No. H184/06
For release - December 20, 2006
BURLINGTON, ONTARIO — Canada's New Government, the Province of Ontario and GO Transit today announced the restoration of Sunfish Pond, the addition of a third mainline track between Burlington and Bayview Junction, and improvements to GO Transit's Aldershot and Burlington stations in the Lakeshore West rail corridor.
Construction on this portion of the Lakeshore West rail corridor is valued at $72 million, with $3.1 million allotted for construction at the GO Aldershot Station, $5.5 million for Sunfish Pond and $4 million for the GO Burlington Station. Construction on this portion of the Lakeshore West rail corridor began in June 2005 and is anticipated to be complete by September 2007. GO will eventually add more trains to better serve riders, including all day service to Aldershot.
"These projects demonstrate the commitment made by Canada's New Government to work for Canadian families and communities," said Mike Wallace, MP for Burlington, on behalf of the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. "We are working hard to make environmentally sound transportation alternatives such as commuter rail more accessible for all Canadians. This helps to ease traffic congestion as well as reduce smog and greenhouse gases."
"Since 1995, GO Transit's ridership has grown by more than 50 per cent and it now carries 48 million riders each year," said Ontario Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield. "Our government is investing $24 million in this portion of the Lakeshore West project to improve travel times and accessibility, as well as reduce congestion on our roads."
Work being carried out includes:
the addition of a third track from just west of Burlington GO Station to Bayview Junction, near the Royal Botanical Gardens;
the construction of a retaining wall adjacent to Sunfish Pond to ensure that there are minimal impacts to the pond and/or the existing shoreline;
the replanting of native vegetation in areas around Sunfish Pond that were cleared as part of track construction;
the construction of two pedestrian tunnels and new elevators that will be accessible to persons with disabilities at Aldershot and Burlington stations; and
the widening of the south platform at Burlington Station to accommodate the new track, and extending the other platforms at Burlington and Aldershot stations to accommodate GO's 12-car trains.
"This work is just one part of a major expansion across our network that will greatly improve service and reliability for our passengers," said GO Transit Chairman Peter Smith.
This expansion is part of the GO Transit Rail Improvement Program (GO TRIP), a billion-dollar expansion initiative funded by the federal and provincial governments and local municipalities, through the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund.
The Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund provides federal funding to large-scale transportation infrastructure projects of major national and regional significance.
For more information and/or updates on this project, call 416-869-3600, extension 5199 or visit the program's website at www.gotransit.com.
A backgrounder with further information on the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund is attached.
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Contacts:
Natalie SarafianPress SecretaryOffice of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Ottawa613-991-0700
Nicole McNeelyCommunicationsTransport Canada, Ottawa(613) 993-0055
Neal KellyMTO Minister's Office416-327-9134
Bob NicholsMTO Communications Branch416-327-1158
Vasie PapadopoulosGO TRIP416-869-3600 ext 5175
Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to news releases and speeches at www.tc.gc.ca/e-news and keep up-to-date on the latest from Transport Canada.
This news release may be made available in alternative formats for persons with visual disabilities.
Backgrounder
CANADA STRATEGIC INFRASTRUCTURE FUND
The Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund supports large-scale projects of major national and regional significance. In Budget 2006, Canada's New Government committed $16.5 billion over the next four years for provincial, territorial and municipal infrastructure, including an additional $2 billion for the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund.
Through the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund, the federal and provincial governments agreed to pay up to $385 million each in support of major GO Transit rail infrastructure improvements over seven years. Greater Toronto Area municipalities are also expected to fund part of these projects.
Federal investments including $5 billion over five years in gas tax funding across Canada, full GST rebates to communities, and the creation of the $900-million Public Transit Capital Trust will complement the funding. Budget 2006 also committed $2.2 billion for the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund, in addition to the $1 billion previously provided, and announced funding for a new $2.4-billion Highways and Border Infrastructure Fund that will progressively replace the $600-million Border Infrastructure Fund.
Under Move Ontario, announced in the 2006 Ontario Budget, the Ontario government is investing $1.2 billion in public transit and municipal roads and bridges to help move people and goods faster, create jobs, and build a stronger economy. Other initiatives to improve transit and ease congestion include:
investing $838 million this year to expand and modernize public transit in the Greater Toronto Area;
tabling legislation to establish a Greater Toronto Transportation Authority to take an inter-regional approach to creating seamless and integrated transit and transportation; and
providing new streetcars, buses and routes by delivering more than $1.4 billion in provincial gas tax revenues for transit across Ontario.
The government of Ontario's Move Ontario commitments are in addition to ReNew Ontario, a five-year, $30-billion investment in Ontario's public infrastructure. ReNew Ontario includes investments of $11.4 billion for public transit, highways, borders and other transportation infrastructure.
GO Transit Improvements
GO Transit carries over 165,000 riders an average of 32 kilometres per passenger trip every day on its rail system. During rush hour, almost every seat on all GO trains is filled. The new expansion will enable GO to accommodate the more than 40,000 additional passengers forecast to use the system during peak periods by 2011.
The GO Transit Rail Improvement Program (GO TRIP) includes 12 GO rail projects across the system and an expansion of the GO bus network. These projects are underway, with completion expected in 2011. Below is an update for each project:
Stouffville corridor
Construction began in May 2006 on a GO train rail underpass that will allow GO Transit to avoid delays caused by freight train traffic. The project is expected to be complete by December 2007.
Lakeshore West corridor
A third track is being added on two sections to allow more GO train service and reduce delays:
Port Credit Station (Mississauga) to Kerr Street (Oakville); The Provincial environmental assessment has been completed for this project and approval is now pending.
Burlington Station to Bayview Junction (Hamilton); Construction is underway for the extension of the third track. Completion is expected for September 2007.
Milton corridor
Construction is underway to build a new train storage site to accommodate longer 12-car trains near Milton Station. The project is expected to be complete by March 2007. This will allow trains to be stored closer to where they start and finish in order to minimize delays and reduce unnecessary train trips. Construction at seven Milton corridor stations to accommodate the longer trains is also underway. Twelve-car trains will increase the carrying capacity by 20 per cent. Construction at all seven stations is expected to be complete by December 2007.
Georgetown corridor -West Toronto Diamond
Construction is underway on the West Toronto Diamond rail-to-rail grade separation. This is a rail underpass that will allow GO trains to avoid delays and conflicts with freight trains.
Georgetown South (Weston corridor)
An Individual Environmental Assessment is underway to identify improvements required to accommodate increased GO train frequency and options for an airport transportation link between Union Station and Pearson International Airport. This study will address the associated environmental impacts and the need for improved infrastructure for increased GO Transit service and for a rapid transportation link to the airport. The Terms of Reference for this study was submitted to the Ministry of the Environment on October 27, 2006, and are now awaiting approval.
Georgetown North corridor
Construction commenced in fall 2006 to provide track capacity improvements along the corridor to accommodate two new rush hour trains and limited off-peak service to Mount Pleasant GO Station in North Brampton.
Bradford corridor
Construction of the Snider rail-to-rail grade separation at the CN York subdivision freight line started in February 2006. This GO train rail overpass will allow GO Transit to avoid delays caused by conflicts with freight trains. Anticipated completion for this project is May 2007.
An agreement-in-principle has been reached with the City of Barrie to extend GO train service to Barrie. The project will include upgrading of the rail corridor and the construction of a new station and train layover facility.
Lakeshore East corridor
Improvements to accommodate three-track operations at the Danforth, Scarborough and Eglinton stations, as well as the expansion of three bridge overpasses, are underway. Completion of these projects is anticipated in mid-2008.
Union Station Rail Corridor Program
The signal design is currently in the industry review phase. This work includes a complete replacement of the 70-year-old track signal system at Union Station over the next eight years. The Don Yard has also been purchased by GO Transit and is being reconstructed for GO Transit's daytime train storage needs, with completion scheduled for the end of June 2007.
Other service areas
The feasibility of providing new and additional GO bus service extensions to support Peterborough, Niagara Falls and Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge/Guelph is being studied by GO Transit. Results of the study were tabled at September's GO Transit Board meeting.
GO Transit has identified in its 2007/08 capital budget an environmental assessment to extend its existing rail services east and construct a new East Oshawa station in Durham Region. In conjunction with this study, GO Transit will be looking at more extensive train-meet bus service into the new East Oshawa rail station. Recently GO introduced a bus park-and-ride lot with 85 spaces in Bowmanville.
In 2007/08, GO will consider projects towards the implementation of the first phase of extended bus services to Niagara Region through the introduction of bus services with park-and-ride facilities along the Stoney Creek section of the QEW. This will be a train-meet service that will extend into the Burlington GO station.
In 2007/08 GO will consider projects towards implementing the first phase of extended bus services west towards Waterloo Region through the introduction of a park-and-ride lot in the Guelph area. GO would extend the service area of the Milton corridor to Guelph, making connections between Waterloo Region and Mississauga/Toronto more convenient.
December 2006
