GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[carrefour]

Service to Barrie
Service to Guelph
New stations

Suddenly we are caring about transit in the GTA.

Maybe the day of RER-style service is in the forseeable future ??

I mean, this is not the 70s, where everyone worked at Queen and Bay from 9 to 5.

 

[waterloowarrior]

^that's what Metrolinx wants to implement. It's what RedRocket191 (and Metrolinx) calls the REX lines.

 

[CDL.TO]

I mean, this is not the 70s, where everyone worked at Queen and Bay from 9 to 5.

I keep hearing this argument, but what is the basis for it? There has never been a time when all the employment was in the CBD. Not in the 50s, not in the 60s, and not in the 70s.

The industrial and commercial lands throughout Toronto are not a recent development. Leaside, south Etobicoke, Downsview, Weston and others are all major employment lands.

Transit was built serving downtown not because "everyone worked there" but instead because it was the only place that had enough employment in one place to justify higher-order transit. Even today there are still very few places in the GTA that have enough employment to justify heavy rail construction.

 

[Chuck]

Given the current vehicles used by GO, I don't think that a new stop at Thornhill Square is particularly beneficial. Stops would be as little as two, and not more than four kilometres apart between Major Mackenzie and Sheppard which doesn't jive with the whole commuter rail idea. As it is, the Yonge subway is about as fast a route downtown as the GO train, and once the subway is extended north, the GO train would easily be about 25% slower.

I question that Canac even abuts the rail line. If you look at a satellite image of the site, it appears as though a completely different company located on Green Lane owns the land adjacent to the tracks. Canac is the large building with all the ducts on the roof about 1000 feet to the east.

 

[RedRocket191]

^that's what Metrolinx wants to implement. It's what RedRocket191 (and Metrolinx) calls the REX lines.

Correct. REX or Express Rail is the current working name for a concept that will see GO Train service operate every 10 to 15 minutes or better, with stations every 4-5 KM apart. There is also the possibility of having these trains branch off the main line to serve major nearby destinations such as Square One. More suitable vehicles would be ideal, but I believe we should not wait until they arrive to start improving frequency. You can compare the concept to RER, Berlin S-Bahn or London Overground.

As for the stop in Thornhill, i believe it would be a good location for the reasons I stated, and I also believe it is not too close to another stop. Centennial and Markham GO stations are much closer, and it seems to work fine. The only reason you can't one from the other is because the line curves between them.

 

[Rainforest]

Rainforest

Perhaps it is time for Metrolinx to undertake a study of the feasibility, impact, and cost of REX on the existing rail lines in GTA. The role / contribution of REX is the second biggest unknown in the GTA’s transit plans (the first being the total amount of funding). The level of REX services will strongly impact the context of Downtown Relief Line, and influence the transit layout in York Region, Mississauga, and outer parts of Toronto.

Metrolinx has highlighted the Richmond Hill GO line already, with frequent service included in Plans B and C (most of other lines get frequent service in Plan C only). Perhaps that line can serve as a test case: Can it be double-tracked all the way to RHC? What is the service frequency limit, taking into account the presence of freight trains and the capacity of Union Stn? How many people can it carry at peak, and how fast can it run? Is it possible to straighten the route and avoid that poetic detour along the East Don River? And, last but not least, how much would all those enhancements cost.

 

[RedRocket191]

All that is being studied in this little document we're calling the Regional Transportation Plan . The draft will be released this summer.

 

[Rainforest]

Rainforest

All that is being studied in this little document we're calling the Regional Transportation Plan . The draft will be released this summer.

Nice to hear that

Will it describe REX Richmond Hill specifically, or all potential REX lines?

 

[RedRocket191]

All potential corridors. The Richmond Hill corridor is being looked at particularly to boost capacity on the Yonge Street corridor. If we can offer service every 10 minutes or better at an integrated price, people will migrate from the overcrowded Yonge line.

From what I have seen, REX is proving extremely popular with people who have commented on the RTP material.

 

[marcus_a_j]

I think so, especially if we move to REX on the Richmond Hill line.

Edit, after a Google Maps search:

It's close to shopping at Thornhill Square, and there is the Landmark Thornhill just north of the Mall, within walking distance of the station.

This local councillor better get support for this idea. In my opinion, its a no-brainer.

The mall has been closed for several years now and was torn down. Google is out of date with that image. A condo-townhouse complex is there now, along with a large Shoppers Drug Mart. The office building and community centre are still there.

A REX station could work here, but when the subway is extended (and a station put in at John/Centre), I would keep the station spacing along the Richmond Hill line as is. If the site wasn't redeveloped as it is now then it would have been a great TOD location with a station built with it (for REX service).

 

[ShonTron]

I found out a bit more about the new Brampton bus improvements:

The weekday afternoon inbound 3 hour bus service will not be improved this round. Given that this is the last gap in service, I hope that this is coming in the fall, and might have to do with bus/driver shortage in the peak period. Right now, buses leave for Union at Brampton at:
13:10 (connection to 13:45 train at Bramalea)
15:30
18:30
21:30
and that's it.
There should be 14:30, 16:30, 17:30 and at least 19:30 departures for now, if not also 20:30 and 22:30 trips as well.

And one more minor beef, until 23:30, there will be two hourly staggered bus trips - one to Brampton Express-Mount Pleasant-Georgetown GO (with every second bus to Acton, Guelph and now Guelph U as well - that's a plus) and a second doing Malton-Bramalea - but not BCC, a mistake and perhaps confirms Doady's criticism.

Otherwise, I am pleased to see finally a big boost to the Georgetown corridor.

 

[drum118]

4. Contract No. IT-2006-ED-065
Amendment No. 4
Purchase of Growth Buses for 2008/09
Approval requested to purchase up to twelve additional highway buses,
to support continued growth of GO Bus services.

Ridership increase in April 2008:

Ridership on GO Trains and GO Buses increased dramatically from April
2007 to April 2008. On average, GO carried 13,110 more passengers per
weekday this April than last, an increase of 7.2%. Total ridership for
the month was 8.2% higher than total ridership in April 2007.

GO has experienced unprecedented ridership growth over the past year,
and can't add service or vehicles fast enough to keep up with demand.
We have extended all trains to the maximum length that our locomotives
can handle, but trains are still crowded with standing passengers
during rush hour. We have also been adding more buses, subject to the
availability of drivers and vehicles.

GO Bus fleet will grow with the purchase of 12 more MCI highway buses:

The Board recently approved the purchase of up to 44 new
lift-equipped, 45-foot MCI highway buses. The continuing growth in
demand for bus services, however, will require a projected 12
additional buses before the end of this fiscal year. These new buses
will serve GO's continually growing market area.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Since GO and Metrolinx are having their meeting at the same time, I
will not be at GO meeting to hear what will take place regarding the
new loco as to breakdown and ordering more. Moreso, when the rest will
arrived that are on ordering considering a number are sitting in the
builder yard for some time.

Then we will need more coaches and cabs

 

[lordmandeep]

they are adding more rail lines between Bramalea and Brampton Station.

It seems we could get more trains during rush hour.

 

[dowlingm]

Metrolinx has highlighted the Richmond Hill GO line already, with frequent service included in Plans B and C (most of other lines get frequent service in Plan C only). Perhaps that line can serve as a test case: Can it be double-tracked all the way to RHC? What is the service frequency limit, taking into account the presence of freight trains and the capacity of Union Stn? How many people can it carry at peak, and how fast can it run? Is it possible to straighten the route and avoid that poetic detour along the East Don River? And, last but not least, how much would all those enhancements cost.

The biggest issue is none of those things but rather grade separation with the east west CN, as already done on the Stouffville and Bradford lines. Some passing tracks might suffice to enhance service in areas where double-width bridges and alignment already exist, like around Old Cummer but the geography north of Eglinton is challenging and tunnelling likely to be prohibitive in actual cost and without electrification unlikely to be legal. There are also some single track bridges that would be tough to twin economically.

It's a crying shame to go over the PE Viaduct every day, seeing DVP bumper to bumper while three (two CN and one CP) tracks lie almost entirely idle.

 

[Kiwi]

Hamilton council have voted in approval for a new project for southwest quadrant of QEW and Fifty Road.

"Whereas the project now includes plans for a potential transportation hub to be located on the site offering new transit opportunities for local and city-wide residents, a future vital connection between the Niagara-Hamilton-Toronto corridors and a key transportation anchor attracting business, employment and retail growth and prosperity."

This is where Hamilton East - Stoney Creek GO Station will be located at.