Whitby Rail Maintenance Facility Nears Completion

GTA Weekly
GO Transit's Whitby Rail Maintenance Facility

New Facility Will Support Expanded GO Transit Service and Boost Local Employment

The new GO Transit Whitby Rail Maintenance Facility is nearing completion, and will support faster, more frequent GO rail service to Durham Region and across the entire network.

Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca toured the new facility today with Celina Caesar-Chavannes, MP for Whitby, Granville Anderson, MPP for Durham, and Phil Verster, President and CEO of Metrolinx. The 500,000 square foot facility, which is on track to be completed by the end of 2017, will include maintenance, repair, cleaning, and tracks and storage space for 13 trains, expandable to up to 22 trains. Work at the facility will support between 300 and 400 local jobs.

The new state-of-the-art facility, funded by the province and the federal government, is being constructed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification. The roof will use highly reflective materials to reduce heat absorption and a rainwater harvesting and recycling system will provide water to wash stations and flush-fixtures. The Whitby Rail Maintenance Facility will also include green spaces and a retention pond to limit any impact on the municipal storm water system.

The new maintenance facility will support Ontario’s GO Regional Express Rail (RER) program – the largest commuter rail project in Canada. GO RER will provide faster and more frequent GO rail service across the region, with electrification of core segments of the network, including the Union Pearson Express. Weekly trips across the entire GO rail network will grow from about 1,500 to nearly 6,000 by 2024-25.

Ontario is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, public transit, roads and bridges in the province’s history. To learn more about what’s happening in your community, go to Ontario.ca/BuildON.

Expanding public transit to provide faster and more frequent service is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.

Quick Facts

  • The project is valued at $859.2 million, including $764.4 million from the province, and up to $94.8 million from the Government of Canada through the P3 Canada Fund.
  • The Whitby Rail Maintenance Facility is part of Ontario’s $21.3 billion transformation of the GO Transit network from a commuter transit system to a regional rapid transit system.
  • The Whitby Rail Maintenance Facility will complement GO Transit’s existing Willowbrook Rail Maintenance Facility in Etobicoke.
  • At the peak of construction activity, approximately 1,000 workers were involved in the project.
  • Plenary Infrastructure ERMF is delivering the Whitby Rail Maintenance Facility as a design, build, finance and maintain contract. The facility will be owned and operated by Metrolinx.
  • Construction on the Whitby Rail Maintenance Facility began in March of 2015 and is scheduled to be complete in December 2017.

Additional Resources

Quotes

Steven Del Duca

“The Whitby Rail Maintenance Facility construction is progressing on time and on budget. This facility will support the expansion of GO rail service, including our Regional Express Rail program. This project demonstrates how the investments we are making in public transit help create jobs and help people in their daily lives.”

Steven Del Duca

Minister of Transportation

“Public transit is at the heart of our government’s vision to build strong, sustainable and inclusive communities. A project like the Whitby Rail Maintenance Facility will make it easier for people to connect with the transit services they need while reducing gridlock. We will all benefit from projects such as this today and well into the future.”

Celina Caesar-Chavannes

MP for Whitby

Granville Anderson

“The state-of-the-art Whitby Rail Maintenance Facility is good news, bringing more jobs and supporting the expansion of GO rail service across the network, including Durham Region. I am very pleased to see how close we are to finishing construction on the new facility.”

Granville Anderson

MPP for Durham

“When complete, this facility will support Metrolinx’s planned service expansion, in both Durham Region and across the GO network, under the Regional Express Rail program. This is an important enabler for our very exciting future train services.”

Phil Verster

President and CEO, Metrolinx

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*