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t h e g a z e t t e ontalgaztt.o F r i d a y , December 24, 2010A4 sect ion

Both airports are 20 or so kilo-

metres west of their respectivedowntown cores, and both are closeto train tracks used by commutertrains. But thats where similaritiesend between planned airport trainshuttles for Montreals Trudeau andTorontos Pearson airports.

Unlike Montreals, the $1.3-billionToronto project is actually underway and due for completion in 2015under the direction of Metrolinx, an

Ontario agency that runs regional

commuter trains. SNC-Lavalin wasto build and operate that shuttle,but the plan fell through when itfailed to get the required financing.

Unlike Montreals, the Toronto planinvolves significantly boosting com-muter service in conjunction with afast, frequent airport train.

In Montreal, a plan for a similarcombined commuter/airport project

collapsed amid bickering between

the airport authority (Aroports deMontral) and the commuter-trainoperator (Agence mtropolitaine detransport).

The ADM and AMT are now pushingseparate trains: One exclusivelyfor Trudeau users and run by theprivate sector but financed in largepart by public funds; the otherexclusively for commuters and runby the AMT, a provincial agency.

Quebec has set aside $200 million

for the airport train. That link wouldalso require $200 million in federalfunding. Ottawa has not providedfunds for Torontos airport train butthe ADM says it expects the federalgovernment to contribute to Mont-reals project.

Although Trudeau is a fraction ofPearsons size, the ADM expectsMontreals train to carry significantlymore passengers than Torontos.

As for commuters, the AMT

says it needs $600 million fromQuebec to upgrade the Vaudreuil-Hudson line so it can more thantriple the number of trains. Thereare currently 27 train runs on thatline on each weekday, mostly dur-ing rush hours. Quebec has said itsupports the plan but has not setaside any money for it.

This chart compares the Montrealand Toronto projects.

OVERVIEW

THE AIRPORTS

THE PROPOSED TRAIN SHUTTLES

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

CONTROVERSY

Montreals Arotrain would run, non-stop,between Trudeau Airport and downtownsCentral Station.

Aroports de Montral says Trudeau lacksefficient, rapid and reliable public-transitaccess, especially at rush hour and duringwinter storms. Highways near the airport are

often congested.

Trudeau is Canadas third-busiest airport,after Toronto and Vancouver.

Travellers: About 12 million annually

Number of flights: About 580 daily

Parking: 11,500 spots. Most people reach theairport by car

Getting there by ...Taxi: $38 to or from downtown

Transit: In March, the STM made the trip bybus much easier with the 747 Express Bus($8 for those without a transit pass).

Highways: By 2018, the addition of a dedi-cated reserved bus lane on part of Highway 20should speed up the 747 bus. Some highwaytraffic around the airport will be cut thanks toa $224-million reconstruction of the DorvalInterchange, to be finished in 2015.

Distance between airport and downtown:20 kilometres

Train frequency: Every 20 minutes

Number of trains per day: 120

Schedule: 4 a.m. to midnight (20 hours a day),seven days a week

Length of trip: 20 minutes

Cost of trip: Fares are not set yet, but in May,ADM chief executive James Cherry suggested$12 to $15.

Timeline: Construction is to take 24 to 36months. The ADM says it could be launchedby 2016.

Whos in charge? Aroports de Montral,

the private non-profit company that runs theairport. It plans to work with a private partnerthat would operate the train service.

Ridership projection: 3 million in first full yearof operation. The ADM says one-third of Tru-deau passengers head downtown after flights.

Number of cars removed from the road:1.7 million fewer vehicles per year would makethe trip to the airport, the ADM says.

Stops along the way: Unlike all other airporttrains in North America, the Arotrain wouldbe non-stop from Trudeau to downtown; theADM has said it may one day consider stop-ping at a commuter train station used by theAMTs Vaudreuil-Hudson line. That wouldallow West Island residents to use the airportshuttle to reach the airport and return home.

Cost to build: $600 million

Requirements: New dedicated tracks betweenTrudeau and downtown, mostly along CNtracks, through the Sud-Ouest borough.Two bridges will have to be widened over theLachine Canal, two level crossings will bemoved underground, and seven overpasseswill have to be widened. The train terminal atthe airport would be under the U.S. departuresarea that opened at the airport last year.

Equipment: Four trains of three cars each,

with cars equipped to accommodate pas-sengers with luggage. The ADM says thetrains will be energy-efficient and perhapselectric.

Access to public transit: Central Station islinked to the Bonaventure mtro station viawalkways and escalators. Central Station isalso used by the Deux Montagnes and MontSt. Hilaire commuter trains and is to becomethe terminal for the new Repentigny/ Mas-couche line, and possibly the Blainville/St.Jrme line. Via Rail and Amtrak also runinter-city trains from Central Station.

Who pays to build it: The ADM and privateinvestors together would put up $200 million.Quebec and Ottawa would each be expectedto put in $200 million. Quebec has said it isready to pay its share. Ottawa has not weighedin yet.

Who will own it: The privately operated Aro-ports de Montral.

The project has the backing of Montreal, Quebec and business leaders. But critics argue theairport shuttle does nothing to cure problems afflicting Montreal transportation, such as poorservice on West Island commuter trains. The fact SNC-Lavalin dropped out of the Toronto projectbecause of financing difficulties should make governments wary of bankrolling a private trainshuttle in Montreal, says Avrom Shtern, a transit activist with the Green Coalition. Critics alsoworry that if money is poured into a Trudeau shuttle, little will be left to improve commuter trains.

Torontos Air Rail Link will run betweenPearson Airport and downtowns UnionStation, with two stops at commuter trainstations. It is being built in conjunction with

an upgrade of a GO Transit commuter trainline. A three-kilometre spur will connect that

line to the airport.

Ontario says the train will be in place by spring2015, in time for the July 2015 Pan AmericanGames, expected to attract 10,000 athletes

and officials and 250,000 tourists.

Pearson Airport is Canadas busiest airport.

Travellers: About 30 million annually

Number of flights: About 1,100 daily

Parking: More than 22,000 spots. Mostpeople reach the airport by car

Getting there by ...Taxi: $52 for a 25-minute trip from downtown

Private bus: The Airport Express costs $22and takes 40 minutes

Transit: $7.70 for a combination of commutertrain and city bus (in about 70 minutes),according to The Toronto Star. The TorontoTransit Commission operates the 192 AirportRocket bus from the end of a subway line; itcosts $3 and takes about 70 minutes to andfrom downtown.

Distance between airport and downtown:27 kilometres

Train frequency: Every 15 minutes

Number of trains per day: 140

Schedule: Hours not announced but it is to run20 hours a day, seven days a week.

Length of trip: 25 minutes

Cost of trip: Fares are not set yet, but officialshave said it would cost about $22 a ride.

Timeline: Due to start rolling in spring 2015.

Whos in charge? Metrolinx, the provincialbody that operates the Toronto regions GOTransit commuter trains. The Greater TorontoAirport Authority is providing land for the

tracks and the station at Pearson.

Ridership projection: About 1.8 million afterfive years of operation.

Number of cars removed from the road:1.2 million fewer vehicles per year would makethe trip to the airport, Metrolinx says.

Stops along the way: The Air Rail Link willstop at two commuter train stations on theGO Georgetown line: Weston and Bloor, thesecond of which is connected to the subwaysystem.

Cost to build: $300 million for the Air RailLink, plus $1 billion to upgrade infrastructurealong the commuter corridor. Without thatwork, the line couldnt handle all the airporttrains. Critics say the province is underesti-mating the cost of the airport train by shiftingexpenses to the commuter-line work.

Requirements: A three-kilometre spur mustbe built to connect the commuter train line toPearson. Other work required includes addingtracks, widening bridges and building one newbridge and six new overpasses and under-passes. The improvements will allow for 10new commuter train departures per day, withmore expected later.

Equipment: Trains would have two cars each.Metrolinx is buying diesel-powered trains buthas said it may switch to electric power later.

Access to public transit: Handling as manyas 65 million passengers annually, downtownTorontos Union Station is Canadas busiestpassenger train hub. It is served by commutertrains, the subway, city buses, as well as inter-city trains from Via Rail, Ontario NorthlandRailway and Amtrak.

Who pays to build it: The Ontario govern-ment is paying for the project, apart from$16.6 million that Ottawa is contributing viaits infrastructure fund to rebuild six bridges onthe commuter line.

Who will own it: Metrolinx, the Ontario prov-incial agency that operates commuter trains.

Critics such as Greg Gormick of the Clean Train Coalition contend Torontos Air Rail Link shouldbe electric for the sake of the environment and people who live near the tracks. Though regularcommuter service will improve on the GO line, Gormick notes airport-train fares will be high andtrains will be small, making them useless to commuters. Instead of an airport train some say isnot needed, critics want all the money poured into commuter service.

A TALE OF TWO TRAIN SHUTTLESAndy Riga Gazette Transportation Reporter

MONTREAL TORONTO

TransporTaTion

Dixon Rd.

St. Clair Ave. W.

Bloor St. W.

Eglinton Ave. W.

Jan

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t.

RoyalYorkRd.

IslingtonAve.

2 km

Lake

Ontario

Airport Weston

Bloor

Union

New spurto be built

Route

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xpy

401

427

400

Toronto's Air Rail Link willoperate on tracks used by aGO Transit commuter-train

line that serves UnionStation. A three-kilometrespur will link that line to atrain station in PearsonAirport's Terminal 1. Theairport shuttle will stop atcommuter stations (Westonand Bloor), one of which linksto the subway system and twostreetcar lines.

NATIONAL POSTSOURCE: GO TRANSIT

Existing commuter train tracks

Lucien

LAllier

Central

Station

Dorval

Lachine

Vendme

Montreal

West

AIRPORT

THE GAZETTE

PeelS

t.

deMaiso

nneuve

Lachine

St. Henri

Point St.

Charles 10

Nuns

Island

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ards

Airport railterminal

Linewouldrun toSte.

Anne deBelleuve

B: MORE COMMUTER TRAINS:The Agence mtropolitaine de transport, which runs Montreal commuter trains, wants$600 million from Quebec for new, dedicated tracks between Ste. Anne de Bellevue anddowntowns Lucien L'Allier. This would allow the AMT to run 86 trains per day on itsVaudreuil-Hudson line, up from 27.

B

A

A: AIRPORT TRAIN:Aroports de Montral is proposing a $600-million plan that would involve new, dedicatedtracks that would run from Trudeau airport to Central Station, running through St. Henriand Point St. Charles. The train wouldnt stop between the airport and Central Station.

TWO TRAINS:One serves Trudeau Airport, the other West Island commuters

2015

15

13

720

520

20