Premier Doug Ford and his government are staying mum on the new technology they say they’ll deploy to complete Toronto’s badly needed Relief Line subway, other than to insist it’s going to be great.

Earlier this week letters to the city from provincial officials revealed that the Ontario Conservative government wants to build its own version of the line using unspecified “alternative delivery methods” that it says would create a “truly unique transit artery spanning the city” and would be separate from the rest of the subway system.

Pressed on what the new technology is by Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath in question period Thursday, Ford would only say that it would be “less expensive, faster and better” than other forms of transit.

“We are going to build the greatest downtown relief line. As a matter of fact, when they showed me the plan, my jaw dropped. I thought, ‘Wow, this is thinking outside the box,’ ” he said.

Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek was similarly tight-lipped. He rejected one reporter’s suggestion it would be a monorail, and grinned when another asked if it would involve magnetic levitation trains — a specialized technology used by only a handful of cities around the world.

“We have looked outside the box and we have created a plan going forward that is going to be delivered quicker, it’s going to be cheaper, and it’s going to get the people of Toronto the necessary projects that they deserve to improve the ridership on the TTC,” he said.

Yurek suggested the high cost of the Relief Line was one reason the government had sought out alternative technology. Previous estimates have put the cost of the first phase of the line, which would connect the eastern end of Line 2 (Bloor-Danforth) to Queen St. stops on Line 1 (Yonge-University-Spadina) at $6.9 billion.

The minister echoed statements in the letter that said that cost has since doubled. The city hasn’t confirmed the increase.

The province wants to take control of the Relief Line project as part of a wider plan to take ownership of Toronto’s subway lines. The city officially opposes “uploading” the subway to Queen’s Park, but the two sides are currently in negotiations.

The province’s approach would likely mean discarding much of five years’ worth of planning already completed on a more conventional version of the line, work for which the previous Ontario Liberal government had committed $150 million.

The Relief Line had a tentative opening date of 2029, but the Conservatives’ critics say their new approach would ensure that it’s delayed.

The lack of specificity to the province’s plans has left even Mayor John Tory guessing.

Asked on CBC radio Thursday morning what Ford is planning, Tory replied flatly: “Can’t help you.”

He admitted being kept in the dark on what the province has in store for the line many experts consider Toronto’s top transit priority was “frustrating.”

“It may be the case, I’m prepared to hold out the possibility that whatever is announced by way of this new technology…. are a fantastic bonanza for us. But I don’t know,” he said, adding that he has “incredible concern” that charting a new course for the Relief Line would delay the project.

In a statement, Horwath accused Ford of hiding his plan from the public.

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“Toronto families continue to pile into crowded trains and streetcars each morning,” she said. “Now, they’re concerned that Doug Ford will rip up long-standing plans that would bring relief to commuters, costing billions and delaying these vital projects for years.

“Toronto families have waited too long for transit relief just to have Doug Ford rip up plans to finally fix things — they deserve answers about what Ford has in store.”

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