GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[Willybru21]

It is. Last year the 8:51 departure from Union was easily filling up a 12-car train, though the added weight made it difficult to keep up with the schedule which was designed for faster-accelerating 8-car trains. Personally I would have preferred them to keep the trains as 8 cars and add a 10:51 departure, filling the gap until the 12:51 departure.

The current Willowbrook-based train which operates the 12:51 service could be moved up to 10:51, while one of the trains from Lewis Yard could run a morning trip from Niagara Falls (a notable gap in the current schedule), and then pick up the 12:51 back to Niagara.

It seems like GO wants to generally avoid 8 car trains right now, I haven’t seen one in over half a year. It’s just 6-10-12 car trains.

 

[reaperexpress]

It seems like GO wants to generally avoid 8 car trains right now, I haven’t seen one in over half a year. It’s just 6-10-12 car trains.

That's not new. Niagara service was the only service which operated with 8-car trains. It is also the only service which uses bike coaches, so it doesn't really matter how standard the length is.

 

[anb]

Kitchener: Limited midday service and evening service from Kitchener is back.


UP Express: 15-minute service is back, but only during peak and shoulder-peak periods.

The only shame about this is that we don't get the express trips on the Kitchener runs, or the local trains serving all stops to Bramalea. That seemed the most effective way to deal with capacity issues and it also goes beyond just giving UP Express 15 mins to only serve Weston and Bloor in the process which all the current peak trains do anyways. At least we have the midday trips back to and from Kitchener which will definitely drive up ridership and efficiency going there.

 

[crs1026]

The only shame about this is that we don't get the express trips on the Kitchener runs, or the local trains serving all stops to Bramalea. That seemed the most effective way to deal with capacity issues and it also goes beyond just giving UP Express 15 mins to only serve Weston and Bloor in the process which all the current peak trains do anyways. At least we have the midday trips back to and from Kitchener which will definitely drive up ridership and efficiency going there.

Given that work is now clearly under way to get the fourth track and platforms finished, I can live with the absence of the express runs. It will be much more feasible to run Bramalea trains once that work is done. There is still the station at Woodbine to get done, however. I wonder if that is also an obstacle, because Etobicoke North can't close until Woodbine is ready to open.

- Paul

 

[innsertnamehere]

bleh, still no Lakeshore West express service as far as I can tell. We had it last year, why not now when ridership is presumably much higher?

 

[LNahid2000]

I was hoping there would be more Niagara trains this year, but instead they cut the last trip of the day in both directions. Also, seasonal for 5 months instead of year round sucks. Metrolinx disappoints as usual.

 

[generalcanada]

bleh, still no Lakeshore West express service as far as I can tell. We had it last year, why not now when ridership is presumably much higher?

cries in lakeshore east oshawa all stop service

 

[innsertnamehere]

cries in lakeshore east oshawa all stop service

I mean at least Lakeshore East is for a known reason (Ontario Line construction).. Lakeshore West as far as I know is completely capable of running express service still and they are simply opting not to..

 

[stevensontransit]

Lakeshore West: the Niagara train is now described as a seasonal service until Thanksgiving. Sure, let's just pretend it wasn't previously year-round. There are now only 3 daily round trips, compared to 4 in previous years.
There is still no weekday express service. The weekday Niagara Train takes 2h33, making all station stops. By comparison, weekend express trips take 2h05.



Kitchener: Limited midday service and evening service from Kitchener is back. There are now 8 daily round trips from Kitchener station, which is the same as pre-pandemic, but short of the 10 which were scheduled in September 2021.
Still no weekday express service. The London train takes 3h55, making all station stops. Still no counter-peak service to Bramalea either.


Stouffville: Hourly evening and weekend service is back.


Barrie: Hourly evening and weekend service is back as far as Aurora, as well as limited midday service to/from Barrie on weekdays as well as weekends.


UP Express: 15-minute service is back, but only during peak and shoulder-peak periods. Off-peak service remains only every 30 minutes.


No significant changes for Lakeshore East, Milton, or Richmond Hill.
No signifcant changes to bus service, just cancelling/shifting trips to connect to the adjusted/added train trips.

GO really needs to bring back pre pandemic 20-30 minute service levels on the 16 Hamilton express. That route is proven very popular.

 

[Richard White]

I was hoping there would be more Niagara trains this year, but instead they cut the last trip of the day in both directions. Also, seasonal for 5 months instead of year round sucks. Metrolinx disappoints as usual.

Personally I was hoping they would fix the Niagara service this year. It stops far too often and is far too overcrowded.

When I took it last year it took forever to get from Union to Niagara because the train was overloaded with people and it stopped at almost every station along the way. The sheer amount of people getting on and off caused delays departing the stations.

It would have been nice to have a super express from Toronto to Niagara with more local service for smaller towns and the escarpment.

 

[dkt]

Found out thanks to a transit app notification of all things....

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Safety Updates | UP Express

Learn about our enhanced COVID-19 safety measures and UP Express schedule changes. It’s our top priority to keep you healthy and safe every time you travel with us.

www.upexpress.com

Also decided to check GO's website, and there is indeed an update but for now I can see only 50% of it (the Bus updates for now), but it does give a clue what to expect for the train service that's about to come. You'll see what I mean when you click the link if its not updated yet

Edit: Nvm, we can see the train service updates now..

Train Schedule Changes | Service Updates | GO Transit

We’re making time changes to some weekday Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West train trips, some weekday and weekend Barrie line trips, and to some GO bus trips.

www.gotransit.com

woo, one eastbound evening trip on the Kitchener line! let's go

the link to the new Kitchener schedule on the full schedules page seems to be broken...

 

[Allandale25]

Found out thanks to a transit app notification of all things....

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Safety Updates | UP Express

Learn about our enhanced COVID-19 safety measures and UP Express schedule changes. It’s our top priority to keep you healthy and safe every time you travel with us.

www.upexpress.com

Also decided to check GO's website, and there is indeed an update but for now I can see only 50% of it (the Bus updates for now), but it does give a clue what to expect for the train service that's about to come. You'll see what I mean when you click the link if its not updated yet

Edit: Nvm, we can see the train service updates now..

Train Schedule Changes | Service Updates | GO Transit

We’re making time changes to some weekday Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West train trips, some weekday and weekend Barrie line trips, and to some GO bus trips.

www.gotransit.com

Blog post now up:

Metrolinx Press Room

Find the latest Metrolinx news, project updates and more.

blog.metrolinx.com

 

[applepill]

Blog post now up:

Metrolinx Press Room

Find the latest Metrolinx news, project updates and more.

blog.metrolinx.com

Glad about the returning weekend service, but there's still so many gaps that need to be brought up back to pre-pandemic levels. Glad that Kitchener is getting mid day service again.

 

[LNahid2000]

When I took it last year it took forever to get from Union to Niagara because the train was overloaded with people and it stopped at almost every station along the way. The sheer amount of people getting on and off caused delays departing the stations.

It looks like their solution for this was to pad the schedules by an extra 5 minutes compared to last year

 

[ARG1]

Lakeshore West: the Niagara train is now described as a seasonal service until Thanksgiving. Sure, let's just pretend it wasn't previously year-round. There are now only 3 daily round trips, compared to 4 in previous years.
There is still no weekday express service. The weekday Niagara Train takes 2h33, making all station stops. By comparison, weekend express trips take 2h05.



Kitchener: Limited midday service and evening service from Kitchener is back. There are now 8 daily round trips from Kitchener station, which is the same as pre-pandemic, but short of the 10 which were scheduled in September 2021.
Still no weekday express service. The London train takes 3h55, making all station stops. Still no counter-peak service to Bramalea either.


Stouffville: Hourly evening and weekend service is back.


Barrie: Hourly evening and weekend service is back as far as Aurora, as well as limited midday service to/from Barrie on weekdays as well as weekends.


UP Express: 15-minute service is back, but only during peak and shoulder-peak periods. Off-peak service remains only every 30 minutes.


No significant changes for Lakeshore East, Milton, or Richmond Hill.
No signifcant changes to bus service, just cancelling/shifting trips to connect to the adjusted/added train trips.

One minor detail you missed. The Stouffville Line once again has 3 trains per day to and from Old Elm on weekends, something that (I believe) hasn't happened since COVID started (even then it only operated briefly).