Wednesday.

The meeting was the one in which the delayed, scaled-down version of Transit City and York's Viva bus lanes were unanimously approved, although one board member admitted many people, possibly some of the board members themselves, are still fuzzy on the difference between the old downtown streetcar lines and the new Transit City LRT lines.

What Ciccarelli managed to extract from Prichard was already pretty well known. The public can expect to hear this June or July that the province, through Infrastructure Ontario, has negotiated a deal with SNC Lavalin to run the premium air-rail train for a period of about 40 years. Although any disclosure of the details will be up to the province, Prichard said that one condition is that Lavalin would have to comply with electrification if and when the province decided to go that route.

But even if the study currently underway to assess the cost of electrifying the GO system -- which could come in anywhere from $4 to $7 billion -- recommends the move, it won't happen immediately, he said.

"For every element of infrastructure, we're building in electrification capacity," said Prichard. "Every bridge will have enough height so that if it's to be electrified there's room to put the catenary underneath. But we are not expecting that the line will be electric on opening day. Instead, we expect it will be Tier 4 diesel, convertible to electric if and when a decision is taken to electrify the Georgetown line."

The same day Prichard was pitching his "Five in 10" plan to the board, the Board of Trade was trying to help Metrolinx move the discussion forward on how to pay for all the needed regional transit improvements. It released one of the best available outlines yet of possible revenue tools that could see Mayor David Miller's beloved Transit City lines built to completion.

But Prichard was clear that Toronto isn't the only municipality lining up to spend the tolls or taxes that politicians barely discuss, much less implement.

Electrification, said Prichard, is "another claim for the resources of the Investment Strategy as we go forward and it will take its place alongside the next phases of Transit City, the next phases of York Viva, the lines of Mississauga, the lines in Hamilton."

Comments

[scott d]

The Star has written a lot about the 407 highway boondoggle but is silent on the for-profit airport link, to be run by the same people. Jack Lackey where are you ?

[Inesse]

Prichard says in the article: "Every bridge will have enough height so that IF it's to be electrified there's room to put the catenary underneath. But we are not expecting that the line will be electric on opening day. Instead, we expect it will be Tier 4 diesel, convertible to electric IF and when a decision is taken to electrify the Georgetown line."

Those are two too many "if"s for my liking.

China is planning to spend more than $1 TRILLION on expanding its railway network from 78,000 km today to 110,000 km in 2012 (http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2009/01/12/high-speed-rail-in-china/), while Ontario is quibbling about $4 to $7 billion and the how-to's of our dinky infrastructure system. What's going on Metrolinx?

[Railside Resident]

It is great that the Star is covering this story. Metrolinx has hired nine public relations people to work on this project alone. Some of their work is evident with the use of the term "Electrification" study. Metrolinx is studying all forms of propulsion including diesel and electric. The "study" group will report by December, but not make any recommendations and nothing they say is binding. It is not an electrification study so much as it is just a PR stunt design to create the impression the Crown agency is taking the concerns of local residents seriously while they jam hundreds of diesel trains down the throats of people living along the corridor.

[Warren]

Any transit project is likely to meet intense local opposition. When construction starts the noise makes people angry and they start looking around for reasons the project should be stopped. Between that and budget pressure, we may well accomplish very little even as the oil spill in the gulf might make some people think it might be wise to waste less of the stuff. Transit City is designed to make the most impact per dollar spent, we should be putting pressure on these guys to get funding back. It is too bad to see this discussion hijacked.

[Rick C]

The fundamental reason electrification cannot take place by 2015 on the Georgetown/Air Rail Link corridor is that the project has been planned and approved to use diesel trains and Metrolinx and the Province are continuing to implement this plan.

If Premier McGuinty is listening to the increasingly concerned voices in the corridor communities, he will act to require the Air Rail Link to be electrified and clearly set the date to have it done by 2015. It is possible to accomplish this, although that is not what we are being told.

In order to get clean electric trains instead of diesel, the decision path that Metrolinx and the Province was never clearly laid this out, and there is no set date for making decisions to electrify the corridor. Without a decision-point, there is no decision.

What is emerging as a process to get to electrification is:
First they must study the whole system, including alternative technologies; then the consultants report to Metrolinx with options (not recommendations) that include electrification; they must then get approval from the Metrolinx Board which is expected to stall while they test the unavailable Tier 4 diesels for a year and possibly then put some electrification priorities into their Investment Strategy decision-making hopper with all other system expansion projects; then there must be a Metrolinx staff and Board approval of the system-wide electrification project as a key component of the investment strategy as of 2013; and then this will be forwarded to the province for decision-making and budget approval.....OOOPS its 2015 and we passed the decisions to get the diesels for the ARL and GO expansion on the Georgetown Corridor.

There are 5 more years until the Pan Am Games for which the Bid Book commits to having an air rail link. If Premier McGuinty was to say today: this Air Rail Link project will be electrified as a demonstration project for the future of regional transit in Ontario and be ready for Pan Am, what would happen?

Under the negotiated terms of the Infrastructure Ontario agreement SNC Lavalin would be required to buy or lease clean electric trains rather than diesel trains, the public assumes the cost of added infrastructure, detail design work would begin immediately and construction of the caternary could start by 2012. Work on electrification would happen in coordination of the Georgetown South rail corridor expansion, rather than try to take place some time in the future over top of a fully operational all day service, adding to system disruption.

The benefits of electrification of the Air Rail Link are clean air and potential to make it a more accessible service because electric trains allow for more stops and better service integration. It can expected the additional requirements is between 3 to 500M for electrifying the corridor from Union to Pearson. The extra cost of the electrical system for 25 km of track is much less than Metrolinx CEO Prichard implies when he talks about 4 to 7 Billion, the rough estimates for the entire GO Network.

These costs are expected to be recouped within 10 to 12 years. CalTrain expects electrification will make them money within 10 years, while diesel would lose money due to operating cost and more staions allowing improved ridership.

Isn't the connection between our busiest rail station and Canada's busiest airport is a recognized priority route, and worthy of extra attention as the international gateway to Toronto and the GTHA?

Premier McGuinty, its up to you.

[Home Mortgages]

hi i am Daniel North. i will including alternative technologies. while diesel would lose money due to operating cost and more staions allowing improved ridership.
hey must then get approval from the Metrolinx Board which is expected to stall while they test the unavailable Tier 4 diesels for a year and possibly then put some electrification priorities into their Investment Strategy decision-making hopper with all other system expansion projects.
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Home Mortgages

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Daniel