The TTC won’t be taking over the UP Express anytime soon, according to the city and province.

Mayor John Tory and Premier Kathleen Wynne told reporters Monday that there are currently no ongoing discussions taking place with regards to handing over the UP Express to the TTC.

Earlier this month, a committee at Queen’s Park submitted a report to Metrolinx that asked it to “explore ways to integrate the UP Express with the TTC” rather than operating it as a stand-alone service.

Tory and Wynne, however, both said that the idea of having the TTC operate the UP Express isn’t something either of them is pursuing at this point.

“We didn’t discuss it and the fact that we didn’t discuss it perhaps indicates how far along we aren’t when it comes to that,” Tory said following a wide-ranging meeting with Wynne at Queen’s Park. “It is not a discussion I am seeking out. I was on the UP express again a week or so ago and I was talking to a lot of the people who are now using it as a commuting service and they are very, very happy. Right now it is a great service, it is be used by people, and I think that suggests we should just wait a period of time in terms of establishing what may be done to make it better.”

Total subsidy required for service still unclear

The UP Express began operating last June but was plagued by poor ridership numbers until the province stepped in and slashed fares by nearly 60 per cent in February.

As a result of the slashed fare, the train is expected to lose money for the foreseeable future but the exact subsidy that will be required to keep it running has not been made public.

With the higher fare ($27.50 for adults), Metrolinx had hoped that the service would break even in three to five years.

“It is an ongoing discussion we will have to have internally but in terms of service to people and to travellers, it is a very important linkage so we want to find a way to make it function as well as it can,” Wynne said when asked about the subsidy on Monday. “I think we are well on the path to that now.”

NDP MPP Cheri Di Novo has previously told the Toronto Sun that the only way to make the UP Express function is by making it a commuter line and having the TTC operate additional stations or the entire line.

Nonetheless, Tory said it is just not something on his radar currently.

"We have enough things to worry about," he said.