The Union-Pearson Express train, set to begin running in 2015, promises a quick, speedy, incredibly epic, world city status-affirming ride from the west-end airport to downtown Toronto. It will also not be cheap: In 2012, we found that even at an estimated price of $25, roughly half the cost of a cab ride to Pearson, a ride on the new $456-million rail link will cost overwhelmingly more than comparable airport train rides in other North American cities.

Now, as projected fare details begin to emerge, it's clear that that will be the case. The Toronto Star reports that estimates of the final fare currently sit between $20 and $30. $2 of that fare, in case you're wondering, will be a built-in fee created to cushion the blow of lost airport parking revenue for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority. The GTAA told the Star its goal is simply to break even, while transit activists and politicians who pushed for a lower fare to make the train more accessible to airport employees are crying highway robbery.

With a number of factors already coalescing to drive fare costs up, do you think riders paying to avoid traffic should still pay for parking? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by James Anock in the blogTO Flickr pool