Toronto transit infrastructure costs soar: New report offers solutions to reduce costs

Ontario Construction News staff writer

A new report by the Toronto Region Board of Trade titled “The Price of Progress: Enabling the Delivery of Critical Transit Infrastructure”, digs into international transit case studies to uncover best practice recommendations.

The report highlights that the average cost per kilometer of transit infrastructure in Toronto from the mid-1970’s to the mid-1990’s held steady at approximately $103M/km (in 2023 dollars). However, beginning in the 2000s, costs began to accelerate.

A new report from the Toronto Region Board of Trade, titled “The Price of Progress: Enabling the Delivery of Critical Transit Infrastructure,” explores international transit case studies to uncover best practices and offer recommendations for reducing costs and improving delivery.

The report reveals that from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, the average cost per kilometer for transit infrastructure in Toronto was relatively stable at around $103 million (adjusted for 2023 dollars). However, starting in the 2000s, these costs began to escalate significantly.

Key findings include:

• The completion of the Sheppard subway in 2002 marked a dramatic shift, with costs per kilometer soaring to $234 million.
• The subsequent extension of the TTC’s Line 1 Yonge-University subway into York Region continued this trend, ultimately costing $443 million per kilometer and experiencing delays.
• Currently, Toronto’s transit infrastructure projects average over $700 million per kilometer, which is on par with other North American cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco ($680 million to $780 million per kilometer), but considerably higher than global cities such as Paris and Madrid ($100 million to $300 million per kilometer).

The report proposes five key recommendations to address these challenges and improve both cost-efficiency and delivery speed:

1. Embrace advanced technology in infrastructure construction.
2. Adopt lower-cost, modular design and construction methods.
3. Develop and adhere to a long-term transit and implementation plan.
4. Establish clear governance and decision-making structures before project initiation.
5. Build collective support for the vision and benefits of transit projects.

“We need to build a huge amount of new transit infrastructure, which will require learning how to be more efficient in order to maintain public confidence,” said Giles Gherson, president and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade. “We must create the conditions for more effective planning and delivery. The status quo is damaging our city’s livability, business competitiveness, and prolonging the congestion crisis.”

With more than $80 billion in transit projects currently underway—the largest expansion in Toronto’s history—addressing critical congestion challenges and ensuring the free movement of people and goods is crucial. We must avoid repeating past mistakes and ensure that we learn from previous high-profile projects that faced delays and cost overruns.

This report, the fourth in a series providing actionable recommendations to tackle transportation challenges, outlines how we can enhance cost management and project delivery to build a more effective transit network for the future.