Keolis
Keolis Commuter Services (Keolis), operating partner for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Commuter Rail, recently completed station beautification efforts at two Fairmount Line stations as part of the company’s “Keolis Cares” program. Volunteers worked with community groups and local officials at Talbot Avenue Station and Four Corners/Geneva Station to clean up the station, plant flowers, and clear overgrown areas.
“Keolis is proud to partner with the community to conduct clean-up efforts at stations,” said Keolis Commuter Services CEO and General Manager Abdellah Chajai. “Ridership on the Fairmount Line has surged in recent years, and these stations are an important link to the Commuter Rail system for the community. I want to thank our employees, as well as the elected officials and community members who came out to help us with this important work.”
The clean-up work comes as Keolis and the MBTA recently announced 30-minute service all day on the Fairmount Line, including weekends.
“Thank you to Keolis for continuing Keolis Cares, their commitment to partnering with riders to improve the wellbeing of its riders and the communities they reside in,” said Senator Nick Collins. “Their efforts at Talbot Ave and Four Corners/Geneva Stations this month were a great example of how public private partnerships should work.”
“The partnership and trust between Keolis and the community grows each day,” said State Representative Russell Holmes. “Keolis is staying true to its commitments by listening to the riders. The goal of showing ‘Keolis Cares’ rings true when the team and community does cleanups such as those done at the Talbot Ave and Four Corners stations.”
“I’m grateful to Keolis for leading a beautification effort of the Four Corners station,” said Boston City Councilor Brian Worrell. “It’s a vital hub for our neighborhood, and our residents deserve it to be cleaned up. I’m thankful to the Four Corners Main Streets for organizing all the neighbors to come together to make it happen.”
Metrolinx
Beginning July 16, Metrolinx customers can add a PRESTO card to Apple Wallet and tap to ride using their iPhone or Apple Watch. This new feature brings even more ways to pay your fare across the region, the agency noted.
This, Metrolinx says, is the first time in Canada that a transit card is available in Apple Wallet, changing the game for customers, whether they’re regular riders or just visiting.
A digital version of a PRESTO card can be added to Apple Wallet for no additional charge and can be used to pay fares on GO Transit, UP Express, Brampton Transit, Burlington Transit, Durham Region Transit, Hamilton Street Railway, MiWay (in Mississauga), Oakville Transit, TTC and York Region Transit.
“We are excited to bring customers another way to pay their fare with the addition of a PRESTO card on iPhone and Apple Watch,” said Metrolinx Chief Payments Officer Barclay Hancock. “This is yet another way PRESTO is continuously evolving and innovating to meet the needs of customers and make it easier for them to choose transit first.”
More information is available here.
Separately, this week, crews broke ground on the future Ontario Line connection at Pape Station.
Following the completion of important prep work to clear the site for major construction, teams are now installing foundational supports to reinforce the soil and prepare for excavation.
Before digging can begin, a strong and stable perimeter needs to be built around the excavation site. At Pape, this involves digging deep and narrow trenches into the ground, inserting steel reinforcement cages into them and filling them with concrete. “Not only does this create a safe and stable site for excavation, [but] it also creates the walls of the future underground station structure,” Metrolinx noted.
Construction is under way across the Ontario Line, with crews preparing for excavation at all downtown station sites by installing new support walls. In the east end, major bridge work is under way along the existing above-ground rail corridor where the Ontario Line will run, and sites are being cleared to prepare for future major construction in the north end, including on the new Thorncliffe Park Station.
According to Metrolinx, during the busiest travel hour, the future interchange station is expected to serve 10,200 riders and facilitate 9,100 transfers between the Ontario Line, Line 2 subway service, and popular bus routes like the 25 Don Mills and 72 Pape.
“Once complete, the Ontario Line will make it faster and easier to travel across the city,” said Metrolinx, adding that a trip from Pape and Danforth to Queen and University will take less than half the time, from 25 minutes to 12 minutes.
