Ontario Line may not be done by 2027, source says

Province plans to split project procurement in four phases, sources say

The provincial government is forging ahead with the Ontario Line amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, but the procurement for Premier Doug Ford’s signature transit project will be more complicated than previously thought, and its completion likely delayed.

The Star has learned that on Tuesday the provincial government plans to announce the first two public-private partnership requests for qualifications (RFQs) for the Ontario Line. The 15.5-kilometre, $11billion rail project would connect Exhibition Place to the Ontario Science Centre via downtown and forms the centrepiece of Premier Doug Ford’s $28.5-billion transit plans.

Adraft ministry of transportation press release reviewed by the Star shows the province plans to break up the procurement for the project into at least four separate phases.

The release also makes no mention of the previously announced target date of 2027 to complete the project.

A senior government source with knowledge of the project said that although the province is doing everything it can to advance the Ontario Line, including performing necessary geotechnical and utility survey work this summer, market conditions coupled with the COVID-19 crisis may push the project back.

“The target date for the Ontario Line has always been reflective of what market participation was bidding back to the province,” the source said. “I’d be lying to you if I said (the 2027 completion date) wasn’t challenged.”

According to a fact sheet accompanying the draft press release, the first phase of procurement would be a 30-year contract to design, supply, operate and maintain the vehicles, track, communications, and train control systems for the entire line, which would be driverless.

As part of a framework deal Toronto city council struck with the province last October, the TTC is to be responsible for the operations of new lines built by the province.

The senior provincial source couldn’t immediately explain how the request for qualifications fit that agreement, but stressed operations of the Ontario Line “absolutely remain with the TTC.”

A source with the Ministry of Transportation said “the extent of operational duties carried out by TTC could include forward-facing customer personnel” like station managers and transit security, as well as network transit control.

The second phase of procurement would be for designing, building, and financing the southern portion of the Ontario Line, from Exhibition Place to the Don Yard west of the Don River.

The third phase would be for the northern portion of the line, from Gerrard to the Ontario Science Centre. Although the RFQ for this stage wouldn’t be issued until early 2022, the contract would end at the same time as the earlier two phases, “allowing the Ontario Line to open as one,” according to the fact sheet.

Segments of the Ontario Line that run through the Lakeshore East GO corridor between East Harbour and Gerrard will be procured separately. The province expects work for the Ontario Line in the GO corridor to begin before the other three phases.

The complex, multi-phase approach is a departure from the one previously discussed by Metrolinx. The initial business case for the project contemplated a single contract to design, build, finance and maintain the line. The senior government source said the province decided to break up the contract to make it more attractive to private sector bidders.

In the past year, potential bidders from some sectors had expressed concerns about having to team up with vehicle providers to vie for projects, as well as the significant financial risk government was asking them to take on for large transit builds. The COVID-19 pandemic has also dealt a financial blow to major industry players based in Europe.

“The market place was very different” when the province announced the Ontario Line in April 2019, the source said.