GO Transit Union Pearson Express

http://www.metrolinx.com/en/docs/pdf/bo ... ort_EN.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The journey of the 18 new UP Express vehicles from Japan to North America is complete.
The first two pilot cars, which are now a regular sight against our city’s skyline, are well into their commissioning process and have successfully been tested for acceleration, braking, track signal circuit, and passenger screen door operations at Pearson Station.
An additional four A-cars (front and end vehicles) arrived in Toronto in November and have begun commissioning activities. The remaining six A-cars are in Rochelle, Illinois for final assembly and testing and will arrive in Toronto by the end of the year.
All six of the C-cars (middle vehicles) have arrived in Rochelle, Illinois and are undergoing final assembly and inspection. The first of these units will leave Rochelle for Toronto in January, with the complete C-car fleet in our possession by the middle of February.

Pictures of the station facility at Toronto Pearson airport plus interior and exterior shots of the UPX vehicles, including a cab console shot
https://www.flickr.com/photos/metrolinx ... 688195902/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EDIT: adding a PDF I just came across which lists UPX vehicle specs:
http://www.upexpress.com/en/docs/Union_ ... eet_EN.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Video of the railcar interior:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUmaen1x7ew" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mention of the high fare to the airport:
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/12/10 ... e-reveals/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Status update. 16/18 DMUs delivered, 12 of those track cleared, units run up to 90mph.

http://www.metrolinx.com/en/docs/pdf/bo ... ess_EN.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How fast will they travel in revenue service?

I believe Weston Subdivision maximum is 80mph but with the insertion of the Weston station stop it may not manage that even downhill towards the city. We'll see.

First pic I've seen of an A-C-A three car consist: https://mobile.twitter.com/timdbishop/s ... 80/photo/1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For any rr.net folks heading to Toronto in the next few months, announced in-service date is June 6.

UPX launched today. For pictures, try social media hashtags like #upexpress and #weareup

Rode the UP Express for the first time this weekend so I'll offer a few disjointed thoughts:

1) Its really expensive! Roughly the same cost as a cab ride from Pearson to downtown for my wife and I ($27cad for each of us one way). Its only $3cad (per person) for the TTC subway-bus combo however that takes 45 minutes and the bus ride is among the least pleasant things about Toronto.
2) The UP Express is reasonably fast. I clocked it at 80 mph between Bloor and Weston. Strangely, it really creeps along the new spur that is on airport property that was purpose built for the UP Exp. Its a 25 minute ride from Union to terminal 1 (you need to transfer to the airport people mover to get to terminal 3)
3) The Union Station "station" is at the far west end of the Union Station and CN Tower complex so its a bit of a walk to the subway (but, outside of rush hour, the walk is not awful and its 98% indoors)
4) The connection between the Dundas West subway and UP Exp station at Bloor is a longish 1.5 block walk outside mostly along Bloor st. I saw the connection (and poor signage) while exploring the city and decided to board at Union instead of Bloor on our return trip because of it.
5) High platforms! (the only ones on commuter rail in Canada?)
6) Ride comfort is decent, free wifi is very good, equipment appears to be well matched to route length and ridership (which is low)
7) Our inbound tickets never got scanned. Surely this was accident rather than policy.
8) A small amount of 'research' (wikipedia) suggests that ridership is at roughly half the level necessary to cover operating costs. I wonder if a Chunnel-like bankruptcy and subsequent reduction in fares may be in the UP Exp's future? Glass doors on the platforms at Union and Pearson make me wonder if automated operation (like some subway routes in Paris) might also be a possibility in the distant future.

Overall I found the UP Express to be a pleasant and fast ride and I do tend to avoid leisure trips to cities that don't have a good mass transit option from the airport to downtown. However its high cost and awkward transfers to the subway will make this railfan seriously consider the TTC bus-subway option on future trips.

Interestingly the TTC now includes the Pearson Bus-Subway route on their subway maps.

The fare is cheaper by buying a Presto card at the airport. One way the reduction is only about $3 but that's because the card is $5 so additional journeys have an $8 differential. That said, the ridership is a matter of public controversy now and a fare rethink may come sooner rather than later.

The unsuitable Bloor connection is because there is a mall in between determined to drive a hard bargain for the necessary easement for an enclosed connection. I believe resolving this and building the connection will happen in the next 2-3 years.

The slow speed approaching the airport terminal tracks is (I believe) due to some sort of PTC presumably to prevent an accident such as happened in Chicago, but I haven't seen that documented.

The troubled Union Pearson Express train could be absorbed as part of Mayor John Tory’s SmartTrack plan, suggests a city staff report set to be released this week – an idea the province, which runs the airport train, is rejecting.

Since its launch in June, the UPX – which is run by the provincial transit agency Metrolinx – has been plagued with low ridership numbers and questions over its pricing model. On Wednesday, Mr. Tory said that a forthcoming staff report on his 22-stop SmartTrack plan hints at the city taking over UPX in the future.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/tor ... e26816882/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

kaitoku wrote:

The troubled Union Pearson Express train could be absorbed as part of Mayor John Tory’s SmartTrack plan, suggests a city staff report set to be released this week – an idea the province, which runs the airport train, is rejecting.

Since its launch in June, the UPX – which is run by the provincial transit agency Metrolinx – has been plagued with low ridership numbers and questions over its pricing model. On Wednesday, Mr. Tory said that a forthcoming staff report on his 22-stop SmartTrack plan hints at the city taking over UPX in the future.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/tor ... e26816882/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow, the Union Pearson Express went from the hot new thing to "troubled" in record time!

Unsurprising. No one wants to pay that much just to get from an airport to downtown. It's priced for the business traveler market (who probably will take a cab directly to their destination anyway) and not for those like vacationers who could be swayed by a lower price.

UP fares have been cut by a lot:

• Fares between Union and Bloor or Weston will be reduced to the same price as current GO Transit prices
• Fares between Union and Pearson have been more than halfed, CAD12 without a Presto and CAD9 with a Presto

From: http://www.metrolinx.com/en/projectsand ... rport.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
These changes were effective March 9th. Hopefully this will encourage more ridership on UP Express.

Also, could one of the mods move this topic to the Canadian Passenger Rail forum?