Michael Schabas

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Michael Schabas
Born17 November 1956 [ citation needed ]
Toronto, Canada [ citation needed ]

Michael Schabas is a UK-based railway consultant who has been involved in launching several railway projects and businesses. He has advised clients on projects in more than 20 other countries.

Contents

Early life and education

Schabas was born and raised in Toronto. He studied Architecture at the University of Toronto and City and Regional Planning at the Harvard Kennedy School. [1]

Career

When Schabas was Chairman of the City of Toronto Cycling Committee at the University of Toronto, he secured funding for the City’s first on-street cycle lanes. He attracted controversy by asserting cyclists had the same rights to use streets as cars. [2]

Schabas was employed by UTDC as Design Coordinator for the first Skytrain (Vancouver) line (now called the Expo Line), which was the world’s second driverless metro opened in 1985. He then worked in Toronto and Honolulu before moving to London as vice president of transportation for Olympia & York (O&Y), which were developing the Canary Wharf project in London Docklands. He led O&Y's involvement in planning and promotion of the Jubilee Line Extension and also instigated the re-signaling and re-engineering of the Docklands Light Railway.

In 1994, Schabas was retained by the London Borough of Newham to review the proposed Channel Tunnel Rail Link. He subsequently testified in the House of Lords for the Kings Cross Residents Association and argued against the plans to demolish their neighborhood for a new rail terminus. He suggested instead that the line could run into St Pancras which, at the time, was partly disused. Schabas was subsequently retained by British Rail, and plans were changed to use St Pancras. This, as well as the development of the Jubilee Line Extension, Docklands Light Railway, and London Overground, is covered in Schabas’s book, The Railway Metropolis – How Planners, Politicians and Developers Shaped Modern London , published 2016 by ICE Publishing.

In 1995, Schabas founded GB Railways (GBR), which went on to win the Anglia Railways franchise and to launch GB Railfreight and Hull Trains. [3] GB Railways was part of the Great Southern Railway consortium (now Journeys Beyond Rail Expeditions), which acquired the long-distance trains operated by Australian National Railways. The Indian Pacific and Ghan services of the Australian National Railways, GB Railfreight, and Hull Trains continue to operate without subsidy. [4]

In 2003, GBR was acquired by FirstGroup. [5]

Schabas remained to lead FirstGroup’s acquisition of A. Merl GmbH and expanded into the German bus market.

In 2008, Schabas joined the boutique railway consultancy First Class Partnerships (FCP) based in the UK as a senior partner. FCP merged with CPCS Transcom, a global infrastructure advisory firm based in Ottawa, Canada, in 2021. [6] [7]

In 2013, Schabas authored a review of “The Big Move”, Toronto’s regional transport plan for Neptis, a Canadian charitable foundation. [8] This generated renewed interest in electrification of the GO Transit regional rail system. Schabas and his firm FCP were subsequently retained by Metrolinx, the regional transit agency, to prepare an initial business case that led to the provincial government funding the project, now known as GO Expansion, with a total capital cost of about $20 billion.

In 2014, Schabas was retained to prepare a pre-feasibility study for a high-speed rail line between Toronto, Kitchener and London, Ontario. The study suggested the project could have a benefit-cost ratio of 3:1. [9]

In December 2018, Metrolinx, a public transit agency of the Government of Ontario, hired Schabas to lead a team to create a plan for the Ontario Line, a light metro proposed for the City of Toronto. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GO Transit</span> Ontario regional public transit system consisting of trains and buses

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Station (Toronto)</span> Railway station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Union Station is a major railway station and intermodal transportation hub in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Front Street West, on the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in downtown Toronto. The municipal government of Toronto owns the station building while the provincial transit agency Metrolinx owns the train shed and trackage. Union Station has been a National Historic Site of Canada since 1975, and a Heritage Railway Station since 1989. It is operated by the Toronto Terminals Railway, a joint venture of the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway that directs and controls train movement along the Union Station Rail Corridor, the largest and busiest rail corridor in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto subway</span> Rapid transit system in Ontario, Canada

The Toronto subway is a rapid transit system serving Toronto and the neighbouring city of Vaughan in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). As of September 2023, the subway system is a rail network consisting of three heavy-capacity rail lines operating predominantly underground. As of December 2022, three new lines are under construction: two light rail lines and one light metro line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakeshore West line</span> Commuter rail line serving Toronto, Canada

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitchener line</span> Passenger rail service in Southern Ontario, Canada

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. A two-year pilot project which began in October 2021 extends the line west to London, Ontario.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond Hill line</span> Commuter rail service in Ontario, Canada

Richmond Hill is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It operates between Union Station in Toronto to Bloomington GO Station in the north in Richmond Hill. Trains on the line operate only during weekday peak hours, while off-peak weekday times are served by the GO bus route 61.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakeshore East line</span> Railway line in Ontario, Canada

Lakeshore East is one of the seven commuter rail lines of GO Transit in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station in Toronto to Oshawa GO in Durham Region. Buses from Oshawa connect to communities further east in Newcastle, Bowmanville and Peterborough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloor GO Station</span> Railway station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Pearson Express</span> Airport rail link in Ontario, Canada

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Durham College Oshawa GO station is a station for commuter rail, passenger rail and regional bus services in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the terminal station for the Lakeshore East line of GO Transit and serves Via Rail's Corridor service, which travels from Toronto to both Ottawa and Montreal. The bus terminal is served by bus routes of GO Transit and Durham Region Transit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metrolinx</span> Crown agency owned by the Government of Ontario

Metrolinx is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario that manages and integrates road and public transport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), which comprises much of Ontario's Golden Horseshoe region. Headquartered at Union Station in Toronto, the agency was created as the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority on June 22, 2006. The agency adopted its present name as a brand name in 2007 and eventually as the legal name in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High-speed rail in Canada</span> Overview of the high-speed rail system in Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quebec City–Windsor Corridor (Via Rail)</span> Via Rail passenger train service area in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Line 6 Finch West</span> Under-construction light rail line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GO Expansion</span> Canadian rail expansion project

GO Expansion, previously known as GO Regional Express Rail (RER), is a project to improve GO Transit train service by adding all-day, two-way service to the inner portions of the Barrie line, Kitchener line and the Stouffville line, and by increasing frequency of train service on various lines to every 15 minutes or better on five of the corridors. This would be achieved with the electrification of at least part of the Lakeshore East line, Lakeshore West line, Barrie line, Kitchener line and Stouffville line. GO Expansion is one of the Big Move rapid transit projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GO Transit rail services</span> Services provided by GO Transit

GO Transit rail services are provided throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The GO Transit rail fleet consists of 90 MPI MP40 locomotives and 979 Bombardier BiLevel Coaches. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 25,484,600 passengers per year.

The Ontario Line is an under-construction rapid transit line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its northern terminus will be at Eglinton Avenue and Don Mills Road, at Science Centre station, where it will connect with Line 5 Eglinton. Its southern terminus will be at the existing Exhibition GO Station on the Lakeshore West line. The Ontario Line was announced by the Government of Ontario on April 10, 2019. As of November 2022, the estimated cost for the 15.6-kilometre (9.7 mi) line is CA$17 to $19 billion with an estimated completion in 2031. Originally, the cost was estimated at $10.9 billion with completion by 2027. A groundbreaking ceremony for the project took place on March 27, 2022. Upon opening, the plan is for the line to assume the "Line 3" moniker which was used by Line 3 Scarborough until its closure in mid-2023.

References

  1. ↑ "Michael Schabas". CPCS - Advisors to infrastructure leaders. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  2. ↑ Blatchford, Christie (28 May 1979). "A curse on sweaty, unwanted cyclists". Toronto Star.
  3. ↑ "Michael Schabas". CPCS - Advisors to infrastructure leaders. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  4. ↑ "Train operating company celebrates 18 years | News | Hull Trains". www.hulltrains.co.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Osborne, Alistair (17 July 2003). "First Group bids 500p a share for GB Railways". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  6. ↑ "Ottawa consulting firm CPCS merges with U.K.-based company". Ottawa Business Journal. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "CPCS and FCP announce merger". RailBusinessDaily. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Review of Metrolinx's Big Move". Neptis Foundation. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "ONTARIO - QUEBEC HIGH SPEED RAIL STUDIES, MAPS" . Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  10. ↑ Spurr, Ben (15 February 2020). "How Ford's Ontario Line plan came together in just three months – with secrecy, a shifting route and a consultant". Toronto Star . Retrieved 15 February 2020.

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