[smallspy]

Reportedly, Mr. Lindsay wants to get out of the outsourcing game, and bring everything - including all operations - in-house.

There was a similarly-titled position before which was simply to be a liaison with OnXpress' service planning group, but it sounds like this version of the position is going to be a bit more hands-on and involved in making the high-level decisions.

Dan

 

[generalcanada]

Anyone know if Alstom got that 5-year extension for train servicing when OnXpress went bust?

 

[urbancog]

Anyone know if Alstom got that 5-year extension for train servicing when OnXpress went bust?

City News reported a statement by Metrolinx that “Alstom will maintain its role supporting the operations and maintenance of GO Transit and UP Express, to continue delivering best-in-class service that Ontarians have come to expect.”

 

[cplchanb]

Reportedly, Mr. Lindsay wants to get out of the outsourcing game, and bring everything - including all operations - in-house.

There was a similarly-titled position before which was simply to be a liaison with OnXpress' service planning group, but it sounds like this version of the position is going to be a bit more hands-on and involved in making the high-level decisions.

Dan

in house= draconian 1990s commuter rail mindset. no wonder OnXpress failed. whomever they hire will be a ML lapdog yesman. They wont dare to challenge the status quo so good luck with RER in the next 50 years

 

[Sunnyside]

in house= draconian 1990s commuter rail mindset. no wonder OnXpress failed. whomever they hire will be a ML lapdog yesman. They wont dare to challenge the status quo so good luck with RER in the next 50 years

Lol okay. As if hiring consultants with no stakes in anything is a better idea. As if the mindset issue has anything to do with the people hired to deliver those tasks from up high, and not those already at the helm.

 

[felix123]

in house= draconian 1990s commuter rail mindset. no wonder OnXpress failed. whomever they hire will be a ML lapdog yesman. They wont dare to challenge the status quo so good luck with RER in the next 50 years

And for some weird reason, that's how ML likes it. It would be hilarious how they're actually proud of the GO train if it weren't so tragic.

 

[Urban Sky]

Lol okay. As if hiring consultants with no stakes in anything is a better idea. As if the mindset issue has anything to do with the people hired to deliver those tasks from up high, and not those already at the helm.

Exactly (and I‘m saying this as one of the consultants who worked on various ML projects): moving expertise and capabilities in-house makes absolutely sense once you‘ve reached a project size Metrolinx very comfortably exceeds (and are prepared to pay salaries which acknowledge the market rates). And in any case, the decisions are made by the people who sponsor and fund the project, not the consultants or engineers which are hired…

And for some weird reason, that's how ML likes it. It would be hilarious how they're actually proud of the GO train if it weren't so tragic.

I‘ve visited or worked for the transit systems of dozens of cities and I struggle to name a metropolitan area in North American which has improved as significantly as Toronto and is set to continue that trendline…

 

[cplchanb]

I‘ve visited or worked for the transit systems of dozens of cities and I struggle to name a metropolitan area in North American which has improved as significantly as Toronto and is set to continue that trendline…

i guess it depends on how the trendline stacks up against the rest of the world standard.... sure like Air Canada, we can be good in north america but against the world.... indonesia has better transit than us...
we were given a once in a generation opportunity to leap out of the commuter rail mindset and in line with what Europe and asia are successfully doing. looks like were squandering that chance and it may never come again in our lifetimes.

 

[Urban Sky]

i guess it depends on how the trendline stacks up against the rest of the world standard.... sure like Air Canada, we can be good in north america but against the world.... indonesia has better transit than us...

I invite you to identify a city in North America which has made more progress and is more comitted than Toronto to narrow the gap to European or Asian Tier-1 cities…

 

[turbanplanner]

in house= draconian 1990s commuter rail mindset. no wonder OnXpress failed. whomever they hire will be a ML lapdog yesman. They wont dare to challenge the status quo so good luck with RER in the next 50 years

What do you mean, you see no value in counter, peak service or trains on weekends?

 

[turbanplanner]

I invite you to identify a city in North America which has made more progress and is more comitted than Toronto to narrow the gap to European or Asian Tier-1 cities…

I think everybody saying this has a fair point, but how many other cities have as much focus on the downtown and as big of a traffic problem?

 

[Thaboss]

I invite you to identify a city in North America which has made more progress and is more comitted than Toronto to narrow the gap to European or Asian Tier-1 cities…

I wish I could be optimistic about progress on the GO lines like you clearly are, but at least in the public realm there's virtually no information about where things are headed, and until those secret metrolinx plans are defined, pessimism is all i have room for.

I should also add, douge ford's obsession of cars gives me even less faith that go transit will continue to see outsized investment. But also political pressure to improve service rapidly.

 

[Northern Light]

I invite you to identify a city in North America which has made more progress and is more comitted than Toronto to narrow the gap to European or Asian Tier-1 cities…

I get both of your statements above, and understand the idea of pushing back when the rhetoric the other way is a bit on the hyperbolas side ..... however...
I will offer that comparing to other North American cities as a whole, particularly meaning the U.S. and Canada just isn't great when, collectively, we've been laggards.

New York City is the sole truly extensive system, with high ridership in the U.S., and yet has been notoriously unreliable with negative public perception as to its appearance and safety.

Chicago is also, relatively robust in heavy rail, but serious shortcomings on frequency, integration with METRA/PACE etc. and so on.

LA has been growing its core mass transit system by relative leaps and bounds, but that's from nearly non-existent and its ridership remains a non-factor in the LA modal share.

*****

Narrowing the focus to GO for a moment, yes, there has been progress and many construction projects........but in reality, service is lower today (Lakeshore East and West) than it was in 2020 some 5 years ago.

Off-peak service is notably better to Bramalea, but bare basics like weekend trains to K-W remain absent, while work on infill stations promised years ago, and at costs that are grossly excessive........is just barely beginning.
So I don't think its unfair for people to be disappointed and exasperated.

Lets be clear, if the last 5 years of actual service, as experienced by most riders was the bar, we would end up expecting virtually no improvement in the next 5.

While a good deal of that is poor project management/workflow, and some major progress has not yet been shown off, poor communication leaves only the negative impression of projects years overdue, and service sorely lacking.

 

[felix123]

I invite you to identify a city in North America which has made more progress and is more comitted than Toronto to narrow the gap to European or Asian Tier-1 cities…

I would've actually agreed with you on this until ONxpress unravelled. Now it's hard to believe we're getting anything other than what we have now: Infrequent, commuter service that's inconsistently spread across its lines with big slow trains that drop you off in a giant parking lot.

It seems like that's all ML knows.

 

[Bordercollie]

I would've actually agreed with you on this until ONxpress unravelled. Now it's hard to believe we're getting anything other than what we have now: Infrequent, commuter service that's inconsistently spread across its lines with big slow trains that drop you off in a giant parking lot.

It seems like that's all ML knows.

It seems to me that with the government, someone who knows someone gets put into a high level position somewhere and makes decisions that benefits their own interests and awards contracts to companies who are not really qualified but know someone or has business relationships with that person.

And then it all goes to shit and they hire someone else who goes in a completely opposite direction. And then that lasts for a few years but in the end only the consultants and the designers get paid and nothing is ever built.