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Best commute Toronto to Kitchener

nfitz said:
Sundays are certainly very different, (or especially Mondays after a long weekend). But does this happen for regular weekday service?
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Yes it does. I have seen it. During the summer months you get a lot of tourists taking the bus. As someone else said, If you don't line up early you might not get on the bus. Last time i took the bus the Kitchener bus ( about a month ago) I got there 30 mins before departure and there was about 20 people already in line! Greyhound is notorious for overbooking.
 
Its definitely a repositioning of the train. It's 1 physical train that goes out to Sarnia daily, which is a 4hr trip. It's that same train that goes back to Toronto in the evening. VIAs scheduled don't make sense. It would be good if you could take an earlier train. Same goes for London. The earliest train to London is out at 7:30am and it gets there for 9:45am, very close to 10am. Another example of when an earlier train would be more useful.
 
Okay, honesty time. This commute is for me, not a family member. I've today resigned my corporate big American-firm job and am joining a firm west of Kitchener, mostly working from Toronto but one day a week at head office. So, I would like to have options other than the roads (personal car or bus) to get to Kitchener in the winter, hence my rail questions.

How is Uber in Kitchener? Once I get to the train station I'll need a ride to the New Hamburg area.
 
I can't wait for improved Kitchener service. Right now, my journey to KW looks like this on weekends.
  • Get on Subway at Keele to Islington
  • Take MiWay 109 to Square One
  • Take the Waterloo Go Bus
All in all, a solid 3 hour journey for what is just an hour drive.
 
CDL.TO said:
Classic Beez. Hope you can make this work for you. There's going to be some very difficult days.
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Thanks, I think. A degree of subterfuge was a necessary evil as corporate has full visibility to my web activity, when accessed from office of course.

As I'll work from the Toronto office 4 days a week, what I'm really looking forward to is leaving my car at home and joining the rest of my neighbours in their cycle or walk to their nearby offices. I'll gladly trade eliminating the daily grinding drives to Markham for four days a month driving to Kitchener. Maybe I'll lose a few pounds.
 
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After 10 years of doing this, my only advice unfortunately is driving. Leaving by about 6:30 am, and coming back about 6:30 pm. And having enough flexibility to avoid snowy days.

Choice 2 would be Greyhound and taxi/uber - which mightn't be too bad for you - you could almost walk to the bus terminal at Bay/Dundas. But your stuck in the same traffic as your car - but at least you aren't driving.

Choice 3 would be to take the subway to Islington, the MiWay 109 express to Square One, and the GO Bus to University of Waterloo, followed by taxi/uber. That might work a bit better in rush-hour, as part of it is on the Transitway, and you avoid the bus on the Gardiner.

I keep hoping for a morning train to Kitchener.
 
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nfitz said:
I keep hoping for a morning train to Kitchener.
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We'll celebrate together when it launches. I'll bring the playing cards.

When it's too gross in the winter for driving I'll likely take the 10:55am VIA that arrives at 12:30pm in Kitchener. Work the afternoon and following full day, and take the 9:42pm train back that arrives at Union at 11:17pm.
 
Okay, I'm going to try the rail commute next week. My office is near New Hamburg, directly between Stratford and Kitchener. I figure Kitchener is the more sensible stop. I'll book the 10:55am VIA that arrives at 12:30pm in Kitchener. Work the afternoon and following full day, and take the 9:42pm train back that arrives at Union at 11:17pm.

The only challenge will be finding somewhere to loiter until 9:42pm. I can hang at the office until around 5:30pm or 6pm, and then grab a taxi (or Uber if they'll come out that far) for the 20 min ride to the Kitchener rail station. But then I've got a three plus hour wait. I can get tons of work done during that time if I can find wi-fi and a coffee shop. Too bad there isn't a proper staffed waiting area at the station like in nearly every other country I've visited. Here's the station - is the brick building accessible at night? Is there a waiting area inside?

1280px-Kitchener_station_wide.jpg


There is some good news for the future mentioned here, with an improved station linking with the new Waterloo light rail system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchener_railway_station
 
I've spent many an hour waiting in the waiting room at Kitchener station - though before they invented wi-fi.

Though looking at VIA's webpage http://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/stations/ontario/kitchener it's only open to 9:30 AM these days. Wow ... that's a long time to sit in the outside shelter in the winter!

Would the hourly GO Bus from the Kitchener Bus terminal to Square One not be faster than waiting? Or the 5:30 PM express Greyhound from Kitchener that arrives in Toronto at 7:05pm? (or the 7:30 pm that arrives at 9:05pm?)
 
It's a short walk from the Via station to downtown. I think they have a Williams Fresh Cafe downtown. It would be better to work there than Hortons.
 
That end of downtown is still pretty quiet after 6pm.
Yeah, your best bet is the William's at City Hall, about a 600m walk away. Open until 9pm on weekdays.
 
Sounds good, Williams it is, thanks.

Where is the entrance to the rail station? On Google Maps it says Weber St., but I see no steps, door or pathway to the station. On Friday I'm in St. Jacobs so I think I'll do a little reconnoitre of the Kitchener station area on my way home.
 
The road entrance is off of Ahrens. There is no access, vehicle or pedestrian, from Weber. Unless you like climbing small hills in the dark. I guess technically there isn't anything that would stop one from blazing a trail from Weber.

There's also a ramp midblock.
 
Reply from VIA rec'd today...

Thank you for your interest in VIA Rail Canada.

The Kitchener station is staffed only on Monday to Friday from 5:15 am to 9:30 am and on Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm AND 3:30 pm to 7:45 pm. Outside the station opening hours, it opens as a shelter 30 minutes prior to train arrival and remains open for 15 minutes after train departure.

Schedules are made with an objective of increasing ridership by responding to the needs of the market and better serving the majority of our customers. Our schedules are reviewed periodically in an attempt to match customer demand as perceived through ridership studies, according to the options presented by VIA resources and constraints. Examples of the latter include the time slots allotted to us on CN and CP tracks, as well as equipment cycling and servicing. We realize that every schedule has some drawbacks, and we must select the most convenient for the majority of our customers. I apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause you.



Again, thank you for writing. Customer feedback is a valuable tool in our continuing efforts to provide a service that meets and exceeds our customers’ expectations. We would welcome the opportunity to serve you again soon.
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