QUEEN’S PARK — With the Union Pearson Express set to begin exclusive diesel train service for business-class travellers this Saturday, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath asked the Liberal government if their promise to electrify the line is just another in a long line of broken transit promises by the Liberals.
“This is the only new rapid transit service the Liberals have delivered in Toronto since the flurry of transit promises that were made way back in 2007. Yet, since 2007, they’ve cut $4 billion from transit funding, they’ve cancelled five of the light rail projects and deferred the Sheppard East LRT until at least the next decade, and there is no sign of the two subway lines, including the downtown relief line, that the Premier promised to prioritize just a year ago,” said Horwath.
The Liberals originally promised to electrify the UP Express line by 2017. Yet electrification will now be delayed, perhaps as long as ten years.
Horwath asked why Torontonians should believe that the government will not again delay and defer its promise to electrify the Union Pearson Express given its record of broken promises.
“Can the Premier tell us exactly when the last diesel train will run on the Union Pearson Express?” asked Horwath.
The Premier deferred to the Minister of Transportation who did not provide a timeline for electrification.