Special Report: Light Rail Province Confirms A-Line Bus Rapid Transit The Ontario Government has cancelled the two-kilometre Light Rail Transit (LRT) spur on James Street North in favour of a 16-kilometre Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system that will run between the waterfront and the airport. By Ryan McGreal

Published February 02, 2017

The Ontario Government has cancelled the two-kilometre Light Rail Transit (LRT) spur on James Street North in favour of a 16-kilometre Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system that will run between the waterfront and the airport.



Ontario Transport Minister Steven Del Duca announces A-Line BRT

Ending weeks of rumours and speculation, Ontario Transport Minister Steven Del Duca made the announcement at a press conference this morning in the bus bay of Hunter GO Station.

The Minister announced, "I am very delighted today to be here to officially announce that the Province and Metrolinx will work with the City of Hamilton to move forward with the planning and analysis work for a 16-kilometre bus rapid transit line. This is a key component of both Metrolinx's Big Move and the City's Rapid Transit vision."

The event was attended by Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger and Councillors Jason Farr, Matthew Green and Aidan Johnson.

Planning Stage, Few Details

According to Del Duca, the decision was made in response to technical analysis which found that the two-kilometre LRT spur did not provide good value for money, plus feedback from community consultation calling for more direct transit benefit to a larger area of Hamilton.

He stated, "This community and stakeholders expressed a desire for enhanced rapid transit connections between the lower city and the mountain. And we also heard, loudly and clearly from many, that there is strong support for accelerating the implementation of the full A-Line."

The A-Line BRT is only starting the planning stage, and Del Duca would not provide any specifics in terms of what the technology will look like, what route it will follow or how much of the line will run on dedicated lanes.

To be considered full bus rapid transit, a bus system should run on dedicated lanes with signal priority. Passengers should pre-pay at stations for rapid boarding, and stations should be spaced to balance speed with accessibility.

The Minister also deferred the question of who will operate it or how it will be funded, noting that the project must still go through the planning and design phase.

He did confirm that the Province is still committed to the full $1 billion funding envelope for Hamilton rapid transit, and the money earmarked for the two-kilometre LRT spur will now go toward the cost of planning, designing and implementing the A-Line BRT.

He would not say whether the City would have to contribute some of the capital cost, but noted that there may be an opportunity to secure funding from the federal government.



A-Line BRT map

RFQ for B-Line LRT

The B-Line LRT running between McMaster University and Queenston Traffic Circle is still on track, and the Province issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) today.

The purpose of an RFQ is to receive expressions of interest from consortia that wish to bid on the contract to finance, design, build, operate and maintain the LRT line.

Potential bidders will be evaluated on their technical and financial ability to deliver on the project, and a shortlist of approved parties from the RFQ will be invited to participate in a subsequent Request for Proposals (RFP) to win the contract itself.

The RFP will begin this summer, and a preferred bid will be announced in early 2018 for final design and construction to begin in late 2018.

Increased Gas Tax Transfer, Confederation GO Trains

In his prepared remarks, the Minster re-iterated the recent Provincial announcement that the gas tax transfer to municipalities will gradually double from 2019 to 2021.

He also announced that the Confederation GO Station will start receiving weekday GO Train service starting in 2021, with service extended to Niagara in 2023.

You can watch a video of Minister Del Duca's prepared remarks. The A-Line BRT announcement starts at the 4:47 mark:

Ryan McGreal, the editor of Raise the Hammer, lives in Hamilton with his family and works as a programmer, writer and consultant. Ryan volunteers with Hamilton Light Rail, a citizen group dedicated to bringing light rail transit to Hamilton. Ryan wrote a city affairs column in Hamilton Magazine, and several of his articles have been published in the Hamilton Spectator. His articles have also been published in The Walrus, HuffPost and Behind the Numbers. He maintains a personal website, has been known to share passing thoughts on Twitter and Facebook, and posts the occasional cat photo on Instagram.

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