Jeff Yurek, Ontario Minister of Transportation, and Monte McNaughton, Ontario Minister of Infrastructure, are calling on the federal government of Canada to support the province’s planned Ontario Line, which is designed to add capacity and create relief from the overcrowded conditions of Toronto’s Yonge Line.
"People want relief on Toronto's overcrowded Yonge Line, and they want more connections across the region so that's what we are delivering," said Minister Yurek. "We are confident that when the federal government understands the benefits of the Ontario Line to both Toronto transit users and the thousands of GO Transit users that transfer to the [Toronto Transit Commission] every day, they will join us in helping commuters in Toronto."
The Ontario Line is part of Premier Doug Ford’s C$28.5 billion (US$21.2 billion) transportation vision to expand the province’s transit network. According to Premier Ford, the Ontario Line will connect the subway to one of the region's largest employment centers, the Scarborough Subway Extension and the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension.
The 15-kilometer (9.3-mile) Ontario Line is an alternative to the proposed Downtown Relief Line South but would carry 30 percent more capacity than the current Yonge Line and provide more frequent trains. The Ontario Line subway would cost an estimated C$10.9 billion (US$8.11 billion) and could be open by 2027. It builds on the existing plans for the Downtown Relief Line South and would provide convenient connections to other transit and transportation options such as GO Transit, streetcars, bus routes and major roads.
The province nominated the Ontario Line for federal funding in May 2019 and is looking to work with the federal government through the summer to secure conditional federal support for the project while work is done on the full business case analysis.
"Our government has proposed a real solution to Canada's costliest traffic problem," said McNaughton. "It is a project that benefits commuters inside and outside the [Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area]. Today, we're calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to stop playing politics with infrastructure funding. Does he support this project or not?"
