The Worst Part of Canada's Biggest Airport (and How to Improve It)
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Toronto Pearson is Canada's biggest airport, but with its single rail connection and inconvenient local transit options, it could be so much better. Here's how I would create a rail station befitting of Pearson's status.
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Ever wondered why your city's transit just doesn't seem quite up to snuff? RMTransit is here to answer that, and help you open your eyes to all of the different public transportation systems around the world!
Reece (the RM in RMTransit) is an urbanist and public transport critic residing in Toronto, Canada, with the goal of helping the world become more connected through metros, trams, buses, high-speed trains, and all other transport modes.
If you enjoy this video make sure to share it around! We really need Pearson to start talking about a better transit centre!
Flying Cruise Airship.. Some how My brain said adding rail creates multimodal station which one day could... The Canada Flying Cruise Airship
were not even allowed bikes on the UPX big G that a huge fail i dunno what they were thinking doing this. I guess we felt lucky when the UP did come but the people deserve a real train.
We need the same for Waterloo Region. They could easily run rail to the airport or at least offer regular bus service like Halifax does. Unlike the current On-demand service.
I went to Narita airport for the first time two weeks ago and I was surprised at how many things there are outside the airports. There’s a lot of shops for gifts, but also convenient stuff to get transit cards, international atm, post office to receive mobile hotspots, etc. I don’t think I would have « got » your video without seeing it but it’s a great pattern to replicate. On top of great train transit of course ;)
Indonesian video when?
Another RMTransit banger! I'm surprised you haven't been hired by the TTC or Metrolinx to redesign the GTHA's transportation network already!
Thanks for watching, always happy to share some ideas.
No we can't let that happen. He would make transit too good in Toronto! /s
@@RMTransit But fr, would you be interested in doing that?
its because they have politicians doing it and not the right people such as RM Transit.
This is fantastic 🙏🙏💯 thank you for such a detailed oversight I would love to alsoo see some much needed bullet train service in Canada and Pearson>ottawa n Niagara falls would be where it start! I would vote for you for mayor sir! Much better than Bonnie or Olivia chow!
Love your concept for the bus terminal at Pearson. While your underground concept for rail is great, I doubt our leaders are going to spend additional money on tunnelling after wasting it on that guideway for UPX
Compared to the rest of North America, UP Express is not entirely bad. Had it been electrified, and had the elevated guideway been built without sharpe curves, we could have had much better travel times. REM will probably Canada’s darling for Airport Transit connections once the Dorval extension opens. Having ridden Tokyo’s NeX and Keisei Skyliner, we can of course do much better in Toronto.
Its less our leaders and more GTAA who need to spend the money. The UP being bad and needing to be replaced is all the more reason to do it right
@@RMTransit I think that Pearson should become officially part of Toronto so it is easier for funding (MiWay isn't as likely to support as TTC to connect Pearson with Toronto) But this is just a guess. I feel like all 4 transportation systems, MiWay, York Region Transit, Brampton Transit and the TTC of course should have connections. Like Finch West LRT and Eglinton LRT should connect to Pearson, Mississauga Transitway should go north from Renforth to terminate at Pearson, Viva Yellow should end at Toronto Pearson, and Zum's 505A should actually terminate at Toronto Pearson instead of at Viscount like 900 metres away from Pearson. and GO Transit should stop at Pearson, but not by branching, It should go from Etobicoke North to Pearson to Malton. VIA Rail should also use the same tracks as GO Transit and stop at Pearson instead of Malton. UP Express will be 24/7 with trains each 5 minutes. Finally, all systems of Transit except Terminal Link will connect to one Central station on Airport Road in between the 427 and 409 highways like your idea, the way to get from Central Station to a Terminal would be by using Terminal Link which will have good frequency (shuttle every 2.5 minutes).
This would have a total of 7 Transit systems connecting to Pearson, which are: Brampton Transit, GO Transit, MiWay, TTC, Union Pearson Express, York Region Transit, and VIA Rail, but of course this needs a lot of support to be done as it will be expensive but worth it.
All land in-between the 427, 407, 410, and 401 should be cleared to expand Pearson Airport to be a hub for more flights and to be the 4th largest airport in the world.
This took me a lot of time to write RMTransit so please read this and thank you if you have read it.
My feeling is that the real question is "What do we need most next"? My suspicion is a better Pearson is just not that high on the list because it is already being served. Even if the service could be better.
dude your plan would result in an entire neighbourhood being razed to the ground. a neighbourhood that, btw, is primarily resided in by South Asian and Caribbean immigrants. Malton and its residents deserve better transit options, not to be displaced by overly ambitious and ruinous pie-in-the-sky plans
Also the Khalsa Dabar would need to be demolished as well, which would have… implications
Nothing is impossible. The leaders shouldn't be given a choice. The 57% who couldn't be arsed to vote in the last provincial election have much to answer for.
Such a fantastic video! As an airline pilot based at YYZ, improved intermodal connectivity at Pearson would be incredible for the vast amount of airport staff and aircrew as well. The amount of time spent looking for parking in the staff parkade at Viscount can be insane sometimes! Greater transit options out of Pearson could take so many more cars that airport employees use off the road, most of which are single-occupancy anyways.
I'm glad you mentioned The Jewel at Changi! It's great when airports do awesome things for those who wanna go to the airport just because rather than to actually fly somewhere. JFK International for example has the TWA Hotel which incorporates the TWA Flight Center by Eero Saarinen (who also worked on Dulles and the Gateway Arch) with two buildings added, a rooftop pool offering wonderful views of the different planes taking off and landing, and even a cocktail lounge inside a preserved Lockheed L-1649 Starliner, the last model of the Lockheed Constellation line of airliners. For those who are plane spotters or love aviation history in general, it's heaven. They also fully restored the Solari flipboard inside the Flight Center!
The Jewel's façade was designed by a consortium of architects, led by Moshe Safdie who also designed Marina Bay Sands! The landscape architect was Peter Walker and Partners, who co-designed the National 9/11 Memorial! The Jewel currently houses more than 2,000 trees and palms, and over 10,000 shrubs covering a total area of more than 21K square meters. There are some 120 species, originating from all around the globe! Its majestic indoor waterfall stands at 40 meters high, with recirculating rainwater pumped to the roof to free fall at up to 37,850 liters per minute. And that's not mentioning the things those transiting at Changi can enjoy like a free 24-hour cinema and a butterfly garden!
Thanks for your video Reece! This is exactly what we need - a public discussion of a Pearson transit terminal. It feels like much of the discussion has happened in secret. Your ideas are good.
Thanks for watching, its a conversation I want to see far more!
I made a post on Reddit a while ago about how bad the transport to New York's airports is. No direct subway to JFK, the ridiculously priced airtrains at JFK and EWR, and no option other than a bus to LGA. The response from New Yorkers seemed to just be "just get a taxi", which kinda missed the point of what I'm saying, but just highlights how poor the airport connections are.
This is a fantastic idea, RM. Would you also have additional platforms for a potential extension of line 4 to Pearson (and possibly beyond)? I really like the idea of extending the GO line under Pearson to Mississauga City Centre, a high speed rail connection is definitely needed to there.
I think the current plan with line 4 is extending it west to Sheppard west and east till Sheppard/McCowan
I didn't;'t include space for Line 4 as I figure thats more like 40 years out. One option would be trying to have THAT directly serve both terminals and the Pearson Central Station, and allow using it for free for airport passengers.
Chicago-O’Hare built a new beautiful intercity bus terminal attached to its new consolidated car rental facility (“Multi-Modal Facility”). It’s also served by two local bus routes.
The biggest local bus transfer transfer center near O’Hare probably remains the Rosemont CTA station, located one Blue Line stop away.
I live in London and my transit options to go 150km to Pearson are either a $3 city bus ticket to free 20 minute flight (Air Canada typically makes booking from either airport the same price), a $75 3 hour bus ride, or $80 2hr45 train (including waiting at Union + 25 minutes on the UP). I think the bus is as slow as it is, because it stops a few times, and serving cities from the 401 is not fast (10 minutes to get off highway to bus stop, 10 minutes to get back to same interchange). In past experience they'll only take it until Burlington, then go on side highways that actually intersect with Guelph/KW/London.
Whenever I travel to TO I "ride the rocket" from Pearson, a wonderfully mis-named transport option, as that bus can end up being incredibly slow getting caught in traffic on the highways it travels down. The fact that there's no decent shelter whilst waiting for that bus, and that I end to visit during winter, is not great. I wasn't even aware of the existence of the UP trains until a couple of years ago, but given that it's over 3 times as expensive as TTC it's never felt worth it to me. I also tend to want to go somewhere that has a TTC station, rather than getting to Union, so I'd just have to change to TTC anyway and incur another ticket cost.
What you're suggesting here is exactly what Pearson needs. Who knows, we might even see something like this before 2050. 🙂
The Rocket bus is fast more than its slow. However regarding cost - 10 dollars for UP feels pretty great assuming you are heading to Union or Downtown
Years ago a client visiting from Germany said to me "I love your city. Hate your airport"
Great ideas you have here, I hope Metrolinx and the GTAA is watching this.
It wont. If it doesn’t come from inside Metrolinx they wont listen to anybody
Even if they are watching, they won't do anything. From the cities to the GTAA, to the various levels of government, and politicians, they look out for their jobs and not what's best for the public
German Airports are well connected, though often not all that nice!
@@RMTransit Like Stuttgarts Terminal 4. Terminal 1-3 are nice Terminals in buildings built for customers. Terminal 4 is a supposedly temporary Terminal quickly built in a former aircraft hanger.
@@RMTransit BER is by far the nicest one, its not a stressful mess like Frankfurt
When it comes to airport railway systems, the best example is in Frankfurt-am-Main, which is at the edge of a high-speed railway line and can be reached by so many high-speed routes.
AMS, ARN, CDG, CPH...
I agree it's lacking a lot. However, I recently travelled from Spadina -> Bloor -> terminal 3 by rail and whilst the connections and moving suitcases around wasn't the smoothest experience it was 100 times better than Dublin Ireland where I had to wait an hour after arrival for the first coach home and it just didn't show up 🙃
Its not the worst experience in the world, but I want a great experience!
UP needs to run 24/7 and GO Trains from Union need extended hours. Taking public transit after work hours to the suburbs is a pain at best and near impossible after the UP closes for the night.
Before the pandemic, the UP ran until 1am. During the pandemic, frequency was every 30 min and earlier (closer to the 11:27pm last train now) with reasons being demand and labour. I don’t know what demand is like now but I have just missed out on the last train and don’t know why it doesn’t run later. Is it labour still?
Last year I flew to Toronto Pearson from Vancouver and ended up waiting an obscene amount of time for our baggage to arrive. After we finally got our baggage after at least 45 minutes - 1 hour of waiting. Then we had to rush as fast as possible to get onto the Union Pearson express to catch a train to Windsor. We nearly missed the Union Pearson because of how long it took us to get from the baggage area to the station. It also wasn't a fast trip and we had to run to catch our train the moment the UP stopped at Union. That was our first experience with the UP, so yeah, not great first impressions. Our trip back to the airport after getting back from Windsor was fine though, if not a bit slow.
Takes 30-45 minutes to get the bags off the plane. Screened and back on the belt before it gets to you on the carousel. That's if there's no technical difficulties
Also pearson is a real airport vs Windsor lol
Logan Airport in Boston has slightly better transit service - there's a Blue Line subway station at the west boundary of the airport with shuttle busses to the terminals and there's a Silver Line bus "rapid transit" direct from the terminals to South Station downtown where you can change to Amtrak, commuter rail, subway, and commuter and intercity busses. The Silver Line and shuttle busses drop you off and pick you up at curbside right outside each terminal.
I don’t know that it’s better, the airport shuttles and especially the silver line get stuck in traffic. Silver line has absolutely taken me 30 min from south station to Logan at rush hour (Ted Williams tunnel 😢) about the same as UP express. And pearson’s a lot farther from the city than Logan - you can see downtown from the tarmac.
Added to my "Fly by Rail" playlist 👍
Nice!
You have a powerful and clear eyed view. The “bus experience” has only been awful…a sad reflection of lack of foresight from the grand opening until now.
Interesting that you make a video about a union station west a couple days after plans for a union station east are released for Pickering 🤔
Landed in Pearson in 2009 at like 5am and had to either freeze outside waiting for the bus or wait 2h for the train service to start or something like that. I was really surprised how such a massive airport had such a bad connection.
Logan Airport in Boston is definitely one of the best with regards to transit access in the US; second to DC. Sucks the Blue Line doesn't directly go to Logan but there is plenty of free transit access from there that loops around Logan every ~15 mins.
Now I'm curious what you'd do for Dorval Airport
Hmm, off the top of my head:
- Complete the REM link
- Continue to extend it south to stop at Dorval station.
- Perhaps continue to extend it through Lachine & LaSalle to connect to the Metro Green Line at Angrignon. OR extend the Green Line west to connect at Dorval & make Dorval a 3-way connection between REM, Metro, and Exo. That would cost a whole lot more, but I wanted that when I lived in that area long before the REM was a concept, so it's kind of my pet project.
- Dorval station to the south already has a bus terminal - it may need renovation/expansion
- Marie-Curie station north of the airport should be bus a hub as well.
Traffic around the airport has been nuts for a while now, so a non-road link will make a big difference.
@@WhiskyCanuck If you do it right and have a heavy use of cut and cover the blue line would make more sense to connect to the airport.
Honestly probably just an extension of the REM, and if we really want to get crazy a better heavy rail connection@@WhiskyCanuck
@@RMTransit Yeah, just completing the REM, and perhaps adding the discussed extension to Dorval station would be enough to help much of the airport issues. Before the REM was a thing, a Blue line extension would have been my choice too for the airport.
I was just thinking that the Green Line stops just short of LaSalle and it's ~80K residents. Lachine has another 40K. If you extend it that far, it's easy to look at a map & say "why not a little further?" and close the loop with the REM at Dorval.
The fact that the Orange Line extension to meet the REM at Bois Franc seems like it might happen some day would also improve airport accessibility too.
It amazing that the Go Bus 91 ffrom Finch Subway Stn only stops at Terminal one so you have to spend 30 minutes with luggage to get there if you fly with anybody but AC FROM OVERSEAS. It would only take 5 minutes to go to 3. Why Go and Metrolinx is the worse
Visited Toronto and Montreal this summer. Was appalled at the slow speed of the UP coming out of the airport, but happy to have a train. Then went to Montreal and was even more appalled to be squeezed into a bus (although the name, 747, was humorous). As someone from Vancouver, it's shocking that the larger cities of Toronto and Montreal have such mediocre transit to and from their airports.
Montreal will be connected to the REM in 2026
@@TheTroyc1982more so proabable 2027-28
I have often seen people without luggage take the Vancouver skytrain either to the airport or the station before the airport. Do you know the purpose of these trips? Are these people going to the airport to rent a car? Or because they are out-of-towners and the airport has cheap parking? Or are these people all flying on Flair/Lynx with just an under-seat bag? The Vancouver skytrain to the airport is pretty good. It is however a pretty long walk to the sky train station from the arrivals lounge. Transit at Toronto Pearson could be improved but its a lot better than it was 10 years ago.
@@pmycro They could be going to greet someone arriving, or take a quick flight themselves. Some may also work at the airport, it's quite a large building/entity with lots of employees. Renting a car may be an option as well. The station before the airport is Sea Island Centre, primarily parking but also some offices. And then of course Templeton, the 2nd stop after/before the airport, is the outlet mall.
Two thoughts from a current employee of an Airport Operator. Otherwise great video bud!
1. Eliminate shops, restaurants and stores on the public side of terminals to prevent unnecessary loiter time in your ticketing and pre-screening areas.
Offer a gate pass system so that customers who’ve come to shop and not fly are able to pass through screening to access the secure side.
2. Electric Busses are more of a hassle than they’re worth. We bought two. Up-time for those assets were about 38% with the rest of which being spent charging or undergoing routine mx. Diesel or Biodiesel are still the most effective option for vehicles that are used to run a 24 hour service.
I used to transit through Pearson from UP to a MiWay Bus and visa versa. It was a journey and a headache on a good day.
You should look into the St. Catharines GO station, I think you’d have fun with it. Tons of land around the station ready to be built on, but they have no plan. There’s opportunity to make it a great transit city, with connecting transit lines to the go station from across the city. The Niagara GO line is full of potential is crazy, you’d have a lot of fun with it. The region has zero vision and a video like yours will most defiantly be taken seriously by them.
Just the title itself is spot on
Well said Reece. Very good concept.
I want the UP express to be rebuilt into just a straight up through-running electrified GO line at the same time as a Lawrence Subway that goes out to Scarborough, as the Crosstown is a potato that I can already tell will be slow and inefficient.
I heard that domestic travel within Canada is insanely expensive - is that true? A few fellow Aussies told me, and mentioned mobile phone planes (esp data) is bizarrely expensive.
Here on the island of Ireland there is only two airports with a "train station" Kerry airport and Belfast City airport. I am a local of County Clare and we have been trying to get the government to fund a rail spur to Shannon town and Shannon international airport for approximately 40 years but it's like talking to a wall. I am only 22 and have recently joined the campaign. Wish us luck.
Also your videos are very informative and would be very helpful for fixing some of the problems we have here in Ireland.
I had a conversation with my father regarding the idea of building an airport in Pickering. I have been referring to the topics and solutions suggested by you, NotJustBikes, CityBeautiful and other urban/transit design channels that could make getting to Pearson more digestible without the need to uproot farmland and natural spaces in the proposed Pickering airport site.
This video will surely help in making that point!
Keep doing these cool videos! I will certainly be coming back for more!
Meanwhile Chicago: Metra NCS line run 6 trains a day on the weekdays and there's no weekend service...
Until I was 3.5hrs early for a flight from Nice to Madrid (only operated by Iberia, and their only route there), I thought landside options seemed illogical, but now I’m more on board with the idea
Airports are hubs, not everyone is travelling right this minute!
I love your videos. Your should work as a consultant for Metrolinx as you truly have a great vision for transit planning.
You should take a look at BC Ferries sometime, as well as land based transit connections to their terminals.
Was at Pearson a few months ago, drove from north of the city. What a nightmare. Signage was poor with little warning. Used to exit 409, find your terminal on sign and drive straight to it. Not any more. The UP train has to be better than the Kipling bus was.
They should look into building a high speed rail that connects Pearson Airport to other cities like KW, London, and Kingston. It's gonna open up so many possibilities and make traveling to and from Pearson much, much easy.
Please speak about the lack of washrooms on TTC Subway stations.
Honestly, the TTC is one of the better systems in Canada for this
I feel like especially for local bus routes that they should still go into the terminals, like the 52 Lawrence West. You get on/off the bus right at the terminal with little walking and no train required and its very convenient rather than walking 10 minutes/get that train
3:15 VIA’s new fleet are bidirectional, so there will be no need to turn them around.
I like this plan way better than the one GTAA planned just off Viscount
keep on pushing, someone may actually take note of your suggestions.
Seems like a decent plan. Anything that reclaims parking space into more valuable property is worthwhile.
All hail the 192. Long live the king! Down with the 900!
Pearson's current transit connections failures really highlight the need for the GTHA to move away from the Union Station centric transit model. We need "union stations" in every major city, or better yet just treat each intermodal station like union station
I really wish this would get built one day
The light rail part of the concept especially sounds genius.
Thank you! Thats high praise!
Long time Ontario residents will tell you that GTAA has been doing nothing for transit but collecting parking fees until Metrolinx brought the money for the UP. Without the UP Pearson has, like, nothing but parking lots and long walks in the snow. It's an airport ruined by MBAs despite the better intentions of architects. Generally a Toronto vibe, really.
Honestly, you can find articles from the 1980s on Pearson being a usurious car hell-hole.
Pearson will have to do better or they will have their lunch eaten!
I visited Toronto in 2007, long before the UP Express. Had to wait for the Airport Rocket, which only went as far as Kipling station. My hotel was around the corner from St. Andrew station, so that meant changing trains at St. George station. Not exactly a short trip. So the UP Express would have been more convenient, despite its flaws.
The fundamental problem is that Canada doesn't want to be great. It simply wants to marginally better than the US...which isn't that high a bar.
Politicians are too having roast battles in parliament rather than making the moves to create the greatest country in the world
very nice concept, maybe we’ll get to experience it 60 years from now!
Good job! Not only Berlin Brandenburg airport puts Pearson to shame, but Nürnberg, with the U-Bahn going all the way to the airport. The tri-city (Nuremberg - Fürth - Erlangen) only has 500 000 inhabitants. The U-Bahn connection dates from the 20th century, while Toronto is only now having the conversation. Makes one embarrassed to be Canadian!
Airport was never designed transit friendly or even car/passenger friendly. Hate having to drive from Hamilton to use it. Being stuck in traffic on a bus is no better than in a car.
I honestly hope just buying better trains will allow them to run faster across the current viaduct. I wouldn't really build the elaborate "Pearon Central" layout, but rather rebuild the cable car APM into an automated monorail, and extend it to Renforth rather than line 5 doing so
Pearson should be a transit hub and should get rid of all of the parking and ban cars.
If not for the travellers then for employees and staff !! Pearson has about 49k staff working around the airport !
For example at Amsterdam airport Schiphol (with 65k staff), right under Terminal 2 is an intercity railway station with 100k travellers a day. With connections to all over the country and even Belgium, Düsseldorf/Cologne and Paris.
A good deal of the travellers will be staff commuting every day ..
That would make a difference at Pearson ...
As a Londoner who flies to Pearson twice a year and travels on to Brantford, I like your plan, but I have 1 issue with it and 1 suggestion. My issue is the site you propose it's pretty far from the terminals, which would be quite annoying. I honestly think the road spaghetti ought to be massively simplified first, and then build the station in the space left. There's just a totally unnecessary number of spurs and slip roads. If you improve transit connectivity, there should be less road traffic, so it shouldn't be an issue. My suggestion would be to take that extra rail spur you mentioned and build a new rail line from Pearson to Hamilton (and maybe beyond), that would go under the airport, then pop up next to the Mississauga Transitway and follow the 403 and hydro corridors down to Hamilton. I reckon it would be quite cheap to build apart from the tunnel under the airport, and it would massively improve rail connections to the west of Toronto.
I've lived in Toronto my entire life, and i recently go back from a trip. I wanted to meet my ride at the Viscount car park, but the signage was absolutely DISMAL. I had to ask 3 different employees, because the signage and way finding was so insanely bad.
Not sure what the dig against Los Angeles was for, considering their new people mover isn't even open yet. Nobody really knows how good or bad a system it will be. The transit station that will be connected to the people mover will have two light rail lines leading to various parts of the area, with both featuring additional potential extensions, especially the K Line. Now neither leads directly downtown, but that matters less in Los Angeles than other major cities as LA is very decentralized, and you can get to downtown via one additional transfer. The people mover will also be used to get from one terminal to another as well as to the rental car facility and long term parking, in addition to connecting to the light rail.
The trains are nice and all, but the UP should really be electrified (along with a majority of the GO network, if not all of it). I also love the idea of a "Union Station West" at the airport, and totally agree with the points Reece said in the video.
Sacramento added a new airport terminal awhile back, and has more capacity than needed. Now a light rail connection is being added to their existing small metro area rail network. It seems the rail connection should have been in place long before the new airport terminal was added.
I just wanted to mention Oshawa has recently released more updates for their potential rapid transit plans in the future if you wanted to look into it for a potential video!
There are more then 2 terminals at the airport. 1 & 3 being the main 2 and the other you to by airport bus after clearing customs
The mesh network is the most efficient and has redundancy built in. I wouldn't try to move backbones. Instead, develop hubs close to the airport star hub and ring with aerial connections. Bus nets from bus and train could then also mesh.
I like the hubs you've brought up for bus and plane.
A mesh network may be efficient when talking about computer networks, transport networks have very different considerations!
@@RMTransit a moving walkway would belong to an airport authority subnet. I think there could also be cases for edge processing and more direct routing.
I support transit! My local airport (SFO) has good transit and we need transit to YYZ like we do here in SFO
I don't even think SFO is that great, but since its high capacity and electric it's definitely better than in Toronto!
@@RMTransit BART gets you within a hundred feet of the International Terminal gates. Not sure how you can get any better than that
When I was in Toronto in 2009, the only option was the bus. It was the most comfortable airport bus I have ever seen though. Air condition, leather seats and tinted glass. It had a few stops in the city center. Most rail connections from an airport only have a single stop in the city center. If a train went to Union Station for example, I would have had to switch to a bus or a taxi there. I still prefer trains though, because they do not require interaction with the driver.
Recently I was in Istanbul. They have a shiny new airport, which is planned to be the busiest airport in the world one day. They also have a rail connection. The station is quite large and impressive, but you have to walk a few hundred metres to get there and they have columns preventing you to use a baggage cart on the travelators. The problem is that the columns are so close together that a two wheel bag will not fit through them unless you rotate it by 90 degrees and then drag it through the columns. I am still young and strong, but for elderly people that is not optimal. I wondered why they did not manage to build a station directly under the terminals, as the airport was built from scratch. I think I know the answer. They are afraid of a terrorist attack and therefore built the station far enough from the terminal that a bomb in a train would not cause a closure of the terminal. Those are the times we live in.
Pronto Toronto
If we're lucky enough to get this Transit Hub build i really doubt they would build the rail-line as a thru-line. All they think about is costs so we're probably just getting a spur from the Kitchener line.
When I was studying downtown at UofT I would always just talk a short trip down line 1 to Union station and hop on the UP-Express to the airport during the holidays to travel back home. Had I not lived in that area and been pretty much anywhere else in the city it's obvious how lacking service into the Airport really is.
Great video! So in your design, would the way to get directly from Union to Pearson, without switching, be the Kitchener GO line? Or would some form of the UP still exist?
Pearson's transit connectivity definitely needs to improve. The madness on the road just outside the terminal gates (coupled with the depressing sea of grey on approach) makes you want to turn right around and jump on a random flight out!
Just buy Stadler KISS's or E259 series (imagine those in an UP express livery!), have an MTR style in town check in, get average speeds up to 95-100kmh, and run hourly night trains 24/7, that can even coordinate with flights with a pulse - style schedule, and you have a world class airport rail service! It would be up there with the kings: MTR airport express, Narita express, and Aeroexpress!
Unbelievable!
But yes, you got managers that make things happen which results in improvements, and managers that are just baby sitting the operations.
UP Express may not be the most ideal rail service for an airport but look at what too many other cities have for airport rail serv. Nothing several US cities are guilty of that but for Canada Edmonton and Calgary instantly come to mind.
That airport link from union station to airport was a bad-thought-out-idea that tried to copy the Canada line in Vancouver. The Canada line took 4 or 5 decades of endless government studies on the line, the Ontario government didn't even do two years of planning Im assuming.
Do some sort of people mover from union station
Edit: I was confusing billy bishop with Pearson. Yeah Pearson needs multiple transit options
Right now the worst part of union station is getting off the train. The platforms are narrow and don’t have enough stairs / escalators that getting off the platform will take 3-5 minutes😂
I never understood why UP express wasn’t integrated into the TTC proper.
Very interesting ideas.. time to update my hypothetical maps!
It's a joke, a national embarassment. Build a proper subway to Pearson - NOW! I have travelled all over the world these past 6 years (106 countries) and Toronto is near the bottom. We need an airport link like KL or Singapore or HK or Bangkok has (notice they are all Asian cities). Only Vancouver has a decent connection in Canada. US is pretty much useless. I recently gave up trying to find the new rail connection to LAX and Miami only got me a station away from the airport where I then needed to wait almost 30 minutes for a connecting train to downtown. AWFUL! I was in Berlin's new airport - but had to ask for directions to get to it - bad wayfinding but maybe that has been fixed since last year.
An RM transit video about my workplace?? Did christmas come early!? Joking aside, having some inside knowledge about the airport, I’d throw something out there that actually might simplify this plan a bit. From my understanding the GTAA wants to demo T3 and supersize T1, which would simplify the connection from Pearson central to the airport proper.
And thank god someone talked about the god awful people mover. I have to take it every day to go to and from the employee parking! It doesn’t even have 2 train service half the day! I would absolutely kill for the connection to the kitchener line as well since I live right by a station. I tried making the trek from malton go a few times, but the busses don’t even bother servicing the station meaning a long walk across kilometres of parking.
Pearson really needs to step it up if they truly want to be “canada’s premier airport” as they so claim. Montreal and Ottawa both have much nicer terminal facilities by far.
As someone who lives close to Lawrence, the service levels of the 52 are downright offensive, to the point where I have to Uber to YYZ on a regular basis.
Idk why seems like the only Successful airports (minus a few) Seem to always have trains or busways. (flying) I'm a nerd but..
A Singal Centralized or on Route Multimodal station makes perfect sense.
the future of Air travel could be fully electric soo...
I think the Up locomotive is the same as the ones that SMART operates here in Sonoma County, CA. At least the front in ur thumbnail looks the same.
In fact, Metrolinx took over an option order from Sonoma-Marin's contract.
Oh wow
How many meters underground will your proposed terminal be built?
At least Toronto has a train to the airport. Bloody Calgary can't even get that right. Taking a train from downtown to the airport was always a blast when I lived in Toronto. I guess I'm easily impressed though lol.
Like you I have recently ‘enjoyed’ travel through Malton (Pearson). We used public transport to get to the airport and move within the airport. Let’s start with GO. This system is almost user hostile, travelling with luggage has enlightened me to the plight of handicapped users ( though if you try to use handicapped access to bring your suitcases aboard you are told it’s not for you - as my wife found out when travelling alone ). Next is the UPE, yes it’s better than nothing, but it’s isolated, awkward to get to with cases, and anything but seamless. And while it starts off well from Union, the painfully slow arrival at Terminal 1 shows it’s afterthought design. It’s also still too expensive for what it is. Finally there is the terminal 1 to 3 connection. It works, but it’s awkward, very poorly signed, and designed for usage well below it use level. It is user hostile to all but those with prior knowledge.
In a nutshell, you can’t get to an efficient system but slapping together a patchwork of bandage solutions. If you want it to work, start fresh and do it properly. We all know it can be done because we have seen it elsewhere.
Then there is O'Hares connection to the Blue Line CTA at ORD which, itself, is a long tunnel walk. But unlike the tunnel connecting Kipling TTC to the Kipling Intercity Terminal, you got cell-service.
What about the Metra NCS?
@@maas1208 Never got to ride the Metra, so I can't comment on that.
Toronto Pearson airport is missing out on two opportunities due to mediocre transit connectivity. (1) Business from people who live in Toronto and want to rent a car. (2) Business from people who live in Southwestern Ontario, take transit to Toronto and want to stay at a hotel.
Thanks for the--as always, great video! Having an airport be a hub for citizens who are AND aren't flying blew my mind, but makes so much sense. I want it! I find airports exciting and fun places to be in general, so if I had more excuses to be there even if I wasn't travelling, I'm there!
Also, I'd like to see VIA increasing the frequency of their Union trains to improve regional connections to the airport. I often fly into YYZ to see family 2 hours (drive in no traffic) east of Toronto, and I always try and plan my flights so that I can take the UP Express to Union and catch a train east, but it almost never works out for me to do so without waiting at Union for hours. It's really frustrating! The only alternatives seem to be getting family to commute 4-5 hours round trip or have them pick me up in Oshawa, which just aren't satisfying solutions.
This needs to be addressed more, definitely. How much would this cost?
How far away are the airport terminals from the station for your plan?
I give you.... LAX! Where metro was built in the 1990s, and then makes a sharp turn south just 2 miles from the airport..... because the taxi drivers protested, and won! It is FINALLY getting rectified in 2024 with the opening of the people mover and a brand new metro station that will connect directly to the people mover......
Between the three large airports they have, I’m not sure Montreal or Ottawa passengers would be going to Pearson much?
Also, wouldn’t it be cheaper to build the bus infrastructure above ground? (Even if you’re putting something on top of it.)
It’s common to transfer at Pearson to go from Ottawa or Montreal.
Please do Athens metro please!!!
Can you do a video on montreal airport transit
Please do an episode on Halifax's transit. It's torture. And there's no meaningful transit to airport either. Only an abhorrent bus.
The connection of the upcoming Finch West and Eglington lines to a proposed Pearson Central station + Integrating GO’s Kitchener line would change the lives of people across the GTA. It’s a great way to connect many dimensions of economic mobility: commuting to work, access to public services across cities, enabling easier tourism across different regions, more diverse commerce options and of course a more environmentally friendly way to travel. This and your midtown line video have both been such thoughtful provocations of how Public Transit can drastically improve the lives of people in such meaningful ways.