Ontario will run airport link instead of private company after deal collapses
TORONTO - A provincial agency will now build a rail link between Toronto's Union Station and the city's international airport after a long-standing deal with a private company collapsed.
Metrolinx, a provincial transportation agency responsible for the Toronto and Hamilton areas, will now own and operate the rail link.
The deal was originally granted seven years ago to a wholly owned subsidiary of Montreal-based engineering and construction firm SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC).
The province says the rail link should ready in time for the Pan Am Games in 2015.
In separate statements, both Metrolinx and SNC-Lavalin said the deal fell through because of financial market conditions.
SNC-Lavalin says it's disappointed and blames the economy, saying investors were reluctant to lend money for the project.
Both sides say they will work together to build upon already completed work, which includes preliminary design, land acquisition, environmental assessments, and vehicle procurements.
A spokeswoman for SNC-Lanvin said the extent of the company's future involvement with the project is still undetermined, and payments are still being discussed.
Metrolinx says five million people travel between Toronto's downtown and the international airport each year and that the number will jump to nine million over the next 10 years.
Metrolinx says the rail link will eliminate 1.2 million car trips per year and will create 10,000 design and construction jobs.
The province has already started construction on the Georgetown South Corridor GO Transit line to support the rail link.
In a statement, Ian Troop, the president and CEO of the Pan Am Games wrote that the rail link will make a big difference to travellers.
"The ability to travel quickly between the airport and downtown is an importance piece of the transportation puzzle for the city and the region," he wrote.
SNC-Lavalin has previous experience with airport planning and engineering, and completed an expansion of Montreal's Trudeau Airport, as well as airports in France and Kenya, according to the company's website.
