Toronto and parts of the GTA will be getting hundreds of millions of dollars to “get Toronto moving,” Mayor John Tory told media on Tuesday morning at the St. Clair subway station.

This comes after another announcement made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Kathleen Wynne on the same day that in total, Ontario will receive $1.49 billion for transit improvements.

Up to 50 per cent of the money needed for eligible projects will be covered under the new agreement, called the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund. Toronto is eligible to receive a total of up to $840 million from the federal government through the program.

The funding will go toward making transit more reliable, safer and quicker, Tory said.

“Good things happen when there is cooperation and collaboration with all levels of government,” Tory said. “Everyday Torontonians depend on various modes of transportation.”

The city is receiving an initial amount of $474 million for various transportation-related projects.

The Toronto Transit Commission, which “moves 1.7 million rides everyday and is the busiest transit system in Canada,” according to Tory, will receive $360 million of the initial money.

The improvements will include repairs to subway cars, an escalator overhaul program and bicycle parking added to 40 TTC stations.

“As well as investing in planning future transit projects like SmartTrack and the relief line -- we are getting Toronto moving,” Tory said.

Minister of Finance Bill Morneau and MPP for Trinity-Spadina Han Dong were also at the announcement.

“The projects will make a difference in the day-to-day lives of those of us who call Toronto home,” Morneau said.

Dong called it an important milestone. The improvements would also “provide visitors to our busiest cities an efficient, reliable transit option,” Dong said.

Transit services in Barrie, Greater Sudbury, Greater Toronto and Hamilton, Ottawa and Waterloo will also see improvements.

To date, around $688 million-worth of projects have already been approved for repairs or improvements.

Other eligible communities are “invited to nominate projects for funding beginning in early September,” according to a news release issued today.

This fall, city staff will provide council with an update on the infrastructure fund for budget adjustments and further approvals of new projects.