52 Rapid Transit Initiatives for the GTA and Hamilton for 2020

Premier Dalton McGuinty announced today a 12-year $17.5 billion rapid transit action plan for the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton as a part of MoveOntario 2020. The initiative will create 175 000 jobs during construction and result in 52 new transit projects.

These include:

• The extension of the Yonge St. subway line to Highway 7
• Increasing speed and reducing emissions by electrifying the GO Lakeshore line and expanding capacity on all GO lines
• Expanded express bus service across Highway 407
• Two rapid transit lines across Hamilton, and
• Toronto’s Transit City vision for light rail across the city.

“Transforming our system will not happen overnight, but it must be done,” said Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield. She also said the projects will be built over 12 years and financed over 50 years. “We need to develop a sustainable transportation system which gets people out of their cars and onto transit to reduce congestion and improve our environment.”

The plan calls for 66 per cent of the projects to be completed by 2015, and 95 per cent to be completed by 2020. It will result in 800 million new transit trips per year, taking 300 million car trips off GTA roads. By 2020, this will reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the region by 10 megatonnes.

It was also announced and stressed by the government that environmental assessments will be expedited for transit projects.

Click here for a map detailing the proposed projects and here for a listing of all 52 projects.