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RFP issued for Lakeshore East – East Corridor Expansion Project

November 21, 2017 – Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx have issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to five prequalified teams to build and finance the Lakeshore East – East Corridor Expansion project. The infrastructure upgrades are required to accommodate the planned expansion of GO Transit rail service on the Lakeshore East corridor.

Teams were selected based on criteria identified in the Request for Qualifications process that began in March 2017. Selection criteria included applicable construction experience and capacity to finance a project of this size and complexity.

The prequalified teams are:
•EllisDon Infrastructure Transit
•Regional Rail Construction Partners
•Golden Horseshoe Infrastructure Partnership
•Steel Head Constructors
•Graham Commuter Rail Solutions

Teams invited to respond to the RFP will begin preparing proposals that detail how they will build and finance the project. Once submissions are received, IO and Metrolinx will evaluate the proposals, select a preferred bidder, and then negotiate a final contract. A successful bidder is expected to be announced in summer 2018. A fairness monitor will oversee the entire procurement process.

A copy of the RFP is available at www.infrastructureontario.ca

The scope of work for the Lakeshore East – East Corridor Expansion project includes:
•Right-of-Way (ROW) works to construct 11 kilometers of third track infrastructure between Beechgrove Road and Durham Junction
•Expansion and upgrade of two rail bridges at Rouge River and Highland Creek
•Expansion and rehabilitation of existing culverts
•Construction of retaining walls to support additional track grading for the corridor

This work will allow for increased GO rail service on the Lakeshore East line and will support the Province’s GO Regional Express Rail (RER) initiative. GO RER is a plan to provide faster and more frequent service on the GO Transit Rail Network with electrification of core segments. Weekly trips across the entire GO Rail Network are expected to grow from about 1,500 to nearly 6,000 by 2024-25, representing a doubling of peak service and quadrupling of off-peak service.

Transit improvements like the delivery of GO RER are part of Ontario’s plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.