Adding new stations to the seven GO Transit lines out of Toronto is a key part of Metrolinx’s ten year plan to transform the network into a regional express rail system. There are 63 stations now, with a further 7 already underway, but at the latest board meeting on September 22nd, the organization revealed it has drawn up a shortlist of 50 more potential locations along the length of the existing lines (from an internal longlist of 120) and will be consulting the public via the municipalities across the region this winter to narrow these down.

Yellow dots are shortlisted sites for GO Transit downtown stations

As you can see from the map, several of these new stations would be in central Toronto and serve multiple lines at once, which would take some of the load off Union Station. Some of the key central locations being evaluated include:

West Toronto

Between Spadina and Bathurst south of Front Street

Liberty Village

Queen West & Dufferin

Saint Clair West

Dundas West/Lansdowne (new for Milton and Barrie lines)

East Toronto

Parliament-Cherry

Don Yards

DVP-Eastern (The “Unilever site” on SmartTrack’s map)

Queen-Degrassi

Dundas-Logan

Gerrard-Carlaw

Coxwell Avenue

SmartTrack stations projected for existing GO train lines have been included in the study but proposed SmartTrack stations on the proposed Eglinton alignment west of Mount Dennis will be considered later alongside other stations which would require additional rail segments. The complete map with all shortlisted potential stations can be downloaded from our site here.

No target number of stations has been set but Metrolinx will be balancing the increase in ridership that each station could bring against the cost of building and the additional two to three minutes each station adds to a given commute—both because of wait time at each stop and the time taken to slow down and speed up between stations.

The Regional Express Rail plan promises 15 minute frequency trains and electrification of the lines to enable faster speeds—this is projected to save five minutes from the 58 minute journey from Union to Oshawa for example. Those time savings could be cancelled out, however, on a longer journey if several stations were added to a line.

In narrowing down the longlist of station possibilities, Metrolinx used five deciding factors:

Connectivity - how well does the station connect to key destinations and other networks?

Travel time savings - how much time would this save new users? (offset by the delays to existing users)

Land value potential - by how much could the value of land around the station increase? This is relevant both for Metrolinx where it owns surrounding land and because if building a station spurs development it will in turn have an effect on overall transport usage and load.

Affordability - How much would the station and infrastructure cost to build? According to a Metrolinx spokesman, in addition to provincial funds, Metrolinx anticipates “municipalities may want the opportunity to pay for a station they feel strongly about”.

Ease of construction - To what extent are there there technical barriers to construction at each spot?

You can see the “scores” given for the shortlisted stations here, but the scores of the 70-odd other eliminated possible stations which were evaluated are not available; a Metrolinx spokesman suggested many of these were rejected simply because the sites were found to be technically unfeasible.

The upcoming public consultation is just one more step in a lengthy process—the final list of stations is due to be recommended to the Metrolinx board in Spring 2016—but there is no estimate yet of when the first stations could be built, as it depends on the duration of the consultations and environmental assessments once the station locations are chosen.

Meanwhile, you can get in on the conversation in our thread discussing the report here, or you can comment below if you have views or information to share about the proposals.

You can watch the meeting at which the plans were unveiled here, and download the presentation delivered on GO station expansion here (the longlist of stations from which the 50 were chosen can be found on slides 19 and 20).