Part of the City of Toronto’s SmartTrack Stations program, the East Harbour Transit Hub will provide a greater choice of reliable and convenient transit options to shorten commutes and increase quality of life for locals and visitors alike.

We’re proud to have been part of the journey since the beginning. In the project’s early study phases, we worked with real estate developers First Gulf and Cadillac Fairview to advance the business case and economic strategy and undertake key stakeholder engagement and urban planning.

The East Harbour Transit Hub will be an economic catalyst for the surrounding development area, located directly south of the station. It will serve as a gateway to the Port Lands redevelopment, which will create new housing and employment. The transit hub is integral to the new adjacent transit-oriented community (TOC), which includes 13 million square feet of new residential and commercial space, community amenities, and green space, making it one of the largest commercial developments currently underway in Canada.

As part of the developer team, we provided strategic analysis and design for the East Harbour Transit Hub’s preliminary layout and configuration. These early activities identified key benefits and opportunities at East Harbour, and secured multi-level stakeholder buy-in to advance the TOC segment of the project.

Changing requirements necessitated a project transition from developer-led to Metrolinx-led, a government agency responsible for coordination and integration of all modes of transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Metrolinx, Hatch, and Rail Connect Partners (RCP) entered into an alliance contract delivery model to effectively drive progress and mitigate risk on the East Harbour Transit Hub project. An alliance delivery model is a collaborative contract, wherein participants work together, with mutual risks and responsibilities throughout project delivery. This type of contract creates a collective, cooperative culture, promoting enhanced team alignment, risk and reward sharing, and informed decision-making across all parties.

Within this model, we are the design participant and continue to be the Engineer/Architect of Record for the East Harbour station, providing project management, architectural and detailed design, detailed engineering, and construction design support services.

With safety and passenger experience at the forefront, the design will be consistent with the Metrolinx transit network. We are developing new and upgraded infrastructure elements, including the new Eastern Avenue Bridge, the Broadview Avenue bridge and road extension, railway retaining structures, tracks, and the facilities within the transit hub itself.

The East Harbour station will offer four new tracks for GO trains and two for the Ontario Line subway, as well as new passenger amenities, accessible drop-off areas, and connections to the future road networks.

Combined with Ontario Line passengers and expanded GO service, East Harbour is expected to serve an estimated 100,000 daily riders, with trains arriving as frequently as every five minutes during the busiest travel hours. With new light rail, cycling, and pedestrian connections, the transit hub will significantly alleviate gridlock in the downtown core and transform commutes for millions of people across the province.

Those living in Toronto’s east end can soon say goodbye to congested Union Station. Under the alliance delivery model, the East Harbour Transit Hub project is reshaping the landscape of transit in the region and transforming the way infrastructure projects are conceived, constructed, and delivered.