Politicians from all three levels of government braved the cold outside Agincourt GO Station on Monday, December 21 to officially break ground for building the first of the Transit City light rail transit (LRT) lines.
The 14-kilometre Sheppard East LRT will stretch from Don Mills Station along Sheppard Avenue East to Meadowvale Road.
Metrolinx will oversee the project and own the line, while the TTC will operate it. The new line will connect to the the TTC’s 4 Sheppard subway, York Region Transit’s VIVA bus rapid transit service, GO Transit’s rail service at the Agincourt GO Station and other Transit City lines.
A federal - provincial funding partnership supports building the Sheppard East LRT. The Government of Canada will contribute one-third of the total cost, to as much as $333 million, with the Province of Ontario providing two-thirds, or more than $633 million.
The Sheppard East LRT is one of the projects that “The Big Move”, Metrolinx’ regional transportation plan identified as a priority for building. Viva is also one of the components of the Government of Ontario’s MoveOntario 2020 plan.
You can find out more about the proposed Transit City network of light rail transit lines across the City of Toronto here and here. You can find out more about the Sheppard East LRT here.