RFQ issued for Barrie Rail Corridor Expansion

TORONTO – Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx have issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for interested parties to build and finance the Barrie Rail Corridor Expansion – Grading Project. The infrastructure upgrades are required to accommodate the planned increase in service on the Barrie GO line.

The RFQ outlines the scope of work required, which includes:

• Double track expansion on the Barrie Corridor Line, including grading, between Union Station and Aurora GO Station
• Track and signal upgrades to support double track expansion
• Noise and retaining walls
• Bridge expansions at Sheppard Avenue West, Major Mackenzie Drive and Yonge Street

This project is part of Metrolinx’s work in support of GO Regional Express Rail (RER). GO RER will provide faster, more frequent and more convenient transit service across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), including electrification of core segments of the GO rail network by 2024-25. The program will provide new travel choices for commuters, significantly increase transit ridership, cut journey times and help manage congestion across the GTHA.

“The Barrie Rail Corridor project is critical to the expansion of rail services under Metrolinx’s Regional Express Rail. Our government recognizes the importance of critical transit improvements because they keep people and goods moving, communities growing, and help build Ontario up, ” said Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Infrastructure.

Major infrastructure updates are required to bring this level of service to communities across the region, including: adding track, modifying GO stations, improving rail crossings, building required systems for electrification and adding new locomotives and train control systems.

The RFQ is the first step in the procurement process to select a team to deliver the project. IO and Metrolinx will evaluate submissions to prequalify project teams with the relevant construction experience. Teams that qualify will be invited to respond to a request for proposals in fall 2017. Interested companies must register with www.merx.com to download the RFQ.

Ontario is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, public transit, roads and bridges, and water and wastewater infrastructure in the province’s history – more than $190 billion in public infrastructure over 13 years, starting in 2014–15. To learn more about what is happening in your community, go to Ontario.ca/BuildON.

Quick Facts:

• According to Ontario’s 2017 Long-Term Report on the Economy, every $1 spent on public infrastructure has been shown to increase GDP by $6 in the long term.
• Infrastructure Ontario, collaborating with Metrolinx, is leading the procurement of the Barrie Rail Corridor Expansion – Grading Project.
• The project is being delivered using IO’s Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP) model, an innovative way of financing and procuring large, complex public infrastructure projects.
• Projects that are delivered using IO’s AFP model have a track record of being 96 per cent on budget and 73 per cent on time or within one month of the scheduled substantial completion date.

SOURCE Infrastructure Ontario