Toronto mayor Rob Ford and Premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty announced 31 March a revised, CAD 12.4bn (USD 12.9bn) transit plan for the city of Toronto that favoured underground solutions over the previously planned surface options.
Ontario, through Metrolinx, will be responsible for building the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT, a single line running 25km. The LRT line will have up to 26 station stops and will operate largely below ground along Eglinton and along the existing Scarborough Rapid Transit right-of-way.
The previous plan called for a tunnel only between Keele Street and Laird Drive, of around 10km. The province would contribute CAD 8.4bn (USD 8.7bn) to the revised plan.
The city of Toronto will rely on private sector financing to fund the remaining CAD 4bn (USD 4.2bn) Sheppard Subway extension.
Under the new plan, Toronto would extend the Sheppard Subway to Downsview station in the west and Scarborough City Centre in the east, incorporating the project into the TTC subway system. The Sheppard Subway extension will be 13km in length and have nine new stations.
“This plan means that we can move forward with our top regional priority, the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT,” said Kathleen Wynne, minister of transportation. “It will be built as a continuous line that gives riders a new east to west link across Toronto and connects them to the Yonge-University-Spadina subway.”
Ford, elected in autumn 2010, ran on a platform to build more subways.
