Proposed fares for Union-Pearson Express train announced
Posted December 10, 2014 2:01 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The fares have been announced for the new Union-Pearson Express train and they’re almost as expensive as expected.
The regular one-way fare for the train between Union Station and Pearson Airport will be $27.50. The fare had been rumoured to be around $29.
The fare for students and seniors (13-19 years of age and 65+ years of age) will be $23.40 while children (six-12 years of age), will be $13.75. Children under the age of six will be free. The fare for a family including two adults (18+ years of age) and up to three children (under 18), will be $55.
“We’re done with the days of just talking about our transportation challenges and kicking the can down the road,” Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said. “We cannot afford any longer to talk about the challenges. To move Ontario forward, we need to build the solutions.”
The route between Toronto’s Union Station and Pearson Airport will take 25 minutes, running every 15 minutes for 19.5 hours a day.
The new trains will be equipped with airline check-in kiosks, Wi-Fi and luggage racks.
Mobile users click here to see a slideshow of Pearson-Union Express photographs.
Train service is on track to start next spring, in time for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
“It’ll be a fantastic first impression for those arriving here this summer for the Pan Am Games,” Wynne said.
“People expect when they arrive here that such a thing exists. I think what we’re dealing with is people who come here really being surprised that it doesn’t exist already so it’s very important that we get this up and running,” Wynne said.
People with a Presto fare card will be able to ride the train one way between Union and Pearson for $19.
The fare for students and seniors will be $16.15 while children (six-12 years of age) will be $9.50. The fare for a family including adults (18+ years of age) and up to three children (under 18), will be $55.
The trains will make two stops aside from Union and Pearson, one at Bloor and one at Weston. The service will also operate with a fare-by-distance principle, meaning a trip from Weston to Pearson with a Presto card will be $11.40 and $16.50 without one. A trip from Bloor to Pearson with a Presto card will be $15.20 and $22 without one.
Some airport workers will get $10 one-way tickets or a $300 monthly pass.
All fares still need approval from Metrolinx’s board of directors, which will meet on Thursday.
It’s estimated that by 2015, the train will carry 2.35-million passengers a year.
Dedicated express train services from airports to city centres in other major cities can cost in the same area. The Heathrow Express takes travellers from London’s Heathrow Airport to Paddington Station in 15 minutes for the equivalent of C$37.83. In Hong Kong, a trip on their Airport Express from any of five stations in central Hong Kong to the airport takes 24 minutes and costs C$14.81.
Mobile users click here to see a chart comparing the price of similar express train services in some other major cities.
