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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

ShonTron said:
Actually, I hope this isn't the case. The midday train schedule was pretty crummy, especially for the forced transfer from points west of Bramalea. With the extra platform capacity at Brampton and Mount Pleasant, and the double-tracking of the Credit River bridge, I would hope that GO would actually use it! I want the only trains coming and going from Bramalea to be the rush hour locals.

The plans said 29 revenue GO train movements in 2015 - that's 14 trains in and out (and presumably at least one deadhead to or from Willowbrook). The current trains on the corridor are some of the most overcrowded in the system, and Georgetown/Kitchener is the only line without capacity improvements in years now.

Here's how I'd like to see those 29 trains allocated:
Early AM 10-car train from Georgetown
Four express 12-car trains from Kitchener, express from Bramalea.
Four local 10 or 12-car trains from Bramalea
New 10-car train from Georgetown to arrive at Union around 9:15
New train to depart Mount Pleasant (using returning trainset) to arrive at Union around 10AM.
New train to depart Mount Pleasant (using returning trainset) to arrive at Union around 11AM.
New train to depart Mount Pleasant (using returning trainset) to arrive at Union around 12PM.
Click to expand...

So, using my stop as an example (the downtown Brampton station....a pretty urban station, linking with lots of bus lines, and a designated "place to grow") and including that 9:18 Union arrival as a "get to work train"......that schedule provides 1 additional train compared to currently service levels plus 3 off peak trains. Yes 4 of those trains now run express to Union (compared to 1 now) after Bramalea but I don't often hear people complain about the length of time it gets to Union...more that there are not enough trains. Not sure 1 additional train is going to get people doing cartwheels down the platform.

It still baffles me that people do not seem to support immediate introduction of Lakeshore level service on this line.
 
ShonTron said:
Actually, I hope this isn't the case. The midday train schedule was pretty crummy, especially for the forced transfer from points west of Bramalea. With the extra platform capacity at Brampton and Mount Pleasant, and the double-tracking of the Credit River bridge, I would hope that GO would actually use it! I want the only trains coming and going from Bramalea to be the rush hour locals.

The plans said 29 revenue GO train movements in 2015 - that's 14 trains in and out (and presumably at least one deadhead to or from Willowbrook). The current trains on the corridor are some of the most overcrowded in the system, and Georgetown/Kitchener is the only line without capacity improvements in years now.

Here's how I'd like to see those 29 trains allocated:
Early AM 10-car train from Georgetown
Four express 12-car trains from Kitchener, express from Bramalea.
Four local 10 or 12-car trains from Bramalea
New 10-car train from Georgetown to arrive at Union around 9:15
New train to depart Mount Pleasant (using returning trainset) to arrive at Union around 10AM.
New train to depart Mount Pleasant (using returning trainset) to arrive at Union around 11AM.
New train to depart Mount Pleasant (using returning trainset) to arrive at Union around 12PM.


Buses from that point on, but perhaps one or two inbound revenue trains mid-afternoon to get trainsets back to Union.

From Union:

Perhaps a mid-morning and/or noon-hour revenue outbound runto get trainsets to Mount Pleasant.
All-stop trains to Mount Pleasant or Georgetown leaving around 14:30 and 15:30
Four local and four express trains
Existing train, though leaving around 18:15
New train leaving around 19:00

Buses from that point on, but at least it would be easy to run special event trains with the corridor opened up.

If the Kitchener line got that, it wouldn't be too bad. The Route 31 bus service is certainly a lot better these days.
Click to expand...

TOareaFan said:
Except, in this case, her hot air is exactly what GO/Metrolinx tell people who ask them directly (like me).....there are going to 29 trains a day (they do not identify a schedule but they must have an idea as that is a pretty specific number)....exactly 10 trains (5 each way) more than pre-construction.

So, $1.2B for 5 additional return trips.!
Click to expand...
Here's what I am thinking. All day hourly service, but terminate all trains at guelph.

6 express from Kitchener, express from Bramalea
Local hourly service from Acton or Guelph starting 9:30 to ten

6 express Union-Kitchener from 4-6, maybe 8. Hourly service from 6am to 3:15 and 6:30pm to 1:00am

Shontron, it should not be alot to ask to hire more additional engineers
 
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denfromoakvillemilton said:
Here's what I am thinking. All day hourly service, but terminate all trains at guelph.

6 express from Kitchener, express from Bramalea
Local hourly service from Acton or Guelph starting 9:30 to ten

6 express Union-Kitchener from 4-6, maybe 8. Hourly service from 6am to 3:15 and 6:30pm to 1:00am
Click to expand...

Not clear to me....are you thinking that is what should happen or what will happen.?....because GO/Metrolinx have made it clear to anyone who asks that that is not happening.
 
TOareaFan said:
Not clear to me....are you thinking that is what should happen or what will happen.?....because GO/Metrolinx have made it clear to anyone who asks that that is not happening.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I've just posted what is possible by Metrolinx's short-term plans for 2015. Of course, in my back-of-the-napkin schedule above, instead of four local trains from Bramalea maybe two of those could make all stops from Georgetown (giving Georgetown/Brampton 6 arrivals to Union between 7:00 and 9:00 up from the same 4 that it had since 1981), I'm not sure what would work best, and I don't know how GO will schedule it, especially as UPE trains will certainly be given the priority in the inner corridor.
 
ShonTron said:
Exactly. I've just posted what is possible by Metrolinx's short-term plans for 2015. Of course, in my back-of-the-napkin schedule above, instead of four local trains from Bramalea maybe two of those could make all stops from Georgetown (giving Georgetown/Brampton 6 arrivals to Union between 7:00 and 9:00 up from the same 4 that it had since 1981), I'm not sure what would work best, and I don't know how GO will schedule it, especially as UPE trains will certainly be given the priority in the inner corridor.
Click to expand...

Just once, however, I would love to hear one of the MPPs that represent constituents along those lines make a public statement about how they view the level of service that their provincially owned and operated rail service is providing them.

So (letting the guys representing the new stations off the hook for a while)....

what do

Ted Chudleigh, Jagmeet Singh, Vic Dhillon, Linda Jeffrey, Shafiq Qaadri and Laura Albanese think of a) the level of service provided and b) that level of service relative to the amount of money spent on the line?

I honestly don't think I have seen any of these people ever quoted on the matter.
 
TOareaFan said:
Not clear to me....are you thinking that is what should happen or what will happen.?....because GO/Metrolinx have made it clear to anyone who asks that that is not happening.
Click to expand...

ShonTron said:
Exactly. I've just posted what is possible by Metrolinx's short-term plans for 2015. Of course, in my back-of-the-napkin schedule above, instead of four local trains from Bramalea maybe two of those could make all stops from Georgetown (giving Georgetown/Brampton 6 arrivals to Union between 7:00 and 9:00 up from the same 4 that it had since 1981), I'm not sure what would work best, and I don't know how GO will schedule it, especially as UPE trains will certainly be given the priority in the inner corridor.
Click to expand...

What should happen.
 
denfromoakvillemilton said:
What should happen.
Click to expand...

What "should happen" on this line (and, frankly, all lines) is that Lakeshore level service is introduced. What will happen is far short of that.

Again, after years of disruption and construction and $1.2B of taxpayer money......5 additional return trips and limited to M-F.
 
TOareaFan said:
What "should happen" on this line (and, frankly, all lines) is that Lakeshore level service is introduced. What will happen is far short of that.

Again, after years of disruption and construction and $1.2B of taxpayer money......5 additional return trips and limited to M-F.
Click to expand...
Lakeshore is getting new stations too.
 
TOareaFan said:
What "should happen" on this line (and, frankly, all lines) is that Lakeshore level service is introduced. What will happen is far short of that.

Again, after years of disruption and construction and $1.2B of taxpayer money......5 additional return trips and limited to M-F.
Click to expand...

GO spent quite on Lake Shore over the last 10 or so years too. Additional track, new stations, purchasing railway corridor ($500M+ for this item), bridge rebuilds, etc.


I do agree that Georgetown should have additional service but that $1.2B isn't particularaly high when you look at the amount of capital dollars flowing through Metrolinx's budget. It's pretty easy to argue that we're not getting much in the way of visible results period.

Metrolinx isn't the most transparent organization so good luck getting a breakdown of current or historical capital expenditures. They're mentioned individually, often tiny projects, but they never tell you what the final goal is or where they are progress wise.
 
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rbt said:
GO spent quite on Lake Shore over the last 10 or so years too. Additional track, new stations, purchasing railway corridor ($500M+ for this item), bridge rebuilds, etc.


I do agree that Georgetown should have additional service but that $1.2B isn't particularaly high when you look at the amount of capital dollars flowing through Metrolinx's budget. Of course, Metrolinx isn't the most transparent organization either so good luck getting a breakdown of current or historical expenditures.
Click to expand...

A) GO/Metrolinx are spending money all over the place (generally a good thing).
B) it should not be a competition between lines

The point is that this money was spent (the $1.2B is their stated cost of the GTS Project and does not include things like the UP cost or track purchases in that corridor also) but yet they are not maximizing the return on that spend/investment. Hate to sound like a broken record but $1.2B to move potentially move 7,000 people a day does not seem like a good return.
 
Does anyone have any information on the proposed Concord station for the Barrie Line?

I'm trying to figure out if it has been greenlit and if there's a timetable established.


Thanks!
 
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