History
ICTS proposal (1981)
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 backyards and in their second-floor windows. [1]
BLAST network and Rapid Ready (2007–2019)
The BLAST network was a former iteration of Hamilton's transit network planning. It was initially proposed as part of the city's 2007 transportation master plan, with three lines which would become the BLAST A-, B-, and T-Lines. Other corridors, including the BLAST S-Line, were also identified for future expansion.
These corridors were later incorporated by Metrolinx as part of its regional transportation plan, The Big Move, approved in September 2008. [2] [3] The L-Line would not be conceived until an October 2008 report from city staff, at which point the network was given the BLAST name. [4]
In February 2013, the City of Hamilton would release a transportation plan entitled Rapid Ready. [5] [6] Initially intended as a five year plan prior to the B-Line LRT delays, this report set out three main objectives to ensure effective usage of the LRT:
- improvement and reconfiguration of the transit network
- supportive community planning, including land use and density
- multi-modal integration
The B-Line LRT and A-Line were among The Big Move's prioritized transit expansion projects and were funded by the Government of Ontario in May 2015. [7] Originally, the A-Line was planned to be a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) light rail transit (LRT) spur from King Street to West Harbour GO Station, and potentially extending to Hamilton Harbour; however, this was reassessed and cut due to budget concerns and reported community desire for greater route coverage. [8] The A-Line was henceforth planned as a bus rapid transit service from the waterfront to Hamilton Airport. [9] [10] Upon Metrolinx's 2041 Regional Transportation Plan being published in March 2018, the waterfront portion was dropped. The agency would recommend dedicated BRT from West Harbour GO to Rymal Road, and priority bus service from Rymal Road to the airport. [11]
LRT defunding and revival, (Re)envision the HSR (2019–2025)
In January 2019, the City of Hamilton launched a project entitled (Re)envision the HSR to solicit feedback from the community on an improved system network. [12] [13] This was justified by the Rapid Ready plan's objectives of multi-modality and an LRT-supportive bus network.
Through 2019, Hamilton and Metrolinx were preparing to build the B-Line LRT. [14] Land acquisition and building demolition for a 14-kilometre (8.7 mi) line from McMaster University to Eastgate Square had started. [15]
On December 16, 2019, the Government of Ontario announced it was cancelling its funding for the LRT due to cost overruns. [16] 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. [17]
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 A-Line and B-Line. [18]
On February 9, 2021, the province reversed its decision and reinstated the project as the Hamilton LRT. [19] Though the LRT is no longer referred to as the B-Line, the bus service that runs along the equivalent route retains the name.
In July 2021, the city received $370 million from the provincial and federal governments to be used for the transportation network, alongside a $134 million contribution from the city. [20] [21] This included provisions for:
- a bus garage in the lower city and an accompanying rail bridge
- 85 new buses
- A-Line improvements, including signal priority, 5 queue jump lanes, 19 improved bus stops, and 17 kilometers of sidewalk
- 92 additional compressed natural gas buses
- dispatch and geolocation technology for real-time bus tracking
- active transportation improvements including bicycle infrastructure and a pedestrial bridge
By 2023, planning work on the (Re)envision the HSR project began to show fruits. According to a city report from April 2023, the BLAST network was insufficient due to incomplete links between high-use transit areas, poor connections, and poor access to rapid transit across Hamilton communities. [22] The city claims the redesigned network will place approximately 309,000 residents will be within 800 metres (2,600 ft) of rapid transit, a 23% increase over the original BLAST network concept. [23]
The project was an evolution of the BLAST network with the following changes:
The BLAST network branding would no longer be used in public-facing material but would continue to be used for internal planning leading up to HSR Next's announcement.
On November 6, 2024, Metrolinx released a request for qualifications for civil works and utilities along the LRT route, using an alliance delivery model. [24] In May 2025, Metrolinx announced that four consortia had been shortlisted for the civil works and utilities package. [25]
HSR Next (from 2025)
On June 24, 2025, Metrolinx hosted a virtual open house for the Hamilton LRT. [26] During the presentation, Nicholas Chaloux, HSR manager of transit strategic planning, unveiled the resulting network of the (Re)envision the HSR initiative, branded as HSR Next. The plan intends to shift away from the existing hub-and-spoke network to a point-to-point network, improving efficiency and cutting trip times. The myRide on-demand service was also planned to be expanded to parts of Dundas, Ancaster, Glanbrook, Stoney Creek, more areas of Waterdown, and in the southeast portion of Hamilton Mountain from Heritage Greene Shopping Centre to Elfrida Gateway.
As part of the new point-to-point network, West Harbour GO Station is intended to become a new primary lower city terminal. The proposed alignment map shows no routes passing through the current Frank A. Cooke Transit Terminal. [27] [28]
Travel from the Hamilton LRT to local GO Transit stations will require no more than one transfer. Due to the scope of the plan, route changes are to be phased in gradually. The BRT lines retain the B-L-A-S-T-E letters in their naming, but route maps now feature the route numbering instead.
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Hamilton LRT 
B-Line East
A-Line 
S-Line
E-Line
T-Line
L-Line
L-Line