(The following story by Jennifer Lewington appeared on the Globe and Mail website on November 13.)
TORONTO — A proposed train service between Pearson Airport and downtown, with trips every 15 minutes and a one-way fare of $20, takes a big step forward today when SNC-Lavalin is named to build the $200-million project, sources say.
The service is to begin in 2008.
Sources say the bid by SNC-Lavalin Engineers and Constructors Inc., a subsidiary of the giant Canadian engineering company, was chosen over three consortiums that the federal government had asked last May to come up with a business case proposal by this fall.
Blue 22, so named for the 22-minute trip between the airport and Union Station, would operate with conventional diesel trains on tracks that now carry Via Rail and GO Transit passengers between Union Station and Woodbine Racetrack in northwest Toronto.
SNC-Lavalin would add a spur line to connect with the airport and build its own ticketing and embarkation area at either end.
The air-rail link, to be privately financed, does not involve a federal subsidy.
It is not seen as a problem issue for the new government Paul Martin will lead in Ottawa. In contrast, a recent announcement on Via funding drew a cool reception from Mr. Martin because it was seen as a move to tie the hands of his future Liberal government.
Federal Transport Minister David Collenette is expected to announce the selection of SNC-Lavalin at a news conference at Union Station today.
Despite the announcement, the air-rail link is not a done deal. However, as the winning bidder, SNC-Lavalin now can proceed to detailed negotiations with other key players, including Pearson Airport, CN Rail and GO Transit.
For example, the company will need to work out the price of leasing track time from CN and space at Union Station. SNC-Lavalin would have to work out space arrangements at the airport as well.
The rail service would be built and managed by the private sector but federally regulated.
Last spring, Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin was part of a large consortium known as the Union Pearson Group but later broke away to bid on the air-rail link by itself.
Mr. Collenette, an unabashed train enthusiast, has been pushing for the air-rail link to Pearson for several years. With the new $4-billion terminal at Pearson, he has long argued that Toronto must join the club of international cities, London and Paris among them, that give air travellers the option of a train to reach their downtown destination.
This latest step toward an air-rail link has political repercussions for another controversial proposal: the plan to build a bridge to Toronto’s island airport.
Yesterday, Toronto mayor-elect David Miller seized on Mr. Collenette’s pending announcement as further evidence that the proposed bridge is unnecessary.
“It demonstrates that the transportation case for the island airport expansion and the bridge is over,” he said. “It’s good news for the city of Toronto.”
Mr. Miller, elected mayor on Monday, has vowed to reverse a decision by city council earlier this year that endorsed construction of the $22-million bridge by the Toronto Port Authority, a federal agency.
A source close to SNC-Lavalin, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the business case for the air-rail link improves if the bridge plan is shelved.
An expanded island airport would be competing for travellers who otherwise might go to Pearson by train. As it is, the source added, SNC-Lavalin has calculated that the rail link’s expected passenger volumes (more than one million a year initially) “are marginal from a profit standpoint.”
If the airport expansion proceeds, the source warned, “the business case for the rail link gets weaker and weaker.”
By one estimate, the proposed train service would carry about 1,600 passengers an hour between 6 a.m. and midnight. Others have been skeptical, questioning whether there is enough traffic to support the project.
While there is no direct subsidy for the project, the federal government earlier this year announced $435-million for improvements to GO Transit rail service in the Toronto region.
Included in the proposed upgrades are improvements to the rail corridor that the new train service would use.
When Mr. Collenette first announced the air-rail link concept, GO Transit was lukewarm to the idea. But with federal funding for GO, it will be much easier for the regional transit service to share the tracks with the air-rail link.