Metrolinx not releasing details on scrapped GO Transit, UP operating deal as opposition demands answers

It’s been more than a week since news of a new 25-year operating contract between Metrolinx and a private consortium was quietly dropped, and the Ontario transportation agency still has yet to reveal more about the circumstances despite calls for information.

“We don’t know the scope of this change, we don’t know if it’s operations only or what? This is the biggest P3 (public-private partnership) that the government has, and we’re finding out about it kind of in rumours and whispers about this change,” Jennifer French, the Ontario NDP’s transportation critic and the MPP for Oshawa, told CityNews.

“The board hasn’t met in [six] months, so they don’t even know, and the government, the ones who should be communicating this, are just quietly burying their heads in the sand.”

Andrea Hazell, the Ontario Liberal Party’s transportation critic, was equally frustrated over the matter.

“I can’t say I am surprised, but I am going to tell you I am so disappointed — very, very disappointed — because this government likes to talk about how much they are investing in transit and infrastructure, but we’re not seeing the end results of it,” she told CityNews.

“This is just another important and expansion project that is cancelled quietly.”

ONxpress Operations Inc., an operations arm of ONxpress Transportation Partners, a private-sector consortium awarded the quarter-century operating deal for GO Transit and UP Express trains in 2022, was supposed to take over from long-standing operators Alstom on Jan. 1.

The contract was centred on employing the operators and staff needed to run and maintain the trains, timetable planning and train control on the network owned by Metrolinx, and maintaining all the related infrastructure. Canadian infrastructure engineering firm Aecon and German railway operator Deutsche Bahn were among the participants in the consortium.

In mid-May, posts began appearing on social media and the website of local employment law firm Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, alluding to many workers being let go, and the firm reported “several affected workers” contacted lawyers seeking reviews of severance agreements.

It wasn’t clear how many ONxpress workers were impacted and what’s next for the consortium. CityNews previously contacted ONxpress to ask for information about the matter, but a response wasn’t received.

CityNews contacted Metrolinx to ask about the matter. A statement issued by the agency on May 16 said the parties were working on an “amicable settlement to end the partnership,” and that staff were “committed to providing a safe, reliable transit service” to the more than 120,000 daily GO Transit and UP Express riders.

CityNews followed up on Tuesday with Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria’s office and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to ask additional questions about the lack of proactive disclosure to the public, why the contract was ended, how much was spent to date, potential additional costs to residents for breaking the deal, the next steps for working with Alstom and future plans for operating trains.

Alstom continues to employ operations and maintenance staff, but it’s unclear how long Alstom will continue to provide the services to Metrolinx.

A response received from an MTO spokesperson on Friday reiterated similar messaging contained in the Metrolinx statement, and CityNews was referred to Metrolinx for further inquiries. A short time later, a Metrolinx spokesperson reissued the same statement from May 16 and said the organization did “not have anything further to add at this time.”

In 2022, CityNews reported on how ONxpress was awarded a $1.6-billion contract to begin the initial development phase of a massive GO Transit overhaul that would see key train lines electrified. The consortium was responsible for designing key things like signalling, system and Hydro One power upgrades, and construction to separate certain rail-road crossings.

It’s not clear how long-term plans for infrastructure expansion and electrification could be affected, but Hazell said she’s worried about delays and costs.

“This cancellation of this project, though, is going to be costing on both sides. How much is it going to cost? We don’t know, but we know it’s going to cost, and the taxpayers are always going to be paying this,” she said.

MPPs share secrecy and transparency concerns involving Metrolinx, Ontario government

While issues involving the cancelled operating deal are among the most recent issues facing the provincial transportation agency, Hazell said it is part of an ongoing pattern.

“There is … no transparency, no transparency from the government, from Metrolinx, no updates on their website.

“I am an MPP in Scarborough-Guildwood. We’ve got, like, about four or five transit projects in Scarborough. There is never an update coming out to us as an MPP in Scarborough.”

French said she has asked Metrolinx for updates on projects in Durham Region, and when she is offered a briefing, it’s scheduled in “several weeks.”

“Whether on the local level or the provincial level, we can’t get anywhere with Metrolinx and the fact that we are dumping buckets of money and buckets of trust, and it’s just opaque,” she said.

“It’s secret. It isn’t accountable on any level. (It) should be concerning to everyone, whether they follow transit and transportation decisions or not.”

French said she plans to ask about the issue since there “are a truckload of questions” still outstanding, but doesn’t know if answers will be forthcoming.

“The fact that when we get up with the opposition and challenge the government on any Metrolinx project and problem, we are met with sort of a, ‘Just trust us,’ you know, or, ‘Oh, it’s fine,’ and the government seems to have their head in the sand,” she said.

“I think that it’s just secrecy and perhaps incompetence, I don’t know, but someone could prove me wrong by showing us what is behind this Metrolinx iron curtain. So it’s not only that they’re not communicating, I don’t even know if they know how or have anything useful to communicate or if they’re just making it up as they go. This is a mess.”