BLAST network | |||
---|---|---|---|
Overview | |||
Locale | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | ||
Transit type | Light rail / bus rapid transit | ||
Number of lines | 5 | ||
Website | (Re)envision the HSR | ||
Operation | |||
Operator(s) | Hamilton Street Railway | ||
Technical | |||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
|
The BLAST network was a plan for a frequent rapid transit system in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The system is planned to include five routes, with two light rail transit (LRT) lines, and three bus rapid transit (BRT) lines.
In 2019, the City of Hamilton launched a project entitled (Re)envision the HSR, which was an evolution on the BLAST network. The new plan includes an additional E-Line. As a result, the BLAST network branding is no longer used.
In 1981, during Bill Davis's Progressive Conservative administration, the Province of Ontario offered to finance the construction of a light metro in Hamilton from Lloyd D. Jackson Square to the Lime Ridge Mall. The line would have employed the ICTS platform used in the Scarborough RT in Toronto and the Expo Line in Vancouver. The plan, however, faced significant local opposition, and Hamilton-Wentworth Council rejected the proposal. The plan called for an elevated track –one of the elements that triggered opposition, with residents suggesting commuters would be invading their privacy by looking down on their back-yards and in their second floor windows. [1]
BLAST was conceived as part of the city's 2007 transportation master plan. It was later incorporated by Metrolinx as part of its regional transportation plan, The Big Move. [2] [3] The B-Line LRT and A-Line were among the plan's prioritized transit expansion projects and were funded by the Government of Ontario in May 2015. [4]
By 2019, Hamilton and Metrolinx were preparing to build the B-Line (Hamilton LRT). [5] Land acquisition and building demolition for a 14-kilometre (8.7 mi) line from McMaster University to Eastgate Square had started. [6] On December 16, 2019, the Government of Ontario announced it was cancelling its funding for the BLAST system's B-Line LRT, due to cost overruns. [7] The provincial Ministry of Infrastructure noted that provincial funds originally planned for the Hamilton LRT project would be redistributed to other transportation infrastructure projects, with consultation with a newly formed Hamilton Transportation Task Force and Hamilton's city council. [8] On April 9, 2020, the Hamilton Transportation Task Force released the report, suggested that the city need a "higher order transit project", and it could be either LRT on B-Line or BRT on both B-Line and A-Line. [9]
On February 9, 2021, the province reversed its decision and reinstated the project as the Hamilton LRT. [10]
The B-Line LRT and A-Line BRT are the top transit priorities for the City of Hamilton and were originally scheduled for completion in 2024. [11]
The Metrolinx Regional Transportation Plan 2041 outlines a proposed regional transportation network for service by 2041. [12] It includes four priority bus routes and an LRT to run on the north portion of the A-Line. BRT and LRT transit lines included in Metrolinx's Regional Transportation Plan include:
Line | Type | Corridor / main route | Termini | Opening Target | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LRT | Main Street, King Street and Queenston Road | McMaster University | Eastgate Square | 2024 | |
BRT | University Plaza | McMaster University | Before 2041 | ||
BRT | Highway 6 and York Boulevard | Downtown Hamilton | Waterdown | Before 2041 | |
LRT | James Street and Upper James Street | Hamilton Waterfront | Hamilton International Airport | Before 2041 | |
BRT | 2024 | ||||
BRT | Centennial Parkway, Upper Centennial Parkway, Rymal Road and Garner Road | Ancaster Business Park | Confederation GO Station | Before 2041 | |
BRT | Kenilworth Avenue, Upper Ottawa Street, and Mohawk Road | Meadowlands | The Centre on Barton | Before 2041 |
Though the A-Line and B-Line projects were targeted for 2024, the timeframe for both has slipped significantly. On November 6, 2024, Metrolinx issued a request for qualifications for utility relocation and renewal, roads, sidewalks and traffic control signals along the B-Line route. [13] No timeline is currently provided for the beginning of construction or updated target date for opening.
The Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) is the public transport agency for Hamilton, Ontario. The name is a legacy of the company's early period, when public transit in Hamilton was primarily served by streetcars. Although streetcars are no longer used in the city today, the HSR operates bus and paratransit services, with a ridership of 21 million passengers a year.
Lakeshore West is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station in Toronto to Hamilton, along the shore of Lake Ontario. Some train trips extend past Hamilton to St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.
Kitchener is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends westward from Union Station in Toronto to Kitchener, though most trains originate and terminate in Brampton in off-peak hours.
The Mississauga Transitway is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It comprises a series of purpose-constructed bus-only roadways, as well as reserved lanes on existing city streets and portions of Highway 403, that together form a continuous 18 km (11 mi) route spanning most of the city from Winston Churchill Boulevard in the west to the junction of Highways 401 and 427 in the east on the border with Toronto. Service on the Transitway is provided by MiWay and GO Transit, with some stations providing connections to Brampton Transit and Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) bus services.
Metrolinx is a transportation agency in Ontario, Canada. It is a Crown agency that manages and integrates road and public transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). It was created as the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority on June 22, 2006, and adopted its present name as a brand name in 2007 and eventually as the legal name in 2009. It is headquartered at Union Station in Toronto.
Transit City was a plan for developing public transport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was first proposed and announced on 16 March 2007 by Toronto mayor David Miller and Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) chair Adam Giambrone. The plan called for the construction of seven new light rail lines along the streets of seven priority transit corridors, which would have eventually been integrated with existing rapid transit, streetcar, and bus routes. Other transit improvements outlined in the plan included upgrading and extending the Scarborough RT line, implementing new bus rapid transit lines, and improving frequency and timing of 21 key bus routes. The plan integrated public transportation objectives outlined in the City of Toronto Official Plan, the TTC Ridership Growth Strategy and Miller's 2006 election platform.
Line 5 Eglinton, also known as the Eglinton Crosstown LRT or the Crosstown, is a light rail transit line that is under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to expand and improve public transportation in the Greater Toronto Area. Owned by Metrolinx and operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the line will be part of the Toronto subway system. The Crosstown was conceived in 2007 during the administration of Toronto mayor David Miller as part of Transit City, a large-scale transit expansion plan. The line is being constructed in two phases.
The Don Mills LRT is a canceled proposal for a light rail line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was part of the Transit City proposal announced March 16, 2007, to be operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It was expected to cost approximately $675 million, with construction to begin in 2012, and an expected opening in 2016. It would have been the fifth of the seven Transit City lines to be complete after the Sheppard East, Finch West, Waterfront West, and Eglinton lines. Ridership was estimated to be 21.2 million trips in 2021.
The Jane LRT is an inactive proposal for a light rail line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was originally proposed in 2007, cancelled in 2010, and later revived in the 2013 "Feeling Congested?" report by the City of Toronto, where it was labelled as a "Future Transit Project". However, in April 2019, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the province's plans for rapid transit development and funding for the Greater Toronto Area that omitted the Jane LRT.
Line 6 Finch West, also known as the Finch West LRT, is a light rail transit line under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to be operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. The 10.3-kilometre (6.4 mi), 18-stop line is to extend from Finch West station on Line 1 Yonge–University to the North Campus of Humber Polytechnic in Etobicoke. The line will operate in a dedicated above-ground right-of-way, much of it within Finch Avenue, segregated from street traffic. The line will use transit signal priority and standard gauge rather than the broad Toronto gauge. The line is forecast to carry about 14.6 million rides a year or 40,000 a day by 2031 and will replace the 36B Finch West bus route, which is one of the three busiest bus routes in Toronto. In 2023, Line 6 was expected to open within the first half of 2024, with an estimated cost of CA$2.5 billion. In early December 2024, Councillor Jamaal Myers, chairman of the TTC board, stated that the TTC did not expect Line 6 to open before June 2025 at the earliest. Metrolinx, the project owner, has not announced an opening date.
The Hurontario LRT is a light rail line under construction in the cities of Mississauga and Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The line will run along Hurontario Street from Mississauga's Port Credit neighbourhood north to Steeles Avenue in Brampton. The line will be built and operated as a public-private partnership by Mobilinx, a consortium of private European and Japanese companies, with provincial transit agency Metrolinx retaining ownership of the line. It will be the only street railway operating in the Greater Toronto Area outside Toronto proper.
The Hamilton LRT is a planned light rail line in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, to operate along Main Street, King Street, and Queenston Road. It is one of five planned rapid transit lines which form Hamilton's proposed BLAST network. The 14 km (8.7 mi), 17-stop route is planned to extend from McMaster University to Eastgate Square via downtown Hamilton.
The A-Line is a proposed rapid transit line running along James Street in downtown and Upper James Street on the escarpment in Hamilton, Ontario. It is part of Hamilton's proposed BLAST network, involving four other rapid transit corridors. It is identified by Metrolinx in its regional transportation plan The Big Move as a project to be completed by 2023. The route is currently served by Hamilton Street Railway's Route 20 A-Line Express bus.
Confederation GO Station is a GO bus stop and planned train station to be built by Metrolinx in East Hamilton, Ontario. The station is named for Confederation Beach Park, nearby on Lake Ontario.
Renforth, referred to during planning as Renforth Gateway, is a bus station on the border of the cities of Mississauga and Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. Located at Eglinton Avenue and Renforth Drive, it is the eastern terminus of the Mississauga Transitway and is close to the interchange between Highway 401 and Highway 427.
The Dundas Street bus rapid transit is a proposed bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor proposed by Metrolinx for the western part of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is part of the regional transportation plan The Big Move. Metrolinx currently refers to the project as Dundas BRT without the word "Street". The City of Mississauga used the brand Dundas Connects during the development phase.
A rapid transit corridor is proposed along Steeles Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which would be operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. It has not been determined if this corridor would be a bus rapid transit or a light rail transit line. It is identified by Metrolinx in its regional transportation plan The Big Move as a project to be completed in its 25-year plan. In February 2016, City of Toronto and TTC planners recommended implementing the Steeles BRT/LRT within a 15-year horizon. At a meeting on February 20, 2020, the Metrolinx board of directors endorsed a prioritization framework for a proposed Frequent Rapid Transit Network that included a proposed BRT from Pioneer Village station to McCowan Road. The proposed 20.8 km line along Steeles Avenue had a forecasted ridership of 11,700 in 2031. The project scored 'high' with a preliminary benefit-cost ratio of over 0.90. The TTC released their 2020-2024 5-year Service Plan and 10-year Outlook, which discussed the implementation of exclusive bus lanes, stop consolidation, all-door boarding and other transit priority measures to speed up bus service on Steeles Avenue West between Pioneer Village Station and the future Steeles Station that will be constructed as part of the Yonge North Subway Extension. Currently, the implementation timeframe is to be determined following feedback on the RapidTO Eglinton East Bus Lanes and public consultation with the surrounding community.
The Big Move is a regional transportation plan (RTP) published in 2008 and consisting of 62 rapid transit projects to be implemented across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). These rapid transit projects are intended to form a seamlessly integrated regional rapid transit network, which is the first priority action in the regional transportation plan. These projects form two long-term templates with 15 and 25 year horizons. These templates outline broad projects; specific details about technology, alignment, stations and service levels for each project are subsequently determined though a cost–benefit analysis or an environmental assessment process.
Urban rail transit in Canada encompasses a broad range of rail mass transit systems, including commuter rail, rapid transit, light rail, and streetcar systems.
Durham–Scarborough bus rapid transit (DSBRT) is a future bus rapid transit corridor proposed by Metrolinx for the eastern part of the Greater Toronto Area in Southern Ontario, Canada. The 36-kilometre (22 mi) bus corridor will run from downtown Oshawa to Scarborough Town Centre in Toronto, mainly along Durham Region Highway 2 in Durham Region and Ellesmere Road in the Scarborough district of Toronto. Dedicated bus lanes will be used where feasible. Buses of the Toronto Transit Commission, Durham Region Transit and GO Transit would use the busway. Metrolinx has indicated that the BRT could be easily converted to LRT in the future if required.