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GO Transit Sept. 2007 service changes

Go Transit sucks i am glad that Viva replaced the newmarket B on yonge street(I live in Aurora) and notice that go trains ALWAYS have problems with delays and cancelations
 
I've found GO transit, both in trains and buses, to be extremely reliable. I live by the Milton line though. So maybe it's different on different lines. I don't remember any significant delays (for me personally) in all the times I took the GO train. Buses, however, make a lot of stops which slows them down, which is my only complaint.
 
lake shore lines are the most busy and most delayed lines in GO...
 
There’s some serious chatter from Hamilton City Hall that GO Transit is looking at adding a second train platform on the north side of James Street. Not a full station just a platform across Liuna Station (that’s where GO and VIA used to serve). This was helped by the fact VIA and GO might work together in this platform, City Hall has been pressuring VIA for a station in Hamilton.
 
It would be such a shame if they were forced to abandon the beautiful new TH&B station in favour of some Amshack up near the old CN station just because dealing with CP is so impossible. It's just crazy... if they were going to spend tens of millions to fix up the station, they should have made sure to get a very firm agreement with CP for unlimited use of the tracks at the very least, if they couldn't buy them outright.
 
TH&B station will always remain as the GO bus station. Plus have rush hour GO train service.

The second platform on the north side of James is going to have VIA eventually sooner or later. Therefore GO Train is looking at partnering up and include off rush hour service, perhaps 24 hrs services? It'll only be a small platform and it won't be at Liuna Station (old CN station), they want nothing to do with VIA or GO.

Across from Liuna Station is a big empty lot, that's the platform City Hall (well I guess I can't say City Hall anymore, since it's abandon now and being gutted) is eyeing on.

But this is all speculation nothing firm.
 
The way I see it, or I would like to see it:

  • All day GO train service between Hamilton GO Centre and Union every 30 minutes or better.
  • Hamilton QEW express buses discontinued due to frequent train service.
  • Hamilton North GO/VIA station (at Liuna Station) used for trains between Niagara & Toronto. These trains would be operated by VIA Rail but would be funded by GO, similar to the contracts that certain states enter with Amtrak.
 
That plan sounds good to me. Better still, the governments should make a deal providing a substantial re-arrangement of rail lines in Hamilton. The Belt Line that runs from the TH&B and intersects with CN should be improved, and CP given trackage rights from Bayview to a new junction at the Belt Line for its freights, so that they can bypass Downtown Hamilton along the CN and rejoin the TH&B line in the east end. GO would then buy the TH&B line west of the Belt Line junction and improve it as a high-frequency passenger railway. VIA would serve the TH&B station as well, and rejoin the CN line on the improved Belt Line, with the improved lines resulting in only a small increase in travel time from Niagara relative to the existing CN route.

The improvements to the Belt Line would likely be cheaper than double-tracking the Hunter Street tunnel, which would be needed for any major improvement in GO service.
 
unimaginative2 said:
That plan sounds good to me. Better still, the governments should make a deal providing a substantial re-arrangement of rail lines in Hamilton. The Belt Line that runs from the TH&B and intersects with CN should be improved, and CP given trackage rights from Bayview to a new junction at the Belt Line for its freights, so that they can bypass Downtown Hamilton along the CN and rejoin the TH&B line in the east end. GO would then buy the TH&B line west of the Belt Line junction and improve it as a high-frequency passenger railway. VIA would serve the TH&B station as well, and rejoin the CN line on the improved Belt Line, with the improved lines resulting in only a small increase in travel time from Niagara relative to the existing CN route.

The improvements to the Belt Line would likely be cheaper than double-tracking the Hunter Street tunnel, which would be needed for any major improvement in GO service.
Click to expand...

I like that idea, but the trackage rights part requires CN, RailAmerica and CP to be all on the same page, something that might require the heavens and earth to be moved.

You might have to build a new belt line east of Stoney Creek, due to likely opposition to increased service on the current Belt Line.
 
quick update on the bridge. the scaffolds are down on the east side of the tracks. i also took some close up shots.

DSC03720.jpg

DSC03721.jpg

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DSC03723.jpg
 
Yeah, improvements to that belt line would be a tough sell. Houses' backyards are right up against the line and it bisects the intersection of Main and Gage right through the middle. I guess a new line in the median of the Red Hill Expressway would be an alternative. :p

I don't see why double-tracking the Hunter Street tunnel would have to be that complicated. It was originally double-track so it's wide enough. The floor would have to be lowered to increase the clearance to allow the double tracks to be reinstated.

If frequent service was implemented on the line I would like to see service extended to Centennial Parkway. The line is still below the escarpment at that point and for the time being there's still land available for parking. With a stop or two along the way it could serve travellers headed to Hamilton, not just to Toronto. Commuter rail to Downtown Hamilton is something that has the potential of revitalizing the core.

well I guess I can't say City Hall anymore, since it's abandon now and being gutted
Click to expand...

Really? That's too bad, I really loved Hamilton City Hall. Is it just being renoed or is it done for?
 
CDL.TO said:
Yeah, improvements to that belt line would be a tough sell. Houses' backyards are right up against the line and it bisects the intersection of Main and Gage right through the middle. I guess a new line in the median of the Red Hill Expressway would be an alternative. :p

I don't see why double-tracking the Hunter Street tunnel would have to be that complicated. It was originally double-track so it's wide enough. The floor would have to be lowered to increase the clearance to allow the double tracks to be reinstated.
Click to expand...

Red Hill Creek's not an entirely crazy idea, though the grades would likely be fairly challenging and it's a pretty meandering route. The Belt Line already sees relatively frequent freight service. A few trains shifted off the TH&B plus a few VIA trains a day wouldn't be the end of the world. I'm not talking about double tracking and elevating the thing. Just fixing up the tracks a bit, building new connections at either end, and maybe re-working that intersection. The problem is that no matter what GO spends on fixing up the TH&B line, as soon as the improvements are built CP will make like Castro on the Simpsons saying "What trillion dollar bill?" They'll still fight every single new GO service kicking and screaming. CP will never sell the line without a very good alternative route.

As for getting CN to give up the trackage rights... that wouldn't be a problem. CP already has rights on the Oakville sub east of Bayview, so what are a few more kilometres? Besides, railroads are still a heavily regulated industry. A little squeezing from the federal government would go a long way.

London's tearing down half the Borough Market for Thameslink. Surely we could knock down a couple houses in East Hamilton...

edit: The more I look at it, the more I think this idea makes sense. CP may well be willing to abandon its entire line to Niagara, since they already use trackage rights on CN east of about Welland, and it's not like there's much in the way of on-line traffic. Looking at Google Maps, cnnecting the Belt Line to the CN Grimsby Sub should be even easier than I thought. there's a giant parking lot there, so all you'd have to do is bend the line west into the parking lot, giving a turning radius wide enough to make the turn back to the east. The Gage/Main intersection shouldn't be that difficult: spend $100,000 on the top-of-the-line level crossing protection equipment and it would be safer than it is now. The main line through Guelph runs right down a residential street, which is much worse than the Belt Line. All it needs is new tracks and a little fencing, and it will be just fine for 25 mph, which is all you really need.

GO would even pick up a useful yard at Aberdeen.
 
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