Love the use of wood and the simplistic, elegant glass frontages, as well as the fact the surface buildings aren't as overbearing as Downsview Park and friends. The incorporated steel bridge is also awesome. Exhibition also looks very good, far more substantial than the current flimsy GO station.
The Queen station interchange, with Ontario Line connecting to Line 2 in the east there will be so much capacity there, it will actually be easier for riders going up University to board there then if University were the location of the interchange.
Actually maybe that the stations are designed from start to support over top development, a good transit system should be making more money from property revenue then fares.
Basically, the Ontario Line is unique in North America by being a start to getting rid of the "North America" mentality and coming in line with the rest of the world.
@@masterseems8005 Basically the endless fight against public transportation as being offensive to people who drive cars, and the idea that things that succeed in Europe and Asia cannot be done here.
@@davidreichert9392 good point. I LOVE MY CAR, but I do support alternatives. it would be nice if we could develop a bike network in our suburbs and cities like those found around Amsterdam.
@@bmw803 The best part is that a good public transit system and biking infrastructure reduces traffic on the roads making driving your personal vehicle more enjoyable.
Plazas are good. And, woo. The Canadian transit boom continues. Just wish it would build faster, so I won’t be in my late 40s when we can finally ride them. 😔
I am engineer who works with architects for designing buildings. I just want to emphasize that the initial render drawing are usually quite different from the final design. Also architects are often guilty of green washing the renders by adding trees, shrubs, green walls, etc. to the render which looks really nice but often will not be included at the end of construction.
Based on the interactive information sessions and the surveys that I have participated in it appears that MetroLinx is quite serious about incorporating greenery into the designs and that includes the walls around the train yard. The station at Leslieville is a prime urban residential neighbourhood and the line runs past a a prominent local park. There was huge concern expressed from the community about the potential loss of trees and MetroLinx has shown sensitivity about the maintenance and incorporation of green elements. Thus far I’ve been happy with the degree of engagement and input they’ve solicited from local residents.
Given the early renders for the York Spadina extension and Eglinton Crosstown were both very accurate I don’t expect it to be any different this time around
I just hope the actual stations look even 70% like they do in the renders. I can imagine some penny pinching could lead to different materials being used, but hopefully those sorts of decisions get pushback.
Your excitement for transit is contagious! I really appreciate you making these videos, I think you're doing a great service to Ontario in showing good transit can be.
The thing is, though... the neighbourhood they're putting it in, doesn't want to see it. For a great many people, this line should be below ground at this point. Going aboveground is a choice I'm not going to rehash here, but the way to get the community onside is to make this station as invisible as possible. This giant, intrusive... thing... that ain't it. It's not going to make anyone happy. It's lovely that people no where near it think it looks cool, but it's not what the neighbourhood wants. It's the exact opposite.
@@valerielaurie80 don’t be a nimby. I don’t care what the neighbourhood wants, we need more transit solutions yesterday. Whatever works is what we need
@@Cdepate You willfully misunderstand. This design isn't about functionality and that's not the complaint. Aside from the very real argument that this part of the line should be buried, choosing to make the ensuing structure unnecessarily huge and imposing is a slap in the face. The neighbourhood has never been anti-transit. Ever. The neighbourhood does deserve to be heard, though and your "I don't care, you're stupid" attitude is part and parcel of how Metrolinx has steamrolled every single concern at the behest of Ford. This giant ugly truss thing isn't about "whatever works". The truss isn't structurally required for engineering purposes. It's entirely aesthetic. This is an intentional design pretending they're paying homage to the industrial history of the neighbourhood, but *actually* is just woefully again failing to listen to the community most impacted. And it's stupidly expensive to boot!
@@valerielaurie80 what do you mean the truss isn’t necessary structurally? There has to be some sort of truss to support the overhead line. Perhaps the exact design is not the bare minimum of what is needed but I for one think it looks great and I doubt you speak for the entire community. Additionally, im not sure why you think this station “needs to be underground”. Overground is cheaper, easier to maintain, easier to upgrade, and allows for more expansion space in the future. It sounds to me like you just don’t want the perceived eye-sore in your neighbourhood.
@@Cdepate The truss is not part of the engineering. Or at least it doesn't have to be. Inside the depicted truss is a building that is the actual station that is self-contained including any overhead wires required. So your assumptions about the design and why it looks this way aren't based on anything except what you like the look of. Respectfully, you liking how it looks isn't relevant if you aren't going to be anywhere near it most of the time. Regarding underground vs aboveground, every single one of your arguments has been ignored by Ford and Metrolinx when planning the Eglinton West extension that's going through suburbia. Explain why that line *must* go underground (costing billions) when there is ample space to accommodate aboveground transit? There really isn't space aboveground for this line. They are adding 3 lines to a rail corridor that currently holds three lines which means encroaching on and expropriation of many dense residential properties. A lot of people are being displaced. Businesses are being shuttered. Schools are losing yard space. Parks are being shrunk. Etc. Etc. Most of that wouldn't happen were it below ground. But it doesn't sound like you've been following this for the 5 years that it's been a story. Perhaps instead of making assumptions, you could start from a place of listening to people to find out what's actually going on.
Why? You are building a bldy railway. A RAILWAY. It’s purpose is to transport people. Stop wasting money on ego stations. You’re there for a brief period. No wonder we don’t have money to actually improve railways and trains - we spend too much on a station just so people can say ‘ooooo that’s lovely’
@@andyrob3259 I think having some aesthetically pleasing architecture makes for a nicer neighbourhood to live in. Toronto lost a lot of beautiful buildings to brutalist architecture in the 70s. It's nice to see some design come back.
@@andyrob3259 Your anger is out of line. Railways aren’t just infrastructure to get from A to B. That is very car-brained of you. Mass-transit infrastructure at its core, revolves around transport, but it also creates urban areas that can make or break cities. Train stations create meeting points, shopping destinations, town plazas, dining precincts. Train stations are a destination themselves, not everyone going to the station is even using a train, maybe they want to visit a shop nearby. The architecture of the station should be designed carefully to be pleasing to look at and make it a destination to visit. No, stations shouldn’t waste huge amounts of money on looking amazing, but they deserve a decent investment initially and they deserve renovations in the years following. Simply put, train stations that look nice, encourage people to use transit, and make the surrounding area more popular. Think of the most famous stations in the world and how their design has impacted their popularity.
I second the idea to make a video about why side platforms are great for high frequency. i generally enjoy the explanation of basic design features that can have large impacts.
You dont need side platforms for maximum frequency! Several stations in Vienna (for example Seestadt and Oberlaa) have turnaround tracks too, but with an Island platform (much better für passengers). It also has a double crossover before the platform, so both ways of turning around are possible. The ONLY reason that they will use side platforms for the elevated stations: the bridge for the tracks can stay narrow, that's it. Seestadt station even is elevated, so the only reason not to do that in Toronto was that less space is needed (and because of the narrower bridge for the tracks it's a bit cheaper.)
I really, really, hope whichever political party wins this year's election just lets this project chug along since it seems to be on the right track. The fact that it got the federal government's blessing probably ensures this, but I just wouldn't want to see the project delayed or negatively affected by unreasonable NIMBY demands (reasonable demands seem to be largely considered in good faith by Metrolinx as far as I can tell).
Wow! What a beautiful line. I love that it's being built to handle high ridership and short frequencies from the start. I hope the Ontario Line becomes the standard for rapid transit design in North America. It would be great for cities like Los Angeles to emulate it.
There’s a lot of creative thought going into these stations adding style enhancing the neighborhoods they are going to be built-in. Each one having its own unique flavor of architecture makes it very interesting. It will be fun to ride just to explore the stations. I have watched this video two days in a row. It’s fun to see some thing that has as much form as it does function that will add tremendously to Toronto.
Many thanks for an extremely interesting video. I (Roger Sexton) now have a much better idea of what is going on in your (adopted) home city. Like you I am a great supporter of 'Overhead Concourse' stations. There are some excellent ones in Europe. Three of the best are in Denmark. There is the very long standing Copenhagen Central, together with modern ones in Aarhus and Odense.
Reece thank you for your well articulated and clearly well researched Ontario Line video. I appreciated the plethora of references to other LRT stations and lines across our small planet. Cheers
This subway line has been needed for decades. Love the designs for above ground. How much will cost overruns is the question now. Metrolinx isn’t exactly smart with our money.
I'm loving the interchanges especially (among other things). I am one of those football-loving BMO-attending people that are stuffed into far-less-than-acceptable tunnels after games. Exhibition has so much promise and a blended RER GO train and Ontario Line and Streetcar station would be really great here. Particularly as the whole physical space at the foot of Liberty village is forgotten industrial land, so it's open to do this really well without a ton of restrictions.
I am already curious what the next "Transit explained" is gonna be about. As a suggestion for a future episode, i would defnitely recommend the Munich U-Bahn in Germany. It is a fairly big system for the size of the city and has some really impressive architecture on some of the outer/newer stations. Also, almost all of the original 1971 rolling stock is still in service and most of them are unrefurbished. But there are also already a lot of new trains. The system is getting heavily upgraded at the moment.
@@flare2000x Munich does not have them anymore, I guess, however in Nuremberg, trains of the same type (DT-1) are still in service until the end of this year. This is because the two subway systems were constructed at the same time and the two cities shared the rolling stock, and even helped each other out when there were big events. The trains were transported between the two cities via the normal railway, powerless, pulled by locos, or by truck. We had blue trains running here, they borrowed our red-white trains for the olympics. Traditionally, there has always been a rivalry between Franconia and Bavaria (just like Spain and Catalonia) and being from Franconia means NOT identify as a Bavarian and having a purely Franconian identity. (For foreigners it may not look that different, we both eat sausages and drink beer on big beer fests, but it's a big deal in German culture). So when Munich built the U-Bahn, Nuremberg also wanted one to show them that they were equal, although this city is actually way too small for a real U-Bahn. This is also why Munich painted their trains blue-white (bavarian flag) and we painted our trains red-white (Franconian flag, similar to the polish flag, to get an idea) Ironically, Franconia built their subway with funding from the Bavarian government, as administratively and leagally, Franconia is part of Bavaria. Frankly, this is all just banter, because we Franconians know that we would be f*cked up if we were a state of our own. Mayor industry moved away in the 90s, so we have almost nothing and would be in an economically and financially worse situation. That's why we are acutally thankful to be part of the powerhouse Bavaria. You'd wake up in the hospital if you mentioned this on a beer festival late at night though.
Yes, that's my plan! Allowing trains to drop off passengers and then head into the tail tracks and come back to serve the outbound platform means you don't have trains crossing in front of your outgoing trains.
Oh wow! How certain is this to be built? When I hear “renders have been released” it sounds to me as if it is still in the proposed planning stage. It would be wonderful if we had a modern rail system built in Toronto. I do hope Ontario gets state of the art mass transit in the Golden Horseshoe and elsewhere Canada can improve its transit systems. I am a relatively rural “prairie boy” but I love travelling by rail. I had the opportunity to spend a summer in Europe and loved how great public transit was, especially the trains! I have only been to the Toronto Pearson airport on a layover but Canada’s biggest city improving public transit is exciting, even if I won’t use it. I could take bus and train from my aunt and uncles small European town to a nearby city and take trains all over Europe! I understand we don’t really have the density to connect every small town and village to public transit like in Europe but improving transit within cities and intercity transit is great! I like riding LRT in Calgary and Edmonton and am excited about the prospect of a potential hyper loop connecting them.
Corten steel is really expensive and is always used in renderings because it looks nice and characteristic. So prepare to be disappointed and accept stations with regular IPEs or concrete beams.
Yea RM appears to be foaming like a 5 year old with no experience. At 56 I know how these things end. Money gets cut, there’s no money for maintaining those green walls after 12 months etc etc etc. sorry but renderings are renderings- they are there to drum up support or sway and keep quiet nimbys. They are not a promise.
@@andyrob3259 I think that the curved glass corners that are shown on most of the stations will just be replaced with pointy corners. I think that regular pointy corners would just be simpler and cheaper to build.
Heard of San Diego's Purple Line? I'm envisioning it as an Ontario Line/REM/Sydney Metro hybrid. Originally planned as freeway median LRT, it will now run under surface streets as regional rail, connecting all three existing trolley lines with large TOD clusters and relieve demand on the very busy Blue Line.
When I saw the new Exhibition station, I had to ask myself if this was in Toronto. It Looks like something out of the Netherlands or Germany. Awesome coverage!
This is all Doug Ford, he cut the city of Toronto counselors so their won't be bullshit debates on everything, things are happening faster because of it and he is heavily funding it the lines. Doug Ford is not perfect but at least he is building things that were needed 25 years ago.
Station design actually reminds me a lot of the Mississauga transit way with those “earthy tones”. I am concerned the new exhibition station doesn’t show the streetcar integration, or room for the planned streetcar extension.
you hit the nail on the head when you stated this is something that should have been built years ago, this project (and the Cross Town) should have been constructed back in the mid 90's
These renderings for the new stations on the Ontario line look really nice and modern. Not only that but they have a really nice minimalistic design, and they look very spacious for wheelchair accessibility.
Lines 2&4 use a side and island platforms at Cuatro Caminos and Argüelles (and Pinar de Charmatin with line 1 to a lesser extent, which only uses the island platform unless a train is pulling off when 2-3min frequency is not needed).
You should see south korea's subway system. It is even incredible. All the station platforms are covered by screen glass doors and so modern. When I went there it was a shock to me.
Can't wait to see the new street south of Liberty Village. I am also very, VERY curious how the TTC will connect the loops at Exhibition and Dufferin Gates....maybe they can build something UNDER the parking lot of Medieval Times? Or maybe they can "ROOF" the gardiner and the rail tracks at Dufferin Ave and build a cool Loop/Hub that connects Parkdale to Ontario Place?
Instead of building 2 stations connections Queen and Osgoode, what if a brand new City Hall Station were built with an underground tunnel connecting both Queen and Osgoode Stations?
The great thing about the Jubilee Line is that is crosses the river in several places . This makes it one of the few great and parctical for users new subways built in recent time . You cannot cover many intermediate trips on that line with any other mode as conveniently .
that's a nice transit project you got there... it would be a shame if the next government were to scrap it to replace it by a new similar project but 5 years later...
Yes, you can cross under the tracks at Exhibiting/Liberty Village without paying. I recently started living in LV, and it's a great way to get to the Exhibition area and, even better, down to the waterfront and the beautiful biking and walking trails that stretch from east to west across the entire city. As you may know already, despite its location Liberty Village can feel quite isolated from the rest of downtown because it's surrounded by rail corridor on basically every side. It almost feels like living on an island in the middle of a big river of railway tracks, with almost all the streets being dead ends except for the two or three places you can cross to the 'mainland'. I think this connection that you showed in the video will go a long way towards remedying that!
Stations infilled at Pape/Mortimer, Distillery District (Cherry St), and Strachan/East Liberty would give OL stop spacing akin to Line 1 and Line 2 through the core. Plus these intersections have their own connecting surface routes (62, 504, 121, 63) to feed in further ridership from afar.
That looks a very exciting project, here in Santiago the transport authority and the Metro de Santiago are planning new lines, sadly they are planned all underground with fully automated trains like the ones in L6, L3 and the in current construction L7 but in this one Alstom won the bidding of the trains, so we are going to have the new Alstom Metropolis like the ones on Sidney metro and REM
Side platforms are not ideal for a terminus station but allows easier extension of the line later on. In Paris, for example everywhere you see a side platforms terminus is when the planners initially wanted the line to go further. Plazas in front of new stations entrances are not a standard in modern transit, the Grand Paris Express and all new metro stations will have one. The GPEx will also have one type of tree at the center or those to mark the GPEx stations evenmore. Underground metro entrances at stree level is also a standard, when there is enough space that is. In Paris, we still have new stations like Pont Cardinet on Line 14 with underground fair gates because they couldn't fit the facilities at street lelvel, but two of the other stations from the latest extension have fairgate facilities at street level. St Ouen has it underground but it is supposed to be common with the RER entrance as well. Future stations will mostly have street level access except where it isn't possible and the last extension of Line 4 is peculiar because despite the availability of space, ticket facilities are at street level. (so no space for excalators, elevators and stairs only, the rough terrain and old quarries didn't allow to expand a lot under the street and access had to be maintained in two small wells. The new terminus on the other hand is completely cut and cover under the street level). The entrance design directly results from the building method used. Cut and cover in a box facilitiates big access facilities at stree level whereas deeply bored stations must have smaller accesses.
Great work, mate Good on you for championing something that matters so much. Maybe if there is a future, we can evolve towards a city of rail and various public transit, human powered transportation and no fossil fuel private traffic jam pollution mobiles.
As long as 1) the build schedule is quick and this gets done in 5-8 years, and 2) politicians who have zero knowledge about transit systems keep their noses out of the project, it will be a success.
@@filipmisic9936 Sheppard subway was on time. Finch West LRT is on schedule. The most recent Spadina extension was two years late. It depends on the project. They all have their own challenges.
Took the subway once in Toronto....was actually a really nice ride but I just always forget it exists....still haven't taken the streetcar because I was too confused about how to use it. The new cars look way easier to figure out.
What do you find confusing about the streetcar? You just hop on at a stop. Not much different than taking a bus except it’s on a track and more reliable.
@@aaronkuntz668 the payment was what intimidated me. Do you use tokens or exact fare or a swipe card? With modern trams in Europe it was a little box at the station where you bought the ticket and was all proof of payment which was way easier for me.
Be aware that you need to request your stop on a streetcar (push the red STOP button). This was not clear to me as a KW resident. In KW, the tram stops at all stations. I ended up walking a few extra blocks - luckily the weather was nice. Get a Presto card for easy payment, plus discount fares on GoTrains.
I wish that there was a closed / grade-separated link for the Queensway ROW to the CNE - and hence the Ontario line. This would make a Lakeshore car - all the way out to Long Branch - time competitive - and allow the growing density along Lakeshore - past Park Lawn - to become transit-oriented. Hopefully - we will be open to extensions north to Sheppard. I would love to see the current Sheppard line converted to automated metro style operations - and extended based on a lighter less expensive tech, that would also encourage smaller more frequent trains.
Gateway is expensive but I don't necessarily agree that it is great and its impact it's just two tunnels. The massively impactful project would be reconfiguring New York's Railways for through running regional rail
Hey Reece, love your content. What are your thoughts on the lack of inclusion of a cherry street station. Feels like it would have been great way to tie in the future dock lands neighbourhood with rapid transit to the core and connect with the streetcars there.
If it weren't for the UP Express and the Line 1 TYSSE extension, I wouldn't have faith in the Ontario Line opening at all in the 2020s or 2030s but I guess here we are. Hopefully we get the Yonge extension starting soon so that we can get both projects done around the same time and along with some expansion already finished with GO, we can actually get the transit city we were all striving for.
Greetings from London, England. Fabulous video. Hopefully unlike Crossrail, the Ontario Line won't be four years late and billions of dollars over budget. And hopefully it will be open in time for 2026 Fifa World Cup, which Canada will be co-hosting with the US and Mexico. Fingers crossed for the best!
I am so confused on the Flemingdon Park station, in the render it shows it will be at Don Mills and Gateway, which holds Marc Garneau Collegiate institute on one corner, Valley Park Middle School on the other, a gas station, and Don Mills Road Condos. There is no current space from what I can see. From the looks of the render it looks like it will be replacing the middle school, which I highly doubt.
At 14:03 you can bet your ass there's gonna be a large GO logo plastered against that siding looking out on the highway to replace the tall signs there are now.
What's your favourite feature of these new Ontario Line stations?
Love the use of wood and the simplistic, elegant glass frontages, as well as the fact the surface buildings aren't as overbearing as Downsview Park and friends. The incorporated steel bridge is also awesome. Exhibition also looks very good, far more substantial than the current flimsy GO station.
The Queen station interchange, with Ontario Line connecting to Line 2 in the east there will be so much capacity there, it will actually be easier for riders going up University to board there then if University were the location of the interchange.
THAT STATION AT EXHIBITION!!, does that look awesome or what! Begs the question name change to exhibition central!? Too amazing not to.
Extra North South capacity for the over crowded line one
Actually maybe that the stations are designed from start to support over top development, a good transit system should be making more money from property revenue then fares.
This is by far the best thing Doug Ford has ever done and probably won’t be surpassed by anything else he does. Credit where it’s due
Basically, the Ontario Line is unique in North America by being a start to getting rid of the "North America" mentality and coming in line with the rest of the world.
What do you mean "North America" mentality? Please explain.
@@masterseems8005 Basically the endless fight against public transportation as being offensive to people who drive cars, and the idea that things that succeed in Europe and Asia cannot be done here.
@@davidreichert9392 good point. I LOVE MY CAR, but I do support alternatives. it would be nice if we could develop a bike network in our suburbs and cities like those found around Amsterdam.
@@bmw803 The best part is that a good public transit system and biking infrastructure reduces traffic on the roads making driving your personal vehicle more enjoyable.
@@JollyOldCanuck 100% correct. Better for everyone
That intro was epic
🏅
Best anime opening
I especially love the dancing! ❤
Plazas are good. And, woo. The Canadian transit boom continues. Just wish it would build faster, so I won’t be in my late 40s when we can finally ride them. 😔
Better late than never!
I hear you and I'll be even older. Still happy it's finally happening though. Better late than never as Reese says!
100 years even hard to get that goal
@@BmanTheChamp I am 19
37 years later, LOL!! 😂 this was propose back in 1985 😑
I am engineer who works with architects for designing buildings. I just want to emphasize that the initial render drawing are usually quite different from the final design. Also architects are often guilty of green washing the renders by adding trees, shrubs, green walls, etc. to the render which looks really nice but often will not be included at the end of construction.
willing to bet the final product will not differ much from these pictures this is the canadian governments were talking about money grows on trees
The greenery will most likely be added. Toronto is a very green city and they're already adding greenery to existing and upcoming projects.
Based on the interactive information sessions and the surveys that I have participated in it appears that MetroLinx is quite serious about incorporating greenery into the designs and that includes the walls around the train yard. The station at Leslieville is a prime urban residential neighbourhood and the line runs past a a prominent local park. There was huge concern expressed from the community about the potential loss of trees and MetroLinx has shown sensitivity about the maintenance and incorporation of green elements. Thus far I’ve been happy with the degree of engagement and input they’ve solicited from local residents.
Given the early renders for the York Spadina extension and Eglinton Crosstown were both very accurate I don’t expect it to be any different this time around
I just hope the actual stations look even 70% like they do in the renders. I can imagine some penny pinching could lead to different materials being used, but hopefully those sorts of decisions get pushback.
Your excitement for transit is contagious! I really appreciate you making these videos, I think you're doing a great service to Ontario in showing good transit can be.
This is looking really nice! That through-truss bridge design is jaw-dropping!
The thing is, though... the neighbourhood they're putting it in, doesn't want to see it. For a great many people, this line should be below ground at this point. Going aboveground is a choice I'm not going to rehash here, but the way to get the community onside is to make this station as invisible as possible. This giant, intrusive... thing... that ain't it. It's not going to make anyone happy. It's lovely that people no where near it think it looks cool, but it's not what the neighbourhood wants. It's the exact opposite.
@@valerielaurie80 don’t be a nimby. I don’t care what the neighbourhood wants, we need more transit solutions yesterday. Whatever works is what we need
@@Cdepate You willfully misunderstand. This design isn't about functionality and that's not the complaint. Aside from the very real argument that this part of the line should be buried, choosing to make the ensuing structure unnecessarily huge and imposing is a slap in the face. The neighbourhood has never been anti-transit. Ever. The neighbourhood does deserve to be heard, though and your "I don't care, you're stupid" attitude is part and parcel of how Metrolinx has steamrolled every single concern at the behest of Ford.
This giant ugly truss thing isn't about "whatever works". The truss isn't structurally required for engineering purposes. It's entirely aesthetic. This is an intentional design pretending they're paying homage to the industrial history of the neighbourhood, but *actually* is just woefully again failing to listen to the community most impacted. And it's stupidly expensive to boot!
@@valerielaurie80 what do you mean the truss isn’t necessary structurally? There has to be some sort of truss to support the overhead line. Perhaps the exact design is not the bare minimum of what is needed but I for one think it looks great and I doubt you speak for the entire community.
Additionally, im not sure why you think this station “needs to be underground”. Overground is cheaper, easier to maintain, easier to upgrade, and allows for more expansion space in the future.
It sounds to me like you just don’t want the perceived eye-sore in your neighbourhood.
@@Cdepate The truss is not part of the engineering. Or at least it doesn't have to be. Inside the depicted truss is a building that is the actual station that is self-contained including any overhead wires required. So your assumptions about the design and why it looks this way aren't based on anything except what you like the look of. Respectfully, you liking how it looks isn't relevant if you aren't going to be anywhere near it most of the time.
Regarding underground vs aboveground, every single one of your arguments has been ignored by Ford and Metrolinx when planning the Eglinton West extension that's going through suburbia. Explain why that line *must* go underground (costing billions) when there is ample space to accommodate aboveground transit? There really isn't space aboveground for this line. They are adding 3 lines to a rail corridor that currently holds three lines which means encroaching on and expropriation of many dense residential properties. A lot of people are being displaced. Businesses are being shuttered. Schools are losing yard space. Parks are being shrunk. Etc. Etc. Most of that wouldn't happen were it below ground.
But it doesn't sound like you've been following this for the 5 years that it's been a story. Perhaps instead of making assumptions, you could start from a place of listening to people to find out what's actually going on.
Wow, those designs are breathtaking. I wish the station designs for Cross River Rail in Brisbane were that gorgeous.
I'm super happy with them, especially because I think they will age well
Why? You are building a bldy railway. A RAILWAY. It’s purpose is to transport people. Stop wasting money on ego stations. You’re there for a brief period. No wonder we don’t have money to actually improve railways and trains - we spend too much on a station just so people can say ‘ooooo that’s lovely’
@@andyrob3259 I think having some aesthetically pleasing architecture makes for a nicer neighbourhood to live in. Toronto lost a lot of beautiful buildings to brutalist architecture in the 70s. It's nice to see some design come back.
@@andyrob3259 Your anger is out of line. Railways aren’t just infrastructure to get from A to B. That is very car-brained of you. Mass-transit infrastructure at its core, revolves around transport, but it also creates urban areas that can make or break cities. Train stations create meeting points, shopping destinations, town plazas, dining precincts. Train stations are a destination themselves, not everyone going to the station is even using a train, maybe they want to visit a shop nearby. The architecture of the station should be designed carefully to be pleasing to look at and make it a destination to visit. No, stations shouldn’t waste huge amounts of money on looking amazing, but they deserve a decent investment initially and they deserve renovations in the years following. Simply put, train stations that look nice, encourage people to use transit, and make the surrounding area more popular. Think of the most famous stations in the world and how their design has impacted their popularity.
The return of DANCING REECE !!
I second the idea to make a video about why side platforms are great for high frequency.
i generally enjoy the explanation of basic design features that can have large impacts.
You dont need side platforms for maximum frequency! Several stations in Vienna (for example Seestadt and Oberlaa) have turnaround tracks too, but with an Island platform (much better für passengers). It also has a double crossover before the platform, so both ways of turning around are possible.
The ONLY reason that they will use side platforms for the elevated stations: the bridge for the tracks can stay narrow, that's it.
Seestadt station even is elevated, so the only reason not to do that in Toronto was that less space is needed (and because of the narrower bridge for the tracks it's a bit cheaper.)
I really, really, hope whichever political party wins this year's election just lets this project chug along since it seems to be on the right track. The fact that it got the federal government's blessing probably ensures this, but I just wouldn't want to see the project delayed or negatively affected by unreasonable NIMBY demands (reasonable demands seem to be largely considered in good faith by Metrolinx as far as I can tell).
Libs already announced they would keep it going, and I think any stoppage of work no matter the party would be met with a lot of displeased voters.
I think it will, I HOPE it will haha
@@mitch8973 i mean it sounds like a great way to absoulutly lose toronto
Wow! What a beautiful line. I love that it's being built to handle high ridership and short frequencies from the start. I hope the Ontario Line becomes the standard for rapid transit design in North America. It would be great for cities like Los Angeles to emulate it.
There’s a lot of creative thought going into these stations adding style enhancing the neighborhoods they are going to be built-in. Each one having its own unique flavor of architecture makes it very interesting. It will be fun to ride just to explore the stations. I have watched this video two days in a row. It’s fun to see some thing that has as much form as it does function that will add tremendously to Toronto.
Reece, your celebratory dance was awesome!
WOW!!! I switched to my 65" TV screen and watched this twice. It is so clear and the views of the stations are great.
idk what about that intro made me smile, but its just so sweet and wholesome
Really proud of Toronto for this! I am curious about how side platforms at terminals will aid in higher frequency. Great video Reece !
Fr me proud of Toronto
You inspired me to take the Montreal metro more lately, if even just to support our awesome subway system here in MTL!
Those stations looks so good! I hope the final construction stays true to the plan
There will be cost overruns so they won't end up as nice.
Many thanks for an extremely interesting video. I (Roger Sexton) now have a much better idea of what is going on in your (adopted) home city.
Like you I am a great supporter of 'Overhead Concourse' stations. There are some excellent ones in Europe. Three of the best are in Denmark. There is the very long standing Copenhagen Central, together with modern ones in Aarhus and Odense.
Thanks for watching and indeed, I'm very excited!
This is my first video of yours I have watched. Super fun and your passion for the subject really comes through. Good stuff.
Reece thank you for your well articulated and clearly well researched Ontario Line video. I appreciated the plethora of references to other LRT stations and lines across our small planet. Cheers
Yup I gotta agree that this will transform Toronto and the GTHA!
15:10 Reece 'I'm really excited for this project', You know, I would never have guessed 😊😊. love it good job.
I absolutely love the dance in the intro
Omg, when you started dancing in the beginning, I was dancing with you! Take it to da club! 😂🎉
This subway line has been needed for decades. Love the designs for above ground. How much will cost overruns is the question now. Metrolinx isn’t exactly smart with our money.
Wow, for Toronto (or North America in general), this is revolutionary. This has shades of Berlin's excellent S-Bahn.
I'm loving the interchanges especially (among other things). I am one of those football-loving BMO-attending people that are stuffed into far-less-than-acceptable tunnels after games. Exhibition has so much promise and a blended RER GO train and Ontario Line and Streetcar station would be really great here. Particularly as the whole physical space at the foot of Liberty village is forgotten industrial land, so it's open to do this really well without a ton of restrictions.
That intro man . Shows how excited you are .
HECK YEAH! So cool to see this coming together!
I am already curious what the next "Transit explained" is gonna be about. As a suggestion for a future episode, i would defnitely recommend the Munich U-Bahn in Germany. It is a fairly big system for the size of the city and has some really impressive architecture on some of the outer/newer stations. Also, almost all of the original 1971 rolling stock is still in service and most of them are unrefurbished. But there are also already a lot of new trains. The system is getting heavily upgraded at the moment.
Und mit der vielleicht kürzesten Hochbahn der Welt in Neuperlach.
1971 unrefurbishec rolling stock! It shows you guys in Germany do not neglect maintenance the way we do in the US
I thought all the type As were out of service by now and they were only using the type Bs and Cs?
@@flare2000x Munich does not have them anymore, I guess, however in Nuremberg, trains of the same type (DT-1) are still in service until the end of this year. This is because the two subway systems were constructed at the same time and the two cities shared the rolling stock, and even helped each other out when there were big events. The trains were transported between the two cities via the normal railway, powerless, pulled by locos, or by truck. We had blue trains running here, they borrowed our red-white trains for the olympics. Traditionally, there has always been a rivalry between Franconia and Bavaria (just like Spain and Catalonia) and being from Franconia means NOT identify as a Bavarian and having a purely Franconian identity. (For foreigners it may not look that different, we both eat sausages and drink beer on big beer fests, but it's a big deal in German culture). So when Munich built the U-Bahn, Nuremberg also wanted one to show them that they were equal, although this city is actually way too small for a real U-Bahn. This is also why Munich painted their trains blue-white (bavarian flag) and we painted our trains red-white (Franconian flag, similar to the polish flag, to get an idea) Ironically, Franconia built their subway with funding from the Bavarian government, as administratively and leagally, Franconia is part of Bavaria. Frankly, this is all just banter, because we Franconians know that we would be f*cked up if we were a state of our own. Mayor industry moved away in the 90s, so we have almost nothing and would be in an economically and financially worse situation. That's why we are acutally thankful to be part of the powerhouse Bavaria. You'd wake up in the hospital if you mentioned this on a beer festival late at night though.
I love the exposed steel used in a lot of the stations! Looks so nice.
Lol that dance was INCREDIBLE
These are really nice! I know you mentioned explaining side platforms in a future video but how do they improve frequency at terminal stations?
Yes, that's my plan! Allowing trains to drop off passengers and then head into the tail tracks and come back to serve the outbound platform means you don't have trains crossing in front of your outgoing trains.
@RMTransit thanks for clarifying and great vid as always!
@@RMTransit here in Cleveland all the stations are Island platforms
@@RMTransit Almost all metro rail stations in India are side platforms. Do mention and show that when you make a detailed video about it.
@@RMTransit that would still be possible with an Island platform at the Terminus. Just needs a bit more space
Really FANTASTIC video! Thanks so much 🎉😊
Oh wow! How certain is this to be built? When I hear “renders have been released” it sounds to me as if it is still in the proposed planning stage. It would be wonderful if we had a modern rail system built in Toronto. I do hope Ontario gets state of the art mass transit in the Golden Horseshoe and elsewhere Canada can improve its transit systems.
I am a relatively rural “prairie boy” but I love travelling by rail. I had the opportunity to spend a summer in Europe and loved how great public transit was, especially the trains! I have only been to the Toronto Pearson airport on a layover but Canada’s biggest city improving public transit is exciting, even if I won’t use it.
I could take bus and train from my aunt and uncles small European town to a nearby city and take trains all over Europe! I understand we don’t really have the density to connect every small town and village to public transit like in Europe but improving transit within cities and intercity transit is great!
I like riding LRT in Calgary and Edmonton and am excited about the prospect of a potential hyper loop connecting them.
100% certain.
Corten steel is really expensive and is always used in renderings because it looks nice and characteristic. So prepare to be disappointed and accept stations with regular IPEs or concrete beams.
I mean it's mainly just used in the truss at Gerrard which would be a great statement location for some!
@@RMTransit Living a block from the Gerrard station, I'll be very, very happy if that gawd-awful truss is not included. I am not a fan.
They could paint it and use regular steel beams
Yea RM appears to be foaming like a 5 year old with no experience. At 56 I know how these things end. Money gets cut, there’s no money for maintaining those green walls after 12 months etc etc etc. sorry but renderings are renderings- they are there to drum up support or sway and keep quiet nimbys. They are not a promise.
@@andyrob3259 I think that the curved glass corners that are shown on most of the stations will just be replaced with pointy corners. I think that regular pointy corners would just be simpler and cheaper to build.
Heard of San Diego's Purple Line? I'm envisioning it as an Ontario Line/REM/Sydney Metro hybrid. Originally planned as freeway median LRT, it will now run under surface streets as regional rail, connecting all three existing trolley lines with large TOD clusters and relieve demand on the very busy Blue Line.
Wow, these renderings look beautiful! I thought Athens Metro Lines 2 & 3 looked very modern, this is on a next level!
Great video. Your excitement is infectious! I just wish it would be open sooner.
I was hopping you'd cover this. Love Gerrard station. Oh my!!
I wanted to as quickly as I could
I hate it so hard. I can't express exactly how much I hate Gerrard and I'm going to see it from my window all day, every day.
@@valerielaurie80 I respect your view. While I love the design my enthusiasm might be tempered if it was in my window all day long.
When I saw the new Exhibition station, I had to ask myself if this was in Toronto. It Looks like something out of the Netherlands or Germany. Awesome coverage!
This is all Doug Ford, he cut the city of Toronto counselors so their won't be bullshit debates on everything, things are happening faster because of it and he is heavily funding it the lines. Doug Ford is not perfect but at least he is building things that were needed 25 years ago.
@@twocansams6335 Doug Ford is not the Premier we want, but the Premier we need.
The intro made me genuinely happy lol
don't know why this popped up on my feed but I dig it.
My brother is the architect behind Exhibition. Looks amazing.
the most legendary intro yet
Pretty cool project! Can't wait to ride it I'll say!
Station design actually reminds me a lot of the Mississauga transit way with those “earthy tones”.
I am concerned the new exhibition station doesn’t show the streetcar integration, or room for the planned streetcar extension.
Streetcar is on the other side of the station under the gardener
one of your best videos yet!
great video - Thanks for the information
Glad it was helpful!
Dude love your show.just to let you know u forget to show your other shows when u point to the top corner.take care👍
you hit the nail on the head when you stated this is something that should have been built years ago, this project (and the Cross Town) should have been constructed back in the mid 90's
TTC wanted it but downtown politicians rejected a downtown subway in the 80s and 90s.
IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS LINE!!!
Great Video - thanks for sharing your expert opinion and the renderings.
I moved to Ottawa largely because of Toronto's transportation. Good luck!
That opening 😂😂😂🤣🤣
These renderings for the new stations on the Ontario line look really nice and modern. Not only that but they have a really nice minimalistic design, and they look very spacious for wheelchair accessibility.
Lines 2&4 use a side and island platforms at Cuatro Caminos and Argüelles (and Pinar de Charmatin with line 1 to a lesser extent, which only uses the island platform unless a train is pulling off when 2-3min frequency is not needed).
You should see south korea's subway system. It is even incredible. All the station platforms are covered by screen glass doors and so modern. When I went there it was a shock to me.
I am so here for the earthy tones.
Lol I'm gonna have a wife and kids by the time this is done.
Can't wait to see the new street south of Liberty Village. I am also very, VERY curious how the TTC will connect the loops at Exhibition and Dufferin Gates....maybe they can build something UNDER the parking lot of Medieval Times? Or maybe they can "ROOF" the gardiner and the rail tracks at Dufferin Ave and build a cool Loop/Hub that connects Parkdale to Ontario Place?
Yeah, OK. Let's see if any of this Ontario line can be build within the next 100 years.. Good luck
Instead of building 2 stations connections Queen and Osgoode, what if a brand new City Hall Station were built with an underground tunnel connecting both Queen and Osgoode Stations?
whoa i love this idea, maybe it'll revive the PATH too with the giant underground mall situation
The Exhibition station design looks really special.
The great thing about the Jubilee Line is that is crosses the river in several places . This makes it one of the few great and parctical for users new subways built in recent time . You cannot cover many intermediate trips on that line with any other mode as conveniently .
I can always tell there's good news when he dances in the intro lol
that's a nice transit project you got there... it would be a shame if the next government were to scrap it to replace it by a new similar project but 5 years later...
cant wait to relieve myself in this new relief line
Yes, you can cross under the tracks at Exhibiting/Liberty Village without paying. I recently started living in LV, and it's a great way to get to the Exhibition area and, even better, down to the waterfront and the beautiful biking and walking trails that stretch from east to west across the entire city.
As you may know already, despite its location Liberty Village can feel quite isolated from the rest of downtown because it's surrounded by rail corridor on basically every side. It almost feels like living on an island in the middle of a big river of railway tracks, with almost all the streets being dead ends except for the two or three places you can cross to the 'mainland'. I think this connection that you showed in the video will go a long way towards remedying that!
The dancing in the title sequence is cute ;)
The Ontario line would be amazing
Cool Train Station News👍♐
What do you think about the amount of stops this line has? The stops seem really parse once you go past bloor and it would seem prudent to have more
The areas are not super developed but there are 3 stations, that's only one less than the Yonge line. Seems fine to me!
Stations infilled at Pape/Mortimer, Distillery District (Cherry St), and Strachan/East Liberty would give OL stop spacing akin to Line 1 and Line 2 through the core. Plus these intersections have their own connecting surface routes (62, 504, 121, 63) to feed in further ridership from afar.
@@RMTransit good point!
That looks a very exciting project, here in Santiago the transport authority and the Metro de Santiago are planning new lines, sadly they are planned all underground with fully automated trains like the ones in L6, L3 and the in current construction L7 but in this one Alstom won the bidding of the trains, so we are going to have the new Alstom Metropolis like the ones on Sidney metro and REM
Alstom is also bidding for this project so could end up being very similar!
Agree with you about Spadina which really needs a hub similar to what is proposed for Exhibition.
Side platforms are not ideal for a terminus station but allows easier extension of the line later on.
In Paris, for example everywhere you see a side platforms terminus is when the planners initially wanted the line to go further.
Plazas in front of new stations entrances are not a standard in modern transit, the Grand Paris Express and all new metro stations will have one. The GPEx will also have one type of tree at the center or those to mark the GPEx stations evenmore.
Underground metro entrances at stree level is also a standard, when there is enough space that is. In Paris, we still have new stations like Pont Cardinet on Line 14 with underground fair gates because they couldn't fit the facilities at street lelvel, but two of the other stations from the latest extension have fairgate facilities at street level.
St Ouen has it underground but it is supposed to be common with the RER entrance as well. Future stations will mostly have street level access except where it isn't possible and the last extension of Line 4 is peculiar because despite the availability of space, ticket facilities are at street level. (so no space for excalators, elevators and stairs only, the rough terrain and old quarries didn't allow to expand a lot under the street and access had to be maintained in two small wells. The new terminus on the other hand is completely cut and cover under the street level).
The entrance design directly results from the building method used. Cut and cover in a box facilitiates big access facilities at stree level whereas deeply bored stations must have smaller accesses.
I actually disagree a lot of high frequency systems use side platforms for end stations :)
Great work, mate
Good on you for championing something that matters so much.
Maybe if there is a future, we can evolve towards a city of rail and various public transit, human powered transportation and no fossil fuel private traffic jam pollution mobiles.
Can you make a video on Bangkok? There’s a lot of lines planned very soon
Yes!
What do you think of extending the line west to Humber Bay Shores / High Park / Christie Lands redevelopment?
As long as 1) the build schedule is quick and this gets done in 5-8 years, and 2) politicians who have zero knowledge about transit systems keep their noses out of the project, it will be a success.
5-8 years. Try 50 years. Your dreaming. Have you not seen how things are built in Toronto over the last 30 years??
@@filipmisic9936 Sheppard subway was on time. Finch West LRT is on schedule. The most recent Spadina extension was two years late. It depends on the project. They all have their own challenges.
When are they going to tackle the Sheppard line??
Took the subway once in Toronto....was actually a really nice ride but I just always forget it exists....still haven't taken the streetcar because I was too confused about how to use it. The new cars look way easier to figure out.
What do you find confusing about the streetcar? You just hop on at a stop.
Not much different than taking a bus except it’s on a track and more reliable.
@@aaronkuntz668 the payment was what intimidated me. Do you use tokens or exact fare or a swipe card? With modern trams in Europe it was a little box at the station where you bought the ticket and was all proof of payment which was way easier for me.
@@markvogel5872 well including with the old cars and now with the new ones you just tap a smart card when you get on
Be aware that you need to request your stop on a streetcar (push the red STOP button). This was not clear to me as a KW resident. In KW, the tram stops at all stations. I ended up walking a few extra blocks - luckily the weather was nice. Get a Presto card for easy payment, plus discount fares on GoTrains.
I wish that there was a closed / grade-separated link for the Queensway ROW to the CNE - and hence the Ontario line. This would make a Lakeshore car - all the way out to Long Branch - time competitive - and allow the growing density along Lakeshore - past Park Lawn - to become transit-oriented.
Hopefully - we will be open to extensions north to Sheppard. I would love to see the current Sheppard line converted to automated metro style operations - and extended based on a lighter less expensive tech, that would also encourage smaller more frequent trains.
Great vid, but you gotta be honest, the biggest NA project is the gateway project, but this is still very great and huge news
Gateway is expensive but I don't necessarily agree that it is great and its impact it's just two tunnels. The massively impactful project would be reconfiguring New York's Railways for through running regional rail
Imagine the planning that is involved in this. Look forward to seeing the completed network.
YES, we got a dance, people!
Do you think Ontario line is destined to have an extension on the west side to make a U shaped line that connects to the other subway lines twice?
Can you make a video explaining the evolution or history of Stockholms Roslagsbana?
Hey Reece, love your content. What are your thoughts on the lack of inclusion of a cherry street station. Feels like it would have been great way to tie in the future dock lands neighbourhood with rapid transit to the core and connect with the streetcars there.
In theory, this will happen at East Harbour which will have connections that service the Portlands.
If it weren't for the UP Express and the Line 1 TYSSE extension, I wouldn't have faith in the Ontario Line opening at all in the 2020s or 2030s but I guess here we are. Hopefully we get the Yonge extension starting soon so that we can get both projects done around the same time and along with some expansion already finished with GO, we can actually get the transit city we were all striving for.
Thank you for sharing your great video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These renders remind me union, flat and able to have bridges & escalators that connect then to malls and condos. I'm excited
Greetings from London, England. Fabulous video. Hopefully unlike Crossrail, the Ontario Line won't be four years late and billions of dollars over budget. And hopefully it will be open in time for 2026 Fifa World Cup, which Canada will be co-hosting with the US and Mexico. Fingers crossed for the best!
Your channel is great
I am so confused on the Flemingdon Park station, in the render it shows it will be at Don Mills and Gateway, which holds Marc Garneau Collegiate institute on one corner, Valley Park Middle School on the other, a gas station, and Don Mills Road Condos. There is no current space from what I can see. From the looks of the render it looks like it will be replacing the middle school, which I highly doubt.
At 14:03 you can bet your ass there's gonna be a large GO logo plastered against that siding looking out on the highway to replace the tall signs there are now.
Thank you Doug Ford!