Key part of Hurontario LRT taking shape on Mississauga-Brampton border
Published September 17, 2021 at 9:01 am
A huge building that will service and clean Hurontario light rail transit (LRT) trains is nearing completion on the Mississauga/Brampton border.
Specifically, the exterior of the LRT project’s central vehicle building–the future Operations, Maintenance and Storage Facility—has almost been finished.
Metrolinx, the Crown agency that manages public transportation in the Golden Horseshoe, says that when completed, the 114,000-sq-ft facility will fit as many as 42 of the electric train cars that will carry passengers from Port Credit north to Brampton, with numerous stops in between, when the LRT opens in fall 2024.
Officials with Metrolinx say the site, located just south of Hwy. 407, has come a long way from being just a plot of land.
“The Hurontario LRT project continues to make impressive progress along the Hurontario Street corridor, with its central vehicle building taking shape,” said Metrolinx officials, who captured recent aerial photos of the incomplete facility using a drone.
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Inside the structure at the moment, crews are working on fireproofing, stair installation and construction of the maintenance pit and wash bay facility.
Outside the building, work continues to prepare the ground for the installation of tracks, officials say, adding the first set of tracks is expected to be installed later this year.
When up and running, the 18-kilometre Hurontario LRT will offer a dedicated right-of-way running from the lakeshore in Mississauga to Brampton Gateway Terminal. It will link to GO stations at Port Credit and Cooksville, the Mississauga Transitway, Square One GO Bus Terminal, Brampton Gateway Terminal, and key MiWay and Brampton Transit routes.
Officials say the LRT, featuring 19 stops, will be a critical link for residents and businesses in the area as one-quarter of Mississauga’s employment and residents is expected to be along the Hurontario corridor in the next two decades.
The initiative is part of Metrolinx’s long-term vision for an integrated, sustainable transit network connecting the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas.
