All systems are go - electrification of Ontario's GO rail network

Approval to electrify two of the busiest lines on Ontario’s GO rail network will help provide a faster, more efficient and sustainable service for a region whose population is set to grow by 40% over the next 20 years.

In late 2008, Metrolinx – responsible for transportation planning for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas – published The Big Move, a 25-year multimodal regional transportation plan which would strengthen the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the province. Key to the plan is a fast, frequent and expanded regional rapid transit network, including establishing express and regional rail services at speeds and frequencies that could be enhanced by system electrification.

Following a year-long study of the electrification of the entire GO Transit rail system (currently running diesel trains), the Metrolinx Board of Directors approved a plan to electrify the Georgetown and Lakeshore GO corridors, totalling 234km of route at an estimated cost of $1.8 billion. The decision, made in January, was based on the findings and conclusions from the GO Electrification Study undertaken by a multidisciplinary consultancy team headed by a Delcan+Arup joint venture with Steer Davies Gleave leading on the Multiple Account Evaluation workstream.

Over the next decade, ridership is expected to grow 45% (from 55 million to around 80 million passengers per year), with the total number of daily GO train services doubling. The study compared electric technology to Tier 4 diesel technology in the mid term and considered a broad spectrum of issues for each of the seven GO corridors – financial, economic, social, environmental, health, and technological factors for diesel, electric, and alternative technologies.

It concluded that electric locomotive hauled trains had the potential to offer savings of 5-10 minutes per trip to passengers traveling on longer journeys. While the electric locomotive trains were used in the detailed evaluation, the study notes that Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) over the long-term will be able to take the GO Rail system closer to The Big Move’s vision for five-minute Express Rail service with significant journey time savings given the acceleration/deceleration advantages over loco-hauled operations.

Surprising to some advocates of electrification, the study analysis concluded that none of the electrification options significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions because GO’s contributions are very small compared to other sources of emissions, such as from automobiles. In addition, the study also concluded that with or without electrification, World Health Organization standards would generally not be exceeded, especially with the introduction of the cleaner Tier 4 diesel locomotives  in the next few years.

While there are health benefits associated with electrification, these benefits are expected to be marginal.

One of the key advantages of electrification of GO was that electric locomotives are cheaper to maintain and operate because there are fewer moving parts and because of the relative cost of electricity. The study found that there are significant annual operating and maintenance savings that can reduce operating subsidy needs.

Steer Davies Gleave’s analysis confirmed that electrifying the busiest corridors
(Lakeshore East, Lakeshore West, and Georgetown) provided the best value for money in achieving Metrolinx’s objectives. This is because more passengers benefit from the journey time savings, and more operating costs can be saved from the capital investment if services are operated more intensively on an electrified corridor. Electrifying more than one corridor also provided significant cost efficiencies.

Based on the overall Multiple Account Evaluation framework presented to Metrolinx, electrification of the Lakeshore and Georgetown lines was put forward as Metrolinx’s recommended option. Upcoming preliminary design and environmental impact studies for this option will bring Toronto closer to a greener future.