The BLAST network is a plan for a frequent rapid transit system in the city of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It was conceived as part of the city's 2007 transportation master plan. It was later incorporated by Metrolinx as part of its regional transportation plan,

The Big Move The Big Move is the regional transportation plan (RTP) published by Metrolinx for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) in Ontario, Canada. It makes specific recommendations for transit projects, resulting from seven "green papers" and ...

. The B-Line LRT and A-Line are among the plan's prioritized transit expansion projects and were funding by the

Government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor� ...

in May 2015. The system is planned to include five routes, and includes two light rail transit (LRT) lines, and three

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

(BRT) lines. On December 16, 2019, the Government of Ontario announced it was cancelling its funding for the BLAST system's B-Line LRT, due to cost overruns. The provincial Ministry of Infrastructure noted that provincial funds originally planned for the Hamilton LRT project would be redistributed to other transportation infrastructure projects, with consultation with a newly formed Hamilton Transportation Task Force and Hamilton's city council. On April 9, 2020, the Hamilton Transportation Task Force released the report, suggested that the city need a "higher order transit project", could be either LRT or BRT.

Proposed lines

The B-Line LRT and A-Line BRT are the top transit priorities for the City of Hamilton and were originally scheduled for completion in 2024. As of April 2020, the Hamilton Transportation Task Force determined the funding could be either on LRT on B-Line or BRT on both B-Line and A-Line, construction will schedule to begin no later than March 16, 2022. The 2017 Metrolinx ''Regional Transportation Plan'' outlines a proposed regional transportation network for service by 2041. It includes four priority bus routes and an LRT to run on the north portion of the A-Line. BRT and LRT transit lines included in Metrolinx's 2017 ''Regional Transportation Plan'' includes:

References

External links

Hamilton Rapid Transit

BCA Consultation boards
{{Hamilton Transport in Hamilton, Ontario Passenger rail transport in Hamilton, Ontario Proposed public transport in the Greater Toronto Area Light rail in Canada