diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/CoreBundle.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/CoreBundle.php
index f1e43d6..c5ed4a2 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/CoreBundle.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/CoreBundle.php
@@ -63,8 +63,11 @@ public function build(ContainerBuilder $container) {
 
     $container->register('router.dumper', '\Drupal\Core\Routing\MatcherDumper')
       ->addArgument(new Reference('database'));
+    $container->register('router.collection_factory', '\Drupal\Core\Routing\RouteCollectionFactory')
+      ->addArgument(new Reference('database'));
     $container->register('router.builder', 'Drupal\Core\Routing\RouteBuilder')
-      ->addArgument(new Reference('router.dumper'));
+      ->addArgument(new Reference('router.dumper'))
+      ->addArgument(new Reference('router.collection_factory'));
 
     // @todo Replace below lines with the commented out block below it when it's
     //   performant to do so: http://drupal.org/node/1706064.
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Routing/RouteBuilder.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Routing/RouteBuilder.php
index 6335ffe..932c476 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Routing/RouteBuilder.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Routing/RouteBuilder.php
@@ -27,13 +27,21 @@ class RouteBuilder {
   protected $dumper;
 
   /**
+   * The route collection factory to pass to hook_route_info() implementations.
+   *
+   * @var \Drupal\Core\Routing\RouteCollectionFactory
+   */
+  protected $factory;
+
+  /**
    * Construcs the RouteBuilder using the passed MatcherDumperInterface.
    *
    * @param Symfony\Component\Routing\Matcher\Dumper\MatcherDumperInterface $dumper
    *   The matcher dumper used to store the route information.
    */
-  public function __construct(MatcherDumperInterface $dumper) {
+  public function __construct(MatcherDumperInterface $dumper, RouteCollectionFactory $factory) {
     $this->dumper = $dumper;
+    $this->factory = $factory;
   }
 
   /**
@@ -44,7 +52,7 @@ public function rebuild() {
     // a given item came from.
 
     foreach (module_implements('route_info') as $module) {
-      $routes = call_user_func($module . '_route_info');
+      $routes = call_user_func($module . '_route_info', $this->factory);
       drupal_alter('router_info', $routes, $module);
       $this->dumper->addRoutes($routes);
       $this->dumper->dump(array('route_set' => $module));
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Routing/RouteCollectionFactory.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Routing/RouteCollectionFactory.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..949f029
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Routing/RouteCollectionFactory.php
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Definition of Drupal\Core\Routing\RouteCollectionFactory.
+ */
+
+namespace Drupal\Core\Routing;
+
+use Symfony\Component\Routing\Route;
+use Symfony\Component\Routing\RouteCollection;
+
+/**
+ * Creates route collections from various sources.
+ */
+class RouteCollectionFactory {
+
+  /**
+   * Creates a RouteCollection from a PHP array.
+   */
+  public function createFromArray(array $items) {
+    $collection = new RouteCollection();
+    foreach ($items as $name => $item) {
+      $requirements = isset($item['requirements']) ? $item['requirements'] : array();
+      $route = new Route($item['pattern'], $item['defaults'], $requirements);
+      $collection->add($name, $route);
+    }
+    return $collection;
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/modules/system/system.api.php b/core/modules/system/system.api.php
index a9a2e17..546aa18 100644
--- a/core/modules/system/system.api.php
+++ b/core/modules/system/system.api.php
@@ -583,7 +583,8 @@ function hook_menu_get_item_alter(&$router_item, $path, $original_map) {
  *   by a more robust mechanism in the near future.  It is documented here
  *   only for completeness.
  */
-function hook_route_info() {
+function hook_route_info($route_collection_factory) {
+  // Option 1: Build a RouteCollection explicitly and return it.
   $collection = new RouteCollection();
 
   $route = new Route('router_test/test1', array(
@@ -608,6 +609,37 @@ function hook_route_info() {
   $collection->add('router_test_4', $route);
 
   return $collection;
+
+  // Option 2: Use the factory to build a RouteCollection from a PHP array.
+  return $route_collection_factory->createFromArray(array(
+    'router_test_1' => array(
+      'pattern' => 'router_test/test1',
+      'defaults' => array(
+        '_controller' => '\Drupal\router_test\TestControllers::test1',
+      ),
+    ),
+    'router_test_2' => array(
+      'pattern' => 'router_test/test2',
+      'defaults' => array(
+        '_content' => '\Drupal\router_test\TestControllers::test2',
+      ),
+    ),
+    'router_test_3' => array(
+      'pattern' => 'router_test/test3/{value}',
+      'defaults' => array(
+        '_content' => '\Drupal\router_test\TestControllers::test3',
+      ),
+    ),
+    'router_test_4' => array(
+      'pattern' => 'router_test/test4/{value}',
+      'defaults' => array(
+        '_content' => '\Drupal\router_test\TestControllers::test4',
+        'value' => 'narf',
+      ),
+    ),
+  ));
+
+  // @todo More options TBD: http://drupal.org/node/1801570.
 }
 
 /**