Toronto City Councillors have approved Mayor John Tory’s $1.5 billion SmartTrack plan which will add six new stations to Toronto GO Rail lines.

However, the 37 – 6 vote was not without reservations.

Some councillors spoke to concerns about the high cost of the project and uncertainty about the plan to finance it.

SmartTrack piggy backs on a previously planned expansion of GO Transit Service – the so called “Regional Express Rail.”

Under the deal approved by council, the city will pay Metrolinx, the provincial agency that runs GO, to include six new SmartTrack-branded stations within the city limits.

The Mayor’s original plan proposed 22 new stations.

Tory says the system is projected to have 33 million SmartTrack trips by 2041 and he says the investment represents the cheapest transit we’re ever going to get inside the city.