Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario signed a project agreement with ONxpress Transportation Partners to enter the development phase of the On-Corridor Works project of the GO Rail Expansion programme.
The ONxpress Transportation Partners is a consortium comprising Alstom, Aecon Group, Deutsche Bahn International Operations and FCC Construcción.
“This multi-billion dollar capital programme will transform the regional rail network with electrification, more frequent service, shorter journey times and a more modernised system for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Region,” Infrastructure Ontario says.
The On-Corridor Works package is a single, innovative, fully-integrated contract to run more and better service for the regional GO rail system. ONxpress is responsible for designing, building, operating and maintaining all GO rail infrastructure and trains for 25 years. This includes all works that facilitate train service, such as track, civil infrastructure, signalling, electrification infrastructure and electric vehicles, as well as the operations and maintenance of the GO rail network.
The consortium will ensure the operation of train services including train crewing, timetable planning and train control for all operators across the GO-owned network, will deliver maintenance and rehabilitation works for the new railway corridor assets and select existing railway corridor assets, rolling stock maintenance, will build a new maintenance and train storage and/or layover facilities. In addition, it will also reconstruct the track and platforms at Union Station.
Within the consortium, Alstom is the systems and integration team and will supply the new electric locomotives, train control systems, a new traction power system and network electrification. Alstom will also upgrade the existing GO Transit BiLevel rolling stock, signalling systems, telecommunications systems, and other digital equipment, and maintain the new locomotives and signalling system for a period of 25 years.
As On-Corridor Works is a complex regional project with multiple external interfaces, stakeholders, utility and operational elements, it is being delivered as a Progressive DBOM (design-build-operate-maintain) model.
The magnitude of On-Corridor Works requires a two-year development phase to progress the design and construction of any early works for the project. The contract cost and schedule will be shared publicly once this phase is completed in 2024.
The GO Rail Expansion programme covers the construction of 205 km of tracks which will reinforce the existing 400 km rail system, the electrification of 687 km of tracks, the construction of 6 maintenance and train facilities, and the modernisation of 42 stations.
When completed, the project will provide more than 6,000 transport services per week on the 5 rail lines and it is expected that the Go rail system will record an annual ridership of over 200 million by 2055.
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