Engineer operating the Union Pearson Express train as it approaches Terminal 1 at Pearson Airport on Monday.Patrick Dell/The Globe and Mail
Shortly after leaving the station at Pearson airport, the soon-to-launch rail link into the city offers a sweeping panorama of Toronto, with the downtown towers massed in the distance.
A selection of reporters on Monday were the first members of the public to ride the Union-Pearson Express. The train did not go fast, or get far from the station, but it was a taste of the service expected to start in May.
Once in operation, the train is to carry people between the airport and Union station downtown in 25 minutes, with two stops along the way.
Much of the route is on existing rail corridors, but a three-kilometre span to the airport had to be built. And the construction job was complicated by having to go high over multiple roads, according to Daryl Barnett, vice-president of network infrastructure for Metrolinx, the regional transit agency.
Extensive testing of the project began in recent weeks. The launch date will depend on the progress of that, but appears likely to be in early May.
"You have to basically go through simulation of every kind of emergency that you could possibly have," said Anne Marie Aikins, spokeswoman for Metrolinx.
Although a rail link from downtown Toronto to the airport has long been pondered, the premium service model proposed by Metrolinx has been panned as unsuitable for many travellers. The full-cost fare for adults is $27.50 for a one-way trip between Union Station and the airport, with discounts for seniors, students, families and people with the Presto fare-card. Airport workers will get a steep discount.
Oliver Moore