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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

there is a whole lot more going on in Niagara Falls NY than just parking lots. Its one of the deepest rust-belt cities in the US.

Buffalo is really starting to turn around if anyone wants a good-news story on the opposite side of the border.. It grew in the 2020 census for the first time in decades and generally seems to be seeing new development at a decent pace.
 
there is a whole lot more going on in Niagara Falls NY than just parking lots. Its one of the deepest rust-belt cities in the US.
As in, I missed improvements in the city? Very likely - I was only in the area across the bridge for a few hours. I should have clarified that my comments only applied to that area.

And yes - have heard great things about Buffalo’s revitalization.
 
To speak @innsertnamehere 's point; the challenges in Buffalo-Niagara through the years have been enormous, de-industrializaiton (rust belt) issues and de-population would top that list, but issues like
Love Canal (serious toxic pollution site), socio-economic/racial divides and yes, some poor development decisions have all factored.

One other thing to note; a comparison between the Canadian and U.S. sides of the falls will always be problematic for the singular issue that by far the better view is on the Canadian side. Just a geographic quirk, but hotel rooms with a great falls view are almost impossible to deliver on the U.S. side.


1684502564406.png


There just isn't a very good line of sight to the horsesoe or American Falls from the U.S. side.

****

One other important quirk; Niagara Falls, Canada benefits from being next to or within the largest urban centre in Canada; whereas Niagara Falls, U.S. cannot say the same.

* I see Innsert added to his original answer above, in a fashion similar to my post.
 
Historically, when crossing the border was easier for Americans, Canada offered a lower operating cost area as well for tourists and tourist operators due to the lower Canadian dollar.

That's changing now with the border becoming much less porous.. but its partly an explanation as to why it's so focused on the Canadian side.
 
Over the past few months I’ve been making two maps that showed the types of services that were offered on the GO network in 2019 and 2023. As all of you probably know, 2019 was an interesting year for the GO network because they experimented with putting deadheading/equipment trains into service, which created a dozen unique services that ran once or twice a day, some of them were crazy routes like a Aldershot-Long Branch super express train, or a Union-Oshawa train that made no stops.

When COVID began almost all of these experimental trains were discontinued, and haven’t seen the light of day since then.
You_Doodle+_2023-05-17T03_34_18Z.jpeg
You_Doodle+_2023-05-19T14_13_50Z.jpeg

Please note that I did forget to include two services, one in each map:
2019 Union-Appleby all-stops train
2023 Union-Bramalea express train
 
Thanks. A late evening express train from downtown during weekdays will be nice for those along the LSW corridor.. though I perhaps wish there was one more in the 7-8pm period, not 9:52pm getting into Niagara Falls at midnight..

Similarly, I wish there was an earlier train on weekends heading into Toronto, the earliest train doesn't get downtown until 2:20pm. A 10-11am arrival would similarly be nice.
 
Thanks. A late evening express train from downtown during weekdays will be nice for those along the LSW corridor.. though I perhaps wish there was one more in the 7-8pm period, not 9:52pm getting into Niagara Falls at midnight..

Similarly, I wish there was an earlier train on weekends heading into Toronto, the earliest train doesn't get downtown until 2:20pm. A 10-11am arrival would similarly be nice.

I concur w/the above but would add, the morning train to Niagara on weekends has consistently had real crowding issues, which I don't see as resolvable without adding an additional run.
 
Weekday schedule for those who don’t want to look at the pdf schedule:

Niagara-Toronto 06:34-09:04

Niagara-Toronto 13:10-15:24

Niagara-Toronto 21:10-23:34

Toronto-Niagara 09:52-12:07

Toronto-Niagara 17:12-19:48

Toronto-Niagara 21:52-00:07
Of note is that only the weekday rushhour trains will stop at West Harbour. The midday/late night ones will not, nor will the weekend trains (status quo). This will probably change once the new West harbour track is built.
 

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