Much wonder greets the Ontario government’s re-imagined downtown relief line in the outline described Wednesday by the Premier and others. The line will be moved, renamed and re-conceived. The Ontario Line will no longer be a subway but rather an elusive form of transport called a “free-standing transit artery.” The province says that driverless trains, lighter, smaller and more frequent vehicles and elevated track portions could all be part of the new line. Thus the concept is still being imagined. While it appears that the technology for building the route has not yet been decided, the government says that it will “invite the market” to offer cheaper technologies. The Ontario Line will migrate from the City-planned route of Pape and Osgoode stations to a line that connects Ontario Place with the Ontario Science Centre near Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue. It would also stop at East Harbour GO, Pape, Queen and Osgoode stations. The line would cost $10.9 billion and would have an estimated completion date of 2027. Stay tuned. Ontario Line on Twitter
