There’s no money to pay for a “downtown relief line” yet. But Metrolinx will begin public consultations this fall as part of a preliminary study to be released in the spring on options for alleviating crowding on the Yonge subway.

A “long list of alternatives” will be presented to the public next summer.

Among the alternatives being considered will be whether GO trains can take some of the burden off the TTC.

Although a report before the Metrolinx board on Tuesday suggests there’s no additional room on GO during the rush hours, either, off-peak capacity bears more study, said a Metrolinx spokeswoman.

Anne Marie Aikins said GO and the TTC are already working closely to come up with ways to better integrate and align their services.

The growing call for a relief line points to increasing demand for transit in the Toronto region, as new services fill almost as quickly as they are built.

Since launching the largest service expansion in GO’s history this summer — all-day, 30-minute service on the Lake Shore East and West lines — GO’s ridership has increased by 30 per cent.

That response, in the slower summer months when word is still getting out, has been “heartening,” Aikins said. The numbers could be higher by the next ridership report in December.

“That’s our vision for all seven lines. We’ll be very happy when the day comes we’ll be able to have that expansion on all our lines. It’s not going to happen overnight, but we’re getting there,” she said, citing the expansion of the Georgetown South GO line that carries riders to Kitchener and Brampton.

For decades, the relief line has been envisioned as a subway that would run in a U-shape directly downtown off the west and east ends of the Bloor-Danforth line, and potentially further north, to connect with the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT.

Listed among a so-called second wave of projects in Metrolinx’s Big Move transit plan, it’s considered a prererequisite for extending the Yonge subway north to Richmond Hill.

Both the TTC and Metrolinx acknowledge that, even with an upgraded signaling system and new trains that will increase Yonge’s capacity, there’s simply no more room on the TTC’s busiest subway line.

After releasing a study on the relief line last year, the TTC is already studying potential routes, and Metrolinx is recommending that the updated Toronto Official Plan protect the line.

The TTC’s study suggests the first phase would cost about $3.2 billion.

The province is considering implementing new taxes as part of a Metrolinx investment strategy to pay for the “second wave” of projects.

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But Metrolinx no longer refers to the “downtown” relief line.

“We’re talking about providing relief on the entire system for people coming through the Toronto region,” Aikins said.

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