Hurontario LRT

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The Hurontario LRT is a future light rail line that will serve the cities of Brampton and Mississauga in the Canadian province of Ontario. As the name suggests, it will operate along Hurontario Street, which becomes Main Street north of Steeles Avenue in Brampton. Both the cities of Brampton and Mississauga, along with Metrolinx, are involved in the project.

History

Recognizing the development potential and need for higher-order transit along Hurontario and Main Streets, the cities of Brampton and Mississauga initiated a master plane study in 2008. Light rail was identified as the preferred mode to serve the corridor. Then known as the Hurontario-Main LRT, the light rail project is part of Metrolinx's Big Move Regional Transportation Plan. The proposed 23-kilometre route would have a northern terminus at Brampton GO Station and a southern terminus at Port Credit GO Station.

Amid controversy, Brampton City Council voted to to reject the LRT project. Those who voted down the project were opposed to the line running through Brampton's downtown, believe that there was little potential for ridership and development. Instead of going to Brampton GO Station, the line would now terminate at Brampton Gateway Terminal on Steeles Avenue.[1]

A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was issued in October 2016 for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the Hurontario LRT. Three teams were shortlisted in June 2017: Hurontario Light Rail Connection Partners (composed of equity providers Cintra, Colas and Acciona, constructors Acciona, Ferrovial, Colas, DPM Energy and LURA Consulting, designers Arup, SENER, Dillon Consulting, DTAH and Grimshaw, operation and maintenance by RATP Dev, Acciona, and Colas Rail), Mobilinx (composed of equity providers Astaldi, John Laing, Hitachi-Ansaldo STS Transdev and Amico, constructors are Astaldi, Hitachi, Amico and Bot, designers IBI, Hitachi, Morrison Hershfield, Arcadis and Daoust Lestage, operation and maintenance by Transdev, Hitachi-Ansaldo and Astaldi), and Trillium Transit Partners (composed of equity providers Kiewit, Meridiam and Keolis, constructors Peter Kiewit Sons, Bird, Mass Electric, Black and MacDonald and Coco Paving, designers are Stantec Consulting, STV, Perkins + Will, Urban Strategies and Entuitive, operation and maintenance by Keolis).[2]

On March 21, 2019, Metrolinx announced that they were scaling back the project. The City Centre loop via Burnhamthorpe Road, Duke of York Boulevard, and Rathburn Road was removed, and with it, the stops at Main Street and Duke of York Boulevard. The stop at Highway 407 was also removed. The pedestrian bridge at Cooksville GO Station was deferred to be included in future Transit Oriented Development. There will also be changes to streetscaping.[3]

On October 21, 2019, Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx announced that they have awarded a contract valued at $4.6 billion to Mobilinx Hurontario General Partnership (Mobilinx) for the Hurontario LRT. Mobilinx will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the new transit project for a 30-year term.[4]

Route

The line's southern terminus is at the Port Credit GO Station. From there it heads north to along Hurontario Street, passing Cooksville GO Station. When it reaches Mississauga's downtown, it branches into a route the circles the area and a route that continues north. The downtown branch joins the mainline branch at Rathburn Road. The northern terminus is at Brampton Gateway Terminal.

Stops

Station name Date opened Connections Notes
Brampton Gateway Terminal BT/Züm & MiWay
County Court BT Formerly called Sir Lou.
Ray Lawson BT
Highway 407 Future 407 Transitway No longer planned
Derry MiWay
Courtneypark MiWay
Britania MiWay
Matheson MiWay
Bristol MiWay
Eglinton MiWay
City Centre GO Transit and MiWay Formerly called Rathburn.
Duke of York No longer planned.
Main MiWay No longer planned.
Robert Speck MiWay
Burnhamthorpe MiWay
Mattews Gate Moved to Burnhamthorpe
Fairview Formerly called Central Parkway.
Cooksville GO Station GO Transit & MiWay
Dundas MiWay
Queensway MiWay
North Service MiWay
MIneola MiWay
Port Credit GO Station GO Transit & MiWay

Vehicles

In the second half of 2016, Metrolinx was concerned that Bombardier would not be able to meet their commitment to providing vehicles for the Eglinton Crosstown line. Metrolinx formally expressed their intent to cancel the contract and began looking into other potential suppliers. On May 12, 2017, Alstom and Metrolinx announced that they had entered into an agreement that would see Alstom supply 61 Citadis Spirit LRVs to the Ontario agency.[5] If Bombardier is ultimately not able to deliver vehicles for the Crosstown, 44 Alstom LRVs will be deployed on the line. If they are not needed, they will be deployed on the Hurontario LRT instead. The remaining 17 LRVs will be used on the Finch West line.[6]

References

  1. Grewal, San (27 October 2015). "Brampton council rejects downtown LRT". The Toronto Star (Toronto). Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  2. Infrastructure Ontario. Teams Shortlisted For Hurontario LRT . 06 June 2018. Press release.
  3. Statement from Metrolinx CEO on the Hurontario LRT Project Status. 21 March 2019. Metrolinx.
  4. [1]
  5. Alstom receives order for 61 Citadis Spirit light rail vehicles for Greater Toronto and Hamilton area. 12 May 2017. Press release. Alstom.
  6. Metrolinx statement on Alstom/Bombardier. 12 May 2017. Press release. Metrolinx.