SEVERAL transit projects are the beneficiaries of a proposal by the Canadian province of Ontario to provide the city of Toronto with up to $C 1.2bn ($US 850m) in provincial operating support over three years up to 2026 and up to $C 7.6bn in “significant capital relief” over the next 10 years to 2035.
Among the recipients are Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, Finch West LRT, Scarborough Subway Extension, and Yonge North Subway Extension projects.
The government of Ontario said the new deal will help the city of Toronto achieve “long-term financial stability and sustainability.” It plans to introduce the New Deal for Toronto Act “soon,” which if passed would make the funding deal a reality.
For rail transit, the provincial government proposes to provide:
- $C 758m for 55 new TTC trains for Line 2 Bloor-Danforth, conditional on federal and municipal matching funding for a total of $C 2.27bn. Metrolinx would also leverage this procurement to purchase 15 additional trains for the Scarborough Subway and Yonge North Subway extensions.
- $C 330m in operating support over three years for new transit projects, which includes funding to bring the 10.3km Finch West LRT and the 19km Eglinton Crosstown LRT lines into service. Vehicle testing is underway on both lines, and
- $C 300m in one-time subway and transit safety, recovery, and sustainable operations funding dependent on the city establishing a new Transit Rider Safety Commitment, including increasing police and security official presence on trains and at stations, improving mobile phone coverage across the network, and enhancing response timelines and options for passengers to report incidents, threats and concerns to authorities.
A notice of proposed procurement for the TTC’s new subway trains was published on December 2. TTC told IRJ sister publication Railway Age that the actual Request for Proposal (RFP) will open “within in a couple of weeks.” The contract is expected to be awarded in early 2026 for delivery in 2030.
Phil Verster steps down as Metrolinx CEO
THE Ontario government has named Mr Michael Lindsay as the new interim president and CEO of Metrolinx following the resignation of Mr Phil Verster, who has accepted a new position and will be moving on from the agency after seven years on December 16.
Lindsay is currently president and CEO of Infrastructure Ontario. He will move to Metrolinx on December 9 to begin supporting the transition process.
“No one is better positioned to take on this role than Michael,” says Ontario premier, Mr Doug Ford. “I have given Michael a clear mandate to open Eglinton Crosstown as soon as it is safe to do so. That is his top priority.”
Verster joined Metrolinx after serving as the managing director of ScotRail Alliance. The Metrolinx Board of Directors will soon begin a search for a permanent president and CEO. An interim president and CEO at Infrastructure Ontario will be announced in the coming days.
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