The Ontario government has announced that it has issued requests for proposals (RFPs) for consortia to design and build several key elements of the Ontario Line subway projects.

Separate RFPs have been released for two aspects of the project. The first is for the Pape Tunnel and underground stations.

The contract will deliver three kilometres of twin tunnels and two new stations – one at Cosburn Avenue and another at Pape Avenue, where the Ontario Line will connect to the existing Line 2. The contract will also include the construction of two new portals, which will be where the line transitions between above-ground and underground operations.

A second RFP has been issued for the elevated guideway and stations. The scope of work calls for construction of a three-kilometre elevated guideway, emergency exit buildings, and five above-ground stations – two within Metrolinx’s existing rail corridor (Riverside-Leslieville and Gerrard) and three along the elevated guideway in the northern part of the route (Thorncliffe Park, Flemingdon Park, and the Science Centre).

“This milestone is another demonstration of our government breaking with the status quo and building the public transit system that commuters in a dense city like Toronto need to thrive,” said Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation.

Six teams have been shortlisted and invited to bid on the packages, which are being delivered using Infrastructure Ontario’s (IO’s) Progressive Design-Build delivery model.

Bidding on the Pape Tunnel RFP are Community Transit Link (which is led by STRABAG Inc.), Pape North Connect (led jointly by Italian company Webuild S.p.A. and Spanish firm FCC CONSTRUCCIÓN, S.A.), and Trillium Subway Partners (led jointly by Acciona Infrastructure Canada Inc., Eiffage Innovative Canada Inc. and Amico Infrastructures Incorporated).

Shortlisted for the elevated guideway and stations RFP are Rail Connect Partnership (which is led by SNC-Lavalin Major Projects Inc. and Bird Construction Industrial Services Ltd.), Transit Expansion North (led by Pomerleau Inc., Aecon Infrastructure Management Inc., and Bouygues Travaux Publics S.A.S.), and Trillium Guideway Partners (led by Acciona Infrastructure Canada Inc., Amico Infrastructures Inc., and Dufferin Construction Company).

The teams will begin preparing proposals that detail how they will deliver these projects.

Their proposals will be evaluated by IO and Metrolinx. The top-ranked team for each project will work collaboratively with Metrolinx during a development phase, which is expected to start in 2024.

Once the development phase is completed, Metrolinx will have the option to sign a contract with the successful team.

Shortlisted teams were selected based on criteria identified in the Request for Qualifications process that began in November 2022, which included their design and construction experience.

Construction for the Ontario Line is currently underway at Exhibition Station, at the site of the future Corktown and Moss Park stations, and in the joint rail corridor east of the Don River.

Once complete, the approximate 15.6-kilometre line will accommodate nearly 400,000 trips each day, running between the Ontario Science Centre and Exhibition/Ontario Place, with 15 stations along the way. The new line will provide more than 40 connections to other subway, bus, streetcar, light-rail transit and regional rail services.

The Ontario Line project is being delivered through various Public-Private-Partnership, progressive design-build and traditional procurement contracts, which are all being staged accordingly for their successful delivery.

On November 9, 2022, the province awarded the South contract, which includes a six-kilometre twin-bore tunnel, as well as four new underground stations (King-Bathurst, Queen-Spadina, Moss Park, Corktown), two underground stations that will integrate with the existing Osgoode and Queen TTC subway stations, and one above-ground station that will integrate with the existing Exhibition GO Station served by the Lakeshore West GO line.

On November 17, 2022, the province officially awarded the Rolling Stock, Systems, Operations and Maintenance (RSSOM) contract to Connect 6ix. The contract includes designing and supplying the Ontario Line fleet of trains, as well as designing and building the maintenance and storage facility and central control systems.

Construction of the project will support 4,700 jobs annually over the next decade, reduce commute times, and connect more people to housing across the Greater Golden Horseshoe and beyond.