More shovels will soon be in the ground to bring more transit to Toronto now that Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario (IO) have reached some major procurement milestones for the Ontario Line.

These milestones include awarding the Southern Civil, Stations and Tunnel (South) contract to Ontario Transit Group (OTG) on Nov. 9, and awarding the Rolling Stock, Systems, Operations and Maintenance (RSSOM) contract to Connect 6ix on Nov. 17.

Work on both of these contracts is expected to start in early 2023.

The Rolling Stock, Systems, Operations and Maintenance contract includes designing and supplying the trains as well as designing and building the maintenance and storage facility and the communications and train control systems, all of which Connect 6ix will operate and maintain over a 30-year term.

The South contract includes construction of a six-kilometre tunnels and seven stations between Exhibition and the Don Yard tunnel portal.

Station technology will include passenger information screens with train arrival times and travel times between stations, updated in real time. Platform edge doors will be built at all 15 stations.

Contracts released for the north segment

Requests for qualifications, or RFQs, were also released for two contracts that cover major construction work in the project’s northern segment.

One is called the Pape Tunnel and Underground Stations contract, which involves delivering three kilometres of twin tunnels with a station at Cosburn, and a station at Pape and Danforth that will connect with Line 2, along with two portals that will transition the tracks from above-ground to underground.

The other is called the Elevated Guideway and Stations contract, which includes delivering three kilometres of elevated tracks in Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park and onward to the Ontario Science Centre.

This contract will also include building five above-ground stations—two within Metrolinx’s existing rail corridor (Riverside-Leslieville and Gerrard) and three along the elevated tracks in the northern part of the route (Thorncliffe Park, Flemingdon Park, and the Science Centre).

The bridges that will carry the trains over the Don Valley will be built under a separate early works contract in preparation for these two major construction contracts.

IO and Metrolinx will evaluate RFQ submissions and invite a shortlist of qualified teams to respond to a request for proposals in early 2023.

Construction on early upgrades to prepare for major work on the Ontario Line is already underway at Exhibition Station, the site of the future Corktown and Moss Park stations, and in the joint rail corridor west of the Don River.   

For more information on the Ontario Line, visit metrolinx.com/ontarioline.