On Wednesday, March 18, a boy on a motorized bicycle was struck and killed at the Alexandra Avenue railway crossing in Mississauga. The tragedy, which occurred despite properly-working lights and gates at the three-track crossing, is a reminder of how important rail safety can be. Despite decades of “Operation Lifesaver” safety awareness campaigns, police enforcement, and upgrades to high-risk railway crossings, these tragedies continue to occur. Deaths on Canada’s railways affect many lives, including the victim’s family and friends, as well as the train crew, who can not brake the train in time. When these collisions happen, they can also tie up rail passengers and goods movement for many hours as emergency responders do their work and an investigation takes place.
Trackside memorial at Alexandra Avenue, March 31, 2026
This particular crossing, near Cawthra Avenue and Lakeshore Road, sees up to 125 GO Transit and VIA Rail passenger trains daily; the three-track corridor is one of the busiest stretches of railway in Canada. The Alexandra Ave. crossing was also ranked as the 21st riskiest in the country in a Transport Canada list of nearly 25,000 road-rail intersections. Of the top 25 railway crossings ranked by risk in Canada, 14 are owned by Metrolinx, the provincial agency in charge of GO Transit. At the very top of the list is another Mississauga railway crossing, where the GO Lakeshore West corridor meets Lorne Park Road.
Lorne Park Road crossing
According to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, between the years 1999 to 2022, 630 people were killed and 774 people were seriously injured due to collisions with trains at grade crossings, an average of 26 per year. In most instances (69%) those who were killed were in motor vehicles, with pedestrians and cyclists making up the remainder.
The railway crossing inventory, last published in June 2021, ranks grade crossings according to their risk using GradeX, an internal analysis tool. Relative risk of each crossing is based on several factors, including historical accident data, train speeds, traffic volumes, sight lines at crossings, crossing protection features, and the local built environment to determine the level of collision risk. Fields include location (road crossing and railway subdivision/mile), type of protection (passive, with just an “X” crossbuck sign, or active, with lights, bells, or gates), number of collisions in the last five years since the dataset was compiled, speed limits, and traffic estimates.
With this information, railways and road authorities can then work to improve the crossing to reduce the risk, or construct a grade separation to eliminate the risk. For example, the Burloak Drive crossing of the GO Lakeshore West Corridor and number 5 on the Transport Canada list, is currently being replaced with an underpass.
The Transport Canada list is comprehensive, but it is not perfect, nor is it complete. The Ontario Northland Railway, whose tracks extend north from North Bay through Northeastern Ontario, is conspicuously missing. Several crossings in the map, mostly private crossings, do not have the correct latitude and longitudes. Several abandoned railways, including the Orangeville-Brampton and Barrie-Collingwood (west of Angus) still appear, as do long-decommissioned crossings of industrial spurs. The risk ranking also changes. In a 2016 CBC News article, the Melbourne Road CN crossing west of London, Ontario was ranked fourth riskiest. In the more recent dataset available online, it is ranked 341th, even though there were no physical changes to the railway crossing visible in Google Streetview from 2009 through 2023.
The Lorne Park Road crossing is interesting for several reasons. After many years as a stop on the CN mainline, it was briefly a GO Transit station, with commuter train service only for its first year in 1967-1968. The two-lane road crosses the three-track railway at approximately a 30-degree angle; immediately to the north of the tracks is the intersection with Birchview Drive, which is parallel to the tracks. That intersection is controlled only with a stop sign, with pedestrians crossing the street at a wide angle with no marked crosswalk. The same number of trains that cross Alexandra Avenue also cross at Lorne Park Road, making it a busy crossing, and motor and pedestrian traffic is higher, as Lorne Park Road is a busier collector street with adjacent commercial properties. To its credit, however, Metrolinx recently upgraded the crossing, with enhanced pedestrian gates that prevent access when the railway crossing lights are activated.
City of Mississauga aerial photography of the Lorne Park Road crossing, with Birchview Drive meeting Lorne Park Rd. immediately north of the railway (source)
A 2022 City of Mississauga-commissioned report by HDR recommended that the Lorne Park crossing be studied for future grade separation (it also recommended a more detailed study into closing the Alexandra Avenue crossing along with an Ogden Avenue grade separation), given the high number of train crossings, expected to increase with future GO Transit service expansion.
Building new overpasses or underpasses can be expensive and disruptive, especially in older urban environments where space is at a premium. Closing crossings completely can disconnect communities, especially for pedestrians and cyclists, who may have to travel much longer distances or use dangerous roads to get to their destinations. But they are often necessary for ensuring safe, frequent, and speedy train service. In the meantime, upgrading existing crossing and minimizing risk, along with continued education, is the way to go.
Highway 403 in Mississauga, with HOV lanes in the centre
In the last year, making the occasional car trip to visit family in Northeastern Ontario or just to get out of the city for a day or two, I kept wondering what the point of those new high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes were on the Queen Elizabeth Way, Highway 400, or Highway 401. At first, they seemed like a real time saver for anyone riding on a transit bus or driving with a few family members, friends, or carpool colleagues in the car. As time went on, with new exceptions, minimal or no police enforcement, and increasingly aggressive driving post-pandemic, one is left wondering why the province even bothers adding them to more highways.
Now, amongst a flood of moves and musings by our oft-Trumpian premier, it appears that the province has given up on even the veneer of sustainability with these highway widenings throughout the Greater Golden Horseshoe and Ottawa regions. On Tuesday, March 17 — St. Patrick’s Day — Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria announced a proposed regulatory amendment that would allow all cars and light trucks in the HOV lanes, during off-peak periods. The change would “help keep drivers moving across the province, so they can spend less time in traffic and more time with their families and friends.”
This announcement is part of a stream of messages from Doug Ford and his government clearly seeking the attention of the news media and the public. The week prior, Ford was talking about expanding the Toronto Island airport, even seizing control of the City of Toronto’s interest to ensure that jets could land on the waterfront. Before that, Ford mused about a new convention centre built on Lake Ontario near Exhibition Place. This week, Ford was on a law-and-order kick, attacking a fair and impartial judiciary, promoting the idea of “Bail TV,” and praising a homeowner that shot an intruder during a home invasion. Maybe this is to distract from scandal and a new proposed law to shield the premier, ministers, and staff from journalists using freedom of information requests to keep the government accountable.
The legislative assembly will finally reconvene next week, starting Monday, March 23, after a 14-week break.
The first HOV lanes were introduced on Highway 403 through Mississauga and on Highway 404 southbound from Highway 7 to Highway 401/Don Valley Parkway in 2005. A year later, the HOV lanes were touted as an “unqualified success,” with the minister of transportation at the time, Liberal Donna Cansfield, promising more reserved lanes to follow, with the QEW through Oakville and Burlington to be the next implementation. With the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) conducting active enforcement on those two sections, they found that only 5 percent of motorists in the HOV lanes were violating the law.
GO Transit was an especially keen user of the new HOV lanes. In 2005, only the Lakeshore Line had regular off-peak train service, and buses filled in the gaps in between. The 404 lanes saved valuable minutes for buses on the 70/71 Stouffville Line route between Union Station and Markham; the City of Toronto designated sections of the inner paved median on the DVP as well for GO buses that could be used to bypass traffic congestion.
Clip from the Toronto Star on Thursday, Dec 14, 2006
At the time, the HOV lanes saved carpoolers and transit riders up to 17 minutes on the initial segments on Highways 403 and 404. The additional capacity created with the new lane (no existing lanes were to be converted to HOV-only under provincial policy) also led to time savings for all drivers, at least in the short term. Increased traffic caused by suburban growth and induced demand eventually negated those time savings for general traffic.
HOV lanes were included in more highway expansion projects. The QEW HOV lanes through Oakville and Burlington were added in 2011. Lanes on Highways 400, 410, and 427 and Highway 417 in Ottawa followed, and when Highway 401’s express/collector system was expanded through western Mississauga and Milton, HOV lanes were part of that too.
“One more lane should do it,” Highway 401 in Mississauga, with HOV lanes in the middle of a recently widened highway
Regulations on the use of HOV lanes were relaxed over the years too. Motorcyclists were permitted, as were any vehicle with a “green” license plate (available to any battery-electric or plug-in hybrid car, SUV, or light truck). HOT permits were also added, for anyone willing to pay and enter a lottery for the right to use the lanes while driving alone. Taxis and airport limos were also allowed, even when not carrying a passenger.
Poor driving habits, which seemed to have gotten worse since the COVID-19 pandemic, have made a mockery of the initial intentions of the HOV lanes. Without enforcement, the HOV lanes are essentially treated by some drivers as fast lanes, with sudden swerving in and out despite double solid lines and “Do Not Cross” signs consistently posted along the highway, intended to reduce weaving. Solo drivers regularly use the lanes without consequence to get around slower drivers or trucks.
Despite “Do Not Cross” signs, and a double solid line between the HOV lane and general traffic, this regulation is regularly ignored
For now, we do not know what “off-peak hours” would mean when the provincial government finally legalizes another bit of the selfish and aggressive driving behaviour the rest of us have sadly gotten accustomed to. The QEW is frequently jammed most weekends between May and October, when families and tourists travel between Toronto, Hamilton, and Niagara. Highway 400 is notorious on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons during Cottage Country commutes.
This is yet another motorist-friendly move by this government eager to hold onto seats in suburban ridings and please its wealthy backers, along with permanent gas tax breaks, abandonment of license plate renewal fees, the prohibition on speed enforcement cameras, and the construction of destructive new highways like the 413. But at least this latest move is an acknowledgement of something I have felt for years about the HOV lanes in Ontario: a simple greenwashing of highway expansion, making us feel better about laying more concrete and asphalt.
Metrolinx construction on Finch Avenue East in Scarborough
On Finch Avenue East in Scarborough, where the busy roadway meets the GO Stouffville Line, one will encounter a major construction project. Cranes and pile drivers line the railway crossing, with dozens of construction workers busy building a new grade separation between the rails and roadway. Once complete, the underpass will allow Finch Avenue traffic to pass unimpeded by more frequent GO train service and provide additional safety to all road users.
But the overpass was meant to be much more than just a rail bridge. A clue can be found in the construction site signage. Though the construction equipment is all marked for Green Infrastructure Partners (GIP), GIP is part of a project-specific consortium called “SmartTrack Construction Partners” or STCP, noted in a 2024 City of Toronto progress report. The SmartTrack name is interesting, as this was also going to be a site of a so-called SmartTrack station.
Construction site signageCloseup of another site sign, with the “SmartTrack Construction Partners” name and logo clearly displayed
The Finch-Kennedy GO Station became part of a five-stop remnant of the SmartTrack concept, a “surface rail subway” promoted as part of John Tory’s 2014 successful mayoral campaign and subsequently made part of city policy, even maintaining the brand name. As I have written extensivelyabout the troubled proposaland failed implementation of SmartTrack on this website, I will not go into any detail. But SmartTrack promised the construction of 13 entirely new regional rail stations augmenting 9 existing or committed GO stations on the Stouffville and Kitchener corridors, including a new rail branch on Eglinton Avenue West to Mississauga. One of those stations was to be at Finch Avenue East.
“John Tory’s SmartTrack,” depicting what the “London-style” transit service would look like, from Tory’s 2014 campaign
Since 2015, the SmartTrack concept began to shrink as the difficulty of building a regional rail line on Eglinton West became clear and as other transit projects came forward. The Ontario Line, now under construction, fills the downtown subway relief function that SmartTrack promised. The tunneled western extension of Line 5 from Mount Dennis to Renforth replaces the problematic western section of Tory’s proposal. Furthermore, GO Expansion would transform much of the GO rail network into a more frequent, all-day service on five of its seven lines would provide more service to more stations than SmartTrack ever could. (Unfortunately, Metrolinx is dragging its heels on GO’s transformation.) Even better, all these projects were promoted and funded by the province, while SmartTrack was a municipal effort.
But Finch SmartTrack Station, referred to in official planning materials as “Finch-Kennedy,” survived a whole decade, one of four remaining city-funded SmartTrack-branded stops from that early campaign map (a fifth stop was later added to the Barrie GO Corridor, at Bloor Street). Even as a regular GO Transit stop, Finch-Kennedy would have been quite useful for Scarborough commuters as well as promote new mixed-use development in northeastern Toronto. Surrounding the site are commercial plazas and industrial malls, self-storage units, and low-density residential subdivisions. The streetscape plan of the station below illustrates the site’s surroundings.
As planned, Finch-Kennedy Station would have been a no-frills rapid transit stop, with two tracks and platforms that span the Finch Avenue overpass. Access between the street (with curbside bus stops) and platforms would have been easy and direct, with stairs and elevators connecting the two modes on both sides of the street. With more frequent GO service facilitated by the double track expansion of the corridor, and proposed electrification, the Stouffville Line would have been a really useful link between the frequent 39/939 bus route (the busiest bus corridor in Toronto) to Union Station, the transfers to Lines 2 and 5 at Kennedy Station, and to Markham to the north. There would be no parking on-site, but just an access driveway on the northeast corner for service vehicles.
Though GO could double track the Stouffville Corridor and run more frequent trains without the grade separation if no station was to be built at Finch, an underpass would be necessary if trains were going to decelerate, stop, and accelerate within a short proximity of Finch Avenue. Building the platforms on the bridge structure only makes transit connections easier.
Due to cost overruns, SmartTrack is down to just three stations, which are now in various stages of construction. Along with King-Liberty, Finch-Kennedy was dropped from the list in December 2024, even as construction on the first and most critical phase, the Finch underpass, was already underway. Earlier this week, the Toronto Star reported that nearly $100 million were spent on these two now-deferred stations. The cost of completing Finch-Kennedy had jumped by $130 million, to a total of almost $370 million.
Even though the station is deferred, heavy construction continues on Finch Avenue East. The SmartTrack name lives on through the firm tasked with finishing the grade separation intended to literally support the new transit connection. Presumably, the bridge will be built with provision for the transit station to be added later. But it will only be even more expensive to go back later and complete the job.
Meanwhile, after resigning in disgrace in Winter 2023, not long after his re-election, John Tory is rumoured to make another run for mayor against his replacement, Olivia Chow. Tory will have a lot to answer for if he chooses to run again; the tattered remains of his SmartTrack legacy should certainly be one of those questions.
Buses on the Orange and Blue routes await departure at Orangeville Transit’s transfer hub
Earlier in December 2025, I took a short trip to Orangeville, Ontario, to take a ride on the province’s only fare-free transit system. Though Orangeville Transit provides a vital service for the town’s residents, the fare-free service is not necessarily a model for larger transit systems.
The town of Orangeville, population approximately 30,000, is on the outer edge of the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area. Until 2021, it was connected to the Canadian Pacific mainline at Streetsville by a municipally-owned railway; Highways 9 and 10 link the town with Highways 400 and 410. GO Transit runs a limited weekday bus service from Brampton, and the remnant of Grey County’s GTR system runs between Orangeville, Shelburne, and Dundalk.
Orangeville Transit, GO Transit, and GTR Route 2 signs on Hansen Blvd.
These three services meet at a curbside stop on Hansen Boulevard at First Street adjacent to the Orangeville Mall on the north side of town, where there is a standard bus shelter. After getting off the GO bus here, a GTR van arrived a few minutes later, dropping off a few more passengers. A few minutes after that, a yellow school bus arrived, sporting an Orangeville Transit sticker on the side. This would be my bus.
After a winding route through several residential subdivisions, circling back on Hansen Boulevard, the bus arrived at the central transfer point located in a field west of the downtown core. The transfer point, located behind a small shopping plaza, is adjacent to the abandoned Orangeville-Brampton Railway corridor. However, the new terminal is not served by GO or GTR. GO Transit buses layover at the old Canadian Pacific Railway station site on Townline before heading south to Brampton GO Station.
Orangeville Transit map, with two routes operating on 45-minute schedules
In some ways, the fare-free service in Orangeville is a success. Ridership more than doubled between 2019 and 2023, the year it introduced free fares. The program has since been extended through 2026. However, Orangeville Transit is a very small operation, with only two routes, each on a 45-minute schedule. The two routes are made up of circuitous, one-way loops that provide service to the entire municipality, but do not provide through or speedy service.
Though large systems, like GO Transit and the Toronto Transit Commission, get more than half their funding from fare revenue (in the late 1990s, fares made up 80% of the operating costs for those two systems due to provincial austerity), smaller systems, with lower costs, can get by with free fares. This is also true of some mid-sized American systems, such as Richmond, Albuquerque, or Kansas City, where fare collection might be more trouble than it is worth. But there’s a trade off; for many riders, a more frequent and faster ride would be worth a few dollars — reliable government funding along with targeted reduced fare programs might be a better solution.
In Orangeville’s case, the rider gets what they pay for — a slow, infrequent, and circuitous service where you might end up picked up by a school bus.
Transit journeys, wrapped
Orangeville Transit was the last of 32 distinct transit services I got to ride in 2025 and was one of 10 systems I rode for the first time (another three of those were in Italy). Unfortunately, my first ride on Deseronto Transit was also my last. With the obvious exception of the Vatican, I have been on at least one transit service in every one of the 21 countries I’ve been to so far.
Local and regional transit systems taken in 2025: Toronto Transit Commission GO Transit Brampton Transit MiWay York Region Transit Durham Region Transit Burlington Transit Hamilton Street Railway Orangeville Transit (1st time) Simcoe County Linx Barrie Transit Wasaga Beach Transit(1st time) London Transit Deseronto Transit(RIP) Belleville Transit Kingston Transit Brockville Transit (1st time) River Route(1st time) Transit Windsor LTW Transit(1st time) Thunder Bay Transit (1st time) OC Transpo Société de transport de l’Outaouais (Gatineau QC) Société de transport de Montréal Winnipeg Transit Calgary Transit TransLink (Metro Vancouver) BC Transit (Greater Victoria) Azienda Napoletana Mobilità (Naples) (1st time) Azienda per la mobilità di Roma Capitale (1st time) Ente Autonomo Volturno (Campagna IT) (1st time)
While Montreal was celebrating the opening of another portion of its REM automated light metro system between Gare Centrale and Deux-Montagnes on the region’s north shore, Torontonians had to settle for the partial opening of two light rail stations on the delayed Line 5 Eglinton line: Mount Dennis and Cedarvale.
While the opening of Cedarvale (apart from the light rail platforms) slightly improved circulation at the existing Eglinton West Station, Mount Dennis Station provides for a new GO Transit and UP Express stop, a large TTC bus terminal, and access to a historic Kodak building. It’s an interesting structure that facilitates new intermodal connections, but could definitely benefit from a few minor improvements.
An UP Express train leaves Mount Dennis for Union Station, with the Toronto skyline in the background
The Mount Dennis and Weston neighbourhoods were established around major industries, including CCM, Moffat Stoves, Willys-Overland, Dominion Bridge, Kodak, with even more employment at the nearby stockyards and slaughterhouses at St. Clair Avenue. The CN and CP railways passing through brought materials in and finished goods out. Today, only the Facelle tissue plant — now owned by Irving — remains in operation from that industrial past. The Dominion Bridge property later became the home of a TTC bus garage, while the Kodak plant became the site of the Eglinton Crosstown light rail storage and maintenance facility.
One building from the massive Kodak complex was preserved: Building 9, the employee recreation centre. The rear section of the main floor contains a public entrance to the station from the passenger pick-up and drop-off area, accessible washrooms, and access to the rest of the building (which is currently vacant). A bright mural, which once graced Building 9, can be found near the GO/UPX platform accesses. A heritage plaque tells the story of the building.
Mount Dennis Station platforms and Kodak Building 9Building 9, as seen from the TTC bus terminal. Note the Metrolinx “T” icon, with the logos of three services – GO, TTC, and UP – below.The GO/UP Express section of the station is brightened by a colourful mural saved from Kodak Building 9Heritage Toronto Plaque affixed to Kodak Building 9
As UP Express and most GO Kitchener Line trains now stop at Mount Dennis, approximately three extra minutes is added to train trips. UP Express, which took 25 minutes between Pearson Airport Terminal 1 and Union Station, now takes 28 minutes. On the first day of stopping service last Sunday, very few passengers got on or off UP or GO trains (of the few that did, most appeared to be transit enthusiasts), but with more TTC bus connections and the Line 5 service hopefully coming soon, the station should become much busier.
Mount Dennis Station was mostly empty on its first dayA mostly empty Mount Dennis bus terminal currently serves six routes; this will increase to 13 when Line 5 finally opens
Mount Dennis will be served by 13 different bus routes when the station is fully open, including a new route 901 express between Mount Dennis and Pearson Airport, via Dixon Road. Though most of the changes are simple route extensions to the new terminal (like the 161 and 168), the 35 Jane will be split into two (while the 935 express stays on Jane, bypassing Mount Dennis), and daytime surface service on Eglinton between Mount Dennis and Kennedy Stations will be limited to an infrequent Route 34 bus.
Map of planned bus network revisions upon opening of Line 5 (click for larger image)
Despite some long corridors (particularly between the escalators up to the bus terminal and down to the closed-off LRT platforms), the station is well designed for the complexity of the site. The bus terminal and LRT platforms are both within the fare-paid area, eliminating one barrier between buses and rail.
Corridor towards the elevator and escalators from the TTC fare gates and LRT to the bus terminal. The natural light comes in from the large windows of Building 9. Public washrooms are on the left, past the windowed room, presumably a future retail space.Looking down to the LRT platforms
Three of four UP/GO platforms are in service (the fourth track, which would allow for more frequent GO Kitchener Line service is under construction). I was impressed to see two elevators to each platform, providing essential redundancy for improved accessibility and reliability. However, the GO/UPX platform access points are not easy to spot from this long corridor, which also leads to the Eglinton Avenue and Weston Road intersection.
Passage to GO and UP Express trains from the TTC bus/LRT area, looking west
There is no visible wayfinding signage in this long tunnel. Only when one reaches the escalators at the other end are directions apparent, as the overhead signs are affixed to sloped ceilings. This should be a relatively easy fix, but an important one.
No wayfinding signage visible below escalator levelin the GO/UPX area
Furthermore, an opportunity to provide a useful link to the Mount Dennis neighbourhood from GO/UPX Platform 4 (the west-most platform) has not been exploited. An undeveloped road allowance from the corner of Barr Avenue and Brownsville Road, used for station construction, is fenced off and barricaded. This would provide an alternate route to the station from Weston Road, particularly to the nearby Toronto Public Library branch, and would only need a few Presto tap readers and perhaps a fare vending machine. Perhaps it will take private highrise development to make this happen.
Looking west from Platform 4 to the Barr Avenue road allowance
Finally, it was frustrating to see so little wayfinding signage in the TTC bus terminal. Though the TTC has numbered each of the bus bays from 1 to 15, these numbers do not appear inside the waiting area or over the doors. Digital screens over each bay display very small text with next bus information.
TTC bus terminal plan, with each bus bay and assigned routesOutdoor signage at Mount Dennis bus terminal
The wayfinding signage needs to be corrected, but at least these are simple fixes. Otherwise, it was a treat visiting a new transit hub on a sunny (though cold) November afternoon. The heritage preservation was a nice touch; hopefully, new use is found for Building 9’s upper floors. Furthermore, one hopes the rest of the Line 5 Crosstown stations open soon.
Map of John Tory’s SmartTrack proposal, his signature campaign plank from the 2014 municipal election
SmartTrack, the transit plan championed by former mayor John Tory in 2014, is the election promise that will never fully die, even if it was diminished from the promise of a brand-new 53-kilometre transit relief project to just a few new stations on existing GO Transit rail corridors. SmartTrack, as initially pitched, would have utilized existing rail and highway corridors to quickly build an express rapid transit line that would provide much-needed relief to the Yonge Subway line, foster development of the East Don Lands (former site of an Unilever soap factory), and connect downtown with employment lands in Markham and Mississauga. According to campaign materials, SmartTrack would have been built in just seven years.
Eleven years later, that relief is coming, but through other forms: the now under-construction Ontario Line, expansion of the Bloor-Yonge Subway station, and slow subway ridership recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in 2020-2021. The Mount Dennis-Airport Corporate Centre section, nearly impossible to build as a continuous passenger rail line, is now being built as a tunneled extension of the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT.
Over a decade later, the legacy of SmartTrack, along with other major changes for the GO Transit Kitchener Line, will affect both GO operations and UP Express, Toronto’s airport rail link, which will be asked to do more despite existing constraints. Without rigorous planning, transparency from Metrolinx, and stakeholder input, the potential of Toronto’s northwest corridor as a high-quality local and regional transit project is in doubt. With significant investment and proper planning, the Kitchener Line could serve as a shining example of how to get things right.
The diminished legacy of SmartTrack
It’s possible that three “SmartTrack” stations might be completed in 17 years
The idea of a “London-style surface rail subway” for Toronto was, and remains, a laudable goal for our existing GO Transit rail corridors; this was the concept behind the GO Expansion project touted just a few years ago that would truly transform the system into a high-quality urban rail network. It would not only serve suburban municipalities like Markham, Brampton, and Mississauga, but also improve travel times to the inner suburbs such as Agincourt and Rexdale.
What SmartTrack got wrong was relying on a flawed report that had very specific aims, poor public buy-in, and an arrogant, yet ineffectual proponent who nevertheless managed to win re-election, twice. (He might run again in 2026.) It didn’t help that SmartTrack was a municipal idea that was not coordinated with the provincial planning process; it never really got off the ground, even if municipal planning staff were charged with implementing the proposal. Ideally, the city should have just pushed hard to advance GO expansion on multiple corridors and for fare integration with the TTC.
Despite years of inaction, five SmartTrack stations remain on the books, to be funded largely by the City of Toronto. This was a curious arrangement as the provincial government has taken responsibility for the costs of all other GO Transit expansion projects, along with subway and LRT extensions. The five stations the city committed to were:
East Harbour (Lakeshore East/Stouffville, with a connection with the Ontario Line)
Finch-Kennedy (Stouffville Line) and
Bloor-Lansdowne (Barrie Line, not on the old SmartTrack map)
The King-Liberty and St. Clair-Old Weston stations, present in the original SmartTrack map, are on the inner portion of the busy Kitchener Line, which now hosts two-way, all-day service between Union and Bramalea Stations, as frequent as every 30 minutes weekdays. This section of track, known as the Weston Subdivision, also hosts UP Express (UPX) trains, which run every 15 minutes between Union and Pearson Airport, with stops at Bloor and Weston stations. It will also stop at Mount Dennis when that station opens in mid-November, connecting with the Crosstown LRT when that opens, likely in early 2026.
Bloor-Lansdowne is a curious “SmartTrack” legacy station, as it was not on the original proposed route. Located just east of Bloor GO Station on the Kitchener Line, the two-platform station would serve Barrie Line trains, with a walking connection to the TTC’s Lansdowne Station two blocks to the east. (See my supplementary post highlighting this transfer.) Unlike King-Liberty and Finch-Kennedy stations, Bloor-Lansdowne is going ahead as construction had already started in 2024.
Bloor-Lansdowne Station is two blocks west of Lansdowne Station and a 7-10 minute walk to the subway, which runs north of Bloor Street. From 2023 City of Toronto report.
Bloor-Lansdowne probably should not have been advanced, especially when King-Liberty or even Finch-Kennedy would be more useful new stations.
St. Clair-Old Weston Station will still go ahead, even though pedestrian access and transfers to local transit lines will be less than ideal. Rail platforms will be accessed from Union Street, not directly from St. Clair Avenue, Keele Street, or Old Weston Road. Though TTC buses could be diverted to the planned bus loop, transfers to streetcars on the 512 St. Clair line will be awkward and unattractive to riders. (See my supplementary post that describes the challenges in more detail.)
Map of inner portion of GO Kitchener Line, UP Express, and connecting rapid transit lines
Woodbine GO Station (not to be confused with Woodbine subway station on Line 2), located on the Woodbine Racetrack lands, is now under construction. When complete, it will replace Etobicoke North Station, which only has one platform and cannot be easily expanded for a four-track mainline. There is the potential for a short extension of the soon-to-open Line 6 Finch West LRT to Woodbine from Humber College. Woodbine Station would serve both GO trains and UPX, allowing passengers from Kitchener-Waterloo and Guelph to make an easy transfer to Pearson Airport. Woodbine would also be a logical transfer point between local GO trains to Bramalea and Mount Pleasant and express GO trains to Guelph and Kitchener.
With these decisions in mind, the challenge now will be figuring out how to serve the new Kitchener Line stations.
What is UP Express for, anyway?
UP Express and GO trains near Union Station
UP Express, for all its faults, is an example of what urban regional rail looks like. Trains are frequent – every 15 minutes – seven days a week, from early in the morning to late at night, with the last train leaving Union at 1:00 AM. Stations feature high-level boarding, ideal for quick and easy boarding, especially for those passengers with luggage, strollers, or using mobility devices. The only other comparable example in North America is Denver’s A-Line train, an electrified service which also makes multiple stop between the downtown core and the city’s international airport.
A 15-minute frequency is important as it is commonly cited as the minimum level of service for a “get up and go” level of transit convenience and attractiveness. Right now, the Kitchener Corridor has a base hourly service between Union and Bramalea seven days a week, with additional peak-direction express trains and 30 minute service during much of the weekday service period.
Because of its reliable and frequent service and affordable fares, UPX has become a victim of its own success, with many riders travelling between Union, Bloor, and Weston, rather than going all the way to and from the airport. This problem was especially evident when riders were left stranded after the end of game seven of the 2025 World Series. The last train left Union station completely full, not long after the game finished in extra innings.
Fares for riding UPX are quite reasonable. When UP Express was first launched, a one-way fare to the airport was $27.50. In 2016, that adult fare dropped to $12.00, today it is $12.35. Adult fares paid with a Presto card are discounted by $3.10. An adult fare between Weston and Union is just over $5. However, UPX despite being owned and operated by Metrolinx, has no fare integration with GO Transit, and it is not part of the provincial One Fare program that permits free transfers between GO, the TTC and other GTHA transit agencies. This is likely intended to minimize overcrowding, even though it limits the utility of UPX.
Another constraint is the UPX fleet and station size. All UPX stations are designed for three-car trains, as the service was designed to be a premium airport rail link, not an urban transit service. There are just 18 Nippon Sharyo DMU rail cars available for service, assembled into four 3-car trains, and two 2-car trains. The interior design is set up for a premium airport service, with rows of forward/backward facing individual seats and lots of luggage space.
These challenges will be exasperated with the addition of new stations at Mount Dennis and St. Clair-Old Weston. Furthermore, Metrolinx has requested that City of Toronto modify plans for the St. Clair-Old Weston (or SCOW) station to be UPX-only. According to an October 21, 2025 report to Council’s Executive Committee, “Metrolinx has indicated that this service change is required to maintain the 15-minute (or better) service frequency commitment made by Metrolinx for the SmartTrack Program, which can no longer be maintained by GO service.”
Despite Metrolinx building a fourth track on the Weston Subdivision that will extend to Pearson Junction (where the UPX tracks diverge towards the airport) from the Union Station Rail Corridor (hence the closures of the West Toronto Rail Path), it seems that it can not commit to operating 15-minute service for both GO and UPX service, which seems like a ridiculous state of affairs when this is common practice in Europe and Asia. This goes against the whole concept of GO Expansion, which promised to deliver fast, frequent, integrated GO service to most of its corridors.
2022 Metrolinx map depicting corridor improvements, electrification, and 15-minute service for the inner portions of the Lakeshore West, Lakeshore East, Stouffville, Barrie, and Kitchener lines.2022 Metrolinx map showing the Kitchener Corridor with “corridor improvements and electrification” for the Toronto-Bramalea inner portion of the line, along with other construction projects between Bramalea and Kitchener.
Perhaps Metrolinx’s inability to conceive of GO becoming more than just a suburban commuter railway is why Deutsche Bahn pulled out of its contract with Metrolinx early in 2025. Since The Trillium’s June 2025 investigation, there has been little said about the collapse of GO Expansion. Communications and transparency have not been Metrolinx’s strong suit, especially in the last few years as Doug Ford’s PC government has tightened its control on all government communications.
So, if St. Clair-Old Weston is served only by UP Express, it will have to be completely rethought. It will not be able to offer an exclusive, 25-minute ride between Terminal 1 and Pearson Airport. That in itself is fine. A train taking 30 minutes to travel the same distance, with a few additional stops will work, provided that the trains have the capacity to serve both airport passengers and urban transit riders. Stations should be six cars long, then, with a new Union Station terminal, ideally under the main trainshed for easy connections to TTC, GO, and VIA Rail. GO Transit trains would then focus on suburban and regional travel between Toronto, Malton, Brampton, Guelph, and Kitchener, skipping most existing stops in the City of Toronto, part from Woodbine and perhaps Bloor.
But Metrolinx, the City, and the Province need to express their intentions openly and clearly so that we, the passengers and taxpayers, know what will happen, and that we will get the best transit possible. Let’s be smart about this.
Bloor-Lansdowne Station construction, November 2, 2025
Bloor-Lansdowne Station, one of five “SmartTrack” stations planned for existing GO Transit rail lines in the City of Toronto, is located just south of Bloor Street West on the GO Barrie Line, and south of the Davenport Diamond grade-separation. The purpose of this new two-platform GO station is to provide a new connection between GO trains and the TTC subway, similar to existing stations like Bloor/Dundas West, Danforth/Main Street, or Downsview Park. Unfortunately, it will not be an easy transfer.
The future Bloor-Lansdowne station entrance, 2025Rendering of Bloor-Lansdowne Station entrance (from Metrolinx web page)
When GO Transit began operations on the Lakeshore Line in 1967, it was built on a shoestring, meant to be a three-year experiment to see if commuter rail would work in the growing Greater Toronto Area. Stations were built cheaply, with asphalt platforms with bus shelters, constructed on easily purchased land for suburban parking lots. At stations like Long Branch and Danforth, connections to TTC subways and streetcars were on-street; most connections would be made at Union Station. When the Georgetown (now Kitchener) Line opened in 1974, Bloor Station was accessed only by narrow stairways down to the sidewalk, with a 4-5 minute walk to Dundas West Station (a direct subway connection is finally nearing completion). Newer GO rail stations, like Kipling (1980-1981), Kennedy (GO platform opened 2005), and Downsview Park (2015), were built with direct intermodal connections, befitting GO’s increasing importance. When it opens on November 16, Mount Dennis GO/UP station will have a direct connection to the future Line 5 Crosstown LRT.
Though Lansdowne subway station is north of Bloor Street and two blocks to the east, the new GO station will be located entirely south of Bloor Street
But Bloor-Lansdowne, located next to a former Value Village, will feature a subway-train transfer worse than the current connection between Bloor GO and Dundas West subway station. It took me nearly 7 minutes to get from the Lansdowne subway platform to the planned main entrance below the rail overpasses, including waiting at the Bloor-Lansdowne intersection for a walk signal, and crossing an unsignalized intersection at St. Helens Avenue. (See video below.)
The construction of a new pedestrian overpass connected with the long-delayed Davenport Greenway will provide a slightly more pleasant walking path between the subway and GO train, avoiding a busy signalized intersection. But it will not reduce walking times or the amount of time without shelter from the elements.
Proposed Davenport Greenway
Granted, for some commuters, Bloor-Lansdowne will significantly reduce travel times, especially for those travelling between parts of York Region and western Toronto. But nearby Bloor Station on the GO Kitchener Line will have much better TTC connections and more frequent service with both GO and UP Express service and will be a much more attractive route towards Downtown Toronto. Compared to the benefits to riders on the 39/939 Finch East — the TTC’s busiest bus corridor — that Finch-Kennedy Station will offer, or the benefit of King-Liberty’s GO and UP Express service to riders in Liberty Village, Parkdale, and West Queen West with King-Liberty, Bloor-Lansdowne has limited ridership potential.
An UP Express train passes the intersection of Union and Townsley Streets
At the lonely corner of Union and Townsley Streets sits the site of St. Clair-Old Weston Road Station, one of five proposed new GO stations in the City of Toronto as part of the remnants of the SmartTrack brand. The station’s name (which will likely be revised closer to opening day) refers to the intersection of St. Clair Avenue West and Old Weston Road, one block to the east. After years of benign neglect, the northwest corner of the old City of Toronto is seeing new development.
The old Heydon House Hotel stands at the corner of St. Clair Avenue and Old Weston Road
The former Ontario Stockyards and associated slaughterhouses is now a busy retail area. A large cluster of midrise and highrise development proposals are in the pipeline surrounding the station site, spurred on by a city-initiated transportation plan and the provincial major transportation transit area (MTSA) designation. More transit will be needed to serve the planned growth, and that’s where the new station comes in.
Right now, the corner of Union and Townsley is eerily quiet. At the corner of Old Weston and Townsley, a once-popular flea market was demolished, with no immediate plans for the site. The Consolidated Bottle Company plant on Union Street sits empty, awaiting future development. To the south, the Delta Bingo on St. Clair West is also the site of a planned highrise cluster. There are other proposals along Union Street to the north. But right now, it’s a great place to dump waste.
A no dumping sign and an abandoned rail spur crossing on Union StreetMissing sidewalks on Townsley Street, looking west from Old Weston RoadSt. Clair-Old Weston Station site plan
Despite the promise of new development, the station site plan leaves a lot to be desired. Connections to the nearby 512 St. Clair Streetcar will be awkward. A planned bus loop would require a diversion for nearby TTC bus routes, except the low-frequency 127 Davenport, which terminates by the old flea market site. An underpass that allows St. Clair Avenue to duck under the Metrolinx and CPKC railways will have to be rebuilt, with streetcar closures planned starting next year. Though likely not included (the street right-of-way will not be widened during the work, despite traffic congestion through this pinch point), extending walkways and even rail platforms to the south side of St. Clair would improve connections considerably and reduce walking times to several of the proposed developments. Under the current plan, train platforms would be located entirely north of St. Clair Avenue, with no direct station access from the busy arterial.
The narrow St. Clair Avenue underpass, a traffic pinch point, is due for replacement
New GO Transit bus stop on Chiefswood Road at Six Nations
As we enter Spring 2025, there are a few significant changes in Ontario’s intercity transportation services. A new daily GO Transit route will now connect Six Nations and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation with Brantford, Hamilton, and Greater Toronto. A new seasonal Waterloo-Burlington weekend express could foreshadow more direct service between Kitchener/Waterloo and Hamilton in the future. Flixbus moved its Ottawa terminal stop to the VIA Rail station, joining Ontario Northland and Orleans Express.
However, there are also some cuts, triggered by the end of the Ontario Intercommunity Transportation Grants. Grey County will terminate all GTR services with the exception of Route 1 between Dundalk, Shelburne, and Orangeville. T:GO is ending its intercommunity services outside of Tillsonburg, including routes that connect with Woodstock and London. PC Connect is cutting its rural route that serves places like Mitchell and Milverton (though routes connecting Listowel, Stratford, and St. Marys to Kitchener/Waterloo and London will continue).
Unfortunately, T:GO will end all intercommunity bus routes outside of Tillsonburg, including the link to Woodstock
Recently, I provided my expertise mapping Canada’s intercity transit links to Transport Canada, which allowed me to enhance and update the interactive map. I am also working with Transport Action Canada to support their efforts advocating improved intercity transport across the country.
As always, please contact me with feedback, corrections, or updates. It is a challenge continually maintaining a Canada-wide map given how frequently things change.
Metrolinx rendering of the planned new Drury Lane pedestrian overpassin Burlington
On the home page of Metrolinx, the provincial agency tasked with building and operating regional transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and beyond, there is a statement under the heading “Connecting Communities.”
The Greater Golden Horseshoe is growing, and you need to get places. Our transit projects will connect new, established and emerging communities across the Greater Golden Horseshoe. – Metrolinx
Unfortunately, the very same transit projects and rail corridor upgrades can serve to disconnect, rather than connect, communities. Too often, GO Transit lines are secured without regard to the neighbourhoods they run through, without simple and convenient crossings for pedestrians and cyclists. Where overpasses are provided, they are built in such a way that makes them more difficult than necessary to cross.
A GO Transit train passes under the existing Drury Lane pedestrian overpass
Take the example of the planned replacement of the Drury Lane pedestrian overpass in Burlington, which connects Fairview Avenue to the south and Orpha Street and a postwar residential neighbourhood to the north. With Burlington GO Station only 500 metres to the west, the pedestrian overpass provides a useful connection to GO and Burlington Transit services as well as (the station’s north end is poorly connected to the Orpha Street area, it is primarily a motor vehicle access to a large parking structure). Drury Lane continues south of Fairview Street towards Burlington’s Central Park, the city’s main library branch, and leads towards the waterfront and downtown core. Unlike Brant Street, Fairview Street, or Guelph Line, Drury Lane is relatively quiet, with painted cycle lanes.
The planned new Drury Lane pedestrian overpassin Burlingtonwith lengthy access ramps
The new overpass, replacing the existing 50-year-old structure, will be taller, with longer approach ramps. Metrolinx touts the improved accessibility of the new bridge, even though it will add more time to travel times with an extra ramp segment on each end. No stairs are provided to provide a short-cut for those able to navigate steps.
The new bridge’s increased height will provide additional clearance for the planned electrification of the Lakeshore West rail corridor.
Existing ramps at the north (Orpha Street) end, which requires three full turns to reach the top
A simpler solution would have to build an underpass, which would require a much shorter vertical route for pedestrians and cyclists. Indeed, the rails are on a slight embankment above street level already. A wide, well-lit underpass would improve accessibility; in fact, pedestrian underpasses are provided at nearly all GO rail station where grade separations are required as they provide quicker and easier access between platforms and the station building, parking and bus stops.
Though it has yet to open, the Paton Road connection under the GO Barrie Line in Toronto shows how a wide pedestrian underpass could look.
There are many other opportunities for safe and accessible pedestrian and cycling infrastructure along GO Transit corridors. The best example might be in North York, where the combination of a Metrolinx rail corridor and a twelve-lane Highway 401 make pedestrian and cyclist movement especially difficult and unsafe. At one time, it was easy (though still illegal) to cross the tracks between Floral Parkway, a residential street running east-west from Keele Street to the GO Barrie Line, to Bridgeland Road, an industrial street connecting to Caledonia Road and leading towards Yorkdale Mall.
By the late 2000s, new fencing was put up to prevent pedestrian crossings here; this was further upgraded with reinforced chainlink fences, and more recently, a noise wall. Metrolinx knew this was a popular place to cross, but instead of providing a safe route (either a signalized and gated at-grade crossing, an overpass, or an underpass), it worked only to harden its property.
The highly-secured Bridgeland Road/Floral Parkway crossing in 2013The Bridgeland/Floral crossing in January 2025, with a noise barrier completely blocking Floral Parkway from the tracks
As new high-density residential development is nearing completion at Dufferin and Bridgeland on the site of an old Holiday Inn, as well as mixed-use development planned at Yorkdale Mall and a major hospital at Keele and Highway 401, there is even more of a need for sustainable, safe, active transport. The walk between Floral Parkway and Bridgeland Road is 49 minutes; the Highway 401 interchanges at Keele and Dufferin are also unsafe to navigate by foot or bicycle; fast moving traffic and narrow sidewalks make them unpleasant as well.
We need local and provincial officials to push for safe and accessible access across transit corridors and major highways for all users, but especially pedestrians and cyclists who are typically overlooked when these projects are planned and built.
Though transit construction is very beneficial for the region’s growth, it is still frustrating when an agency tasked with “[connecting] new, established and emerging communities across the Greater Golden Horseshoe” fails to connect the communities its transit projects run through.
Sean Marshall 