The provincial government has announced it will earmark more than $150 million through Metrolinx to help the TTC plan and design the proposed ‘Relief Line.’
At a news conference on Wednesday, Toronto Mayor John Tory said the relief line is aimed at managing congestion on the Yonge Subway line and will help ease capacity levels on the TTC in general.
The money is expected to go toward Metrolinx as it works in conjunction with the city on the design and planning for the relief line.
"This investment will help us get shovels in the ground. We're actually working to get transit. This is very important for the people of Toronto," Tory said.
“Under our Moving Ontario Forward plan, we’re working to ensure the Relief Line is well-designed and best connects people to school, families and jobs,” Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca said in a press release issued Wednesday.
“This is further proof of our government’s commitment to provide accessible, modern transit infrastructure that is reducing commute times and improving the quality of life for Ontarians.”
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Liberal government has reserved over $840 million for upgrades, additions and repairs to Toronto’s transit system.
The funds -- which stem from the federal budget announced back in March -- are expected to become available to the city later this year.
"The key thing is that the line provides relief to the critical pinch points and it provides an alternative," Byford said. "We desperately need another one to get people into town."
The relief line announcement comes mere hours after a fire at Yonge Station caused subway service on Line 2 to be suspended from St. George to Pape stations for several hours.
Video footage showed hundreds of TTC riders crowded outside Pape Station in the early morning hours waiting for shuttle buses to arrive.
TTC CEO Andy Byford told reporters outside Yonge Station on Wednesday that years of underinvestment in an aging transit system is to blame for the recent disruption.
“We’ve worked really, really hard over the past five years to improve the service and to cut out this kind of problem,” he said. “So it’s intensely frustrating for me that we should have another day with infrastructure problems.”
"To me, it's not just a relief line, but it's also an alternative line," Byford said later at the news conference.
"Goodness knows we could have used that this morning."
The provincial funding is the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history.
