GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[DonValleyRainbow]

With the announcement of full day service to Brampton (and Unionville too say some) expected, presumably there'd be a photo op back slapping event, instead of the just the usual press release.

Eyes are gonna roll so hard

 

[TOareaFan]

Reading up the thread ... they were up by August 11 last year. It was August 15 in 2012 and August 23 in 2011.

Now Labour Day is a week later this year. So presumably sometime next week. I expect they wanted to wait until after the Bay Concourse media blitz is over, and the Parapam games.

With the announcement of full day service to Brampton (and Unionville too say some) expected, presumably there'd be a photo op back slapping event, instead of the just the usual press release.

I saw a twitter exchange earlier this week where someone I follow asked Anne Marie Adkins when the exciting news would be formally announced....her response was "next week, I promise".

I am sure we are not getting all of this but I would love to see

1. hourly off peak trains
2. keep the train-buses but also hourly now (so between buses and trains people have 1/2 hour service and if they choose a bus rather than a train they can)
3. hourly weekend service
4. Along with the "next stop, Malton" announcements....announcements that say "bus connections at Malton for terminals 1 and 2"

I know it is the norm to advocate for more and more and more.....but, in all honesty, I think that level of service would serve this line well for quite a few years into the future.

EDIT: Found the conversation

 

[nfitz]

Eyes are gonna roll so hard

To be fair, it's a rare occurrence. First time that GO has extended full-day service to an entirely new line sine 1967. It's more deserving of a media event than many of the recent re-announcements. And if it's to Unionville too, it's 2 years earlier than the timeframe they announced only 4 months ago.

• hourly off peak trains

Well that seems to be what they are announcing for Mount Pleasant. Though the Star mention of Unionville (and the Adkins retweet of) mentioning Unionville which wasn't supposed to happen until 2017/18 according to the April 2015 announcement is an interesting twist.

• keep the train-buses but also hourly now (so between buses and trains people have 1/2 hour service and if they choose a bus rather than a train they can)

I can't imagine for a second that will happen. They want to eliminate those buses running into downtown.

• hourly weekend service

That was supposed to be next year (along with hourly weekend Barrie service). But if Unionville coming 2 years early - who knows.

• Along with the "next stop, Malton" announcements....announcements that say "bus connections at Malton for terminals 1 and 2"

I doubt that would be part of next week's announcement!

 

[TOareaFan]

To be fair, it's a rare occurrence. First time that GO has extended full-day service to an entirely new line sine 1967. It's more deserving of a media event than many of the recent re-announcements. And if it's to Unionville too, it's 2 years earlier than the timeframe they announced only 4 months ago.

agree

Well that seems to be what they are announcing for Mount Pleasant.

Yes, for KW line I expect that is all it is (which is a lot but I really think weekend service should be part of it)

I can't imagine for a second that will happen. They want to eliminate those buses running into downtown.

I think if they move to hourly trains and cancel all train buses they are gonna hear from quite a few folk that it actually represents a service level cut back (not me....I am in the I prefer trains camp....but they will hear it). If, as you suggest, the goal is to move buses out of downtown....not sure why we are spending money on a bigger/fancier bus terminal at Union.

That was supposed to be next year (along with hourly weekend Barrie service). But if Unionville coming 2 years early - who knows.

I just think there is greater demand for trains to Toronto on a Saturday afternoon (for example) than a typical Tuesday night.

I doubt that would be part of next week's announcement!

a shame...but I agree...was just posting my "wishlist".

 

[smallspy]

I have seen "operational error" crop up as the explanation for delays more and more recently. It's almost as infuriating as the much dreaded "earlier problems".

Is it something to do with the crewing? Perhaps someone calling in sick at the last second, or arriving later for their shift, and there's no one able to replace them in time?

It is a bit of a catch-all term, although at least they've started to blame CN for issues that properly began with them. For a while, there was a directive from up-on-high that CN's name could not be used in conjunction with any public announcements about delays.

In this case, a train ran into a work protection (Rule 42) limit without asking for permission, which then tied up the subsequent train as well. Certainly deserving of the "operational error" label.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[reaperexpress]

I doubt that would be part of next week's announcement!

Why? There's already hourly bus service between Malton Station and Pearson Airport Terminal 1 on route 34, it doesn't seem too far fetched to co-ordinate schedules with the hourly train service and move the bus off the street and into the station terminal.

Then again, the Union-Pearson GO trip wouldn't be any faster than the TTC subway+bus connection:

Union - Malton train: 33 min
Malton transfer: 7 min (trip holds for connection)
Malton - Pearson bus: 10 min

Total: 50 minutes.

It is possible we could shave a few minutes off the travel time by using 6-car trainsets, but that's still not going to make it much faster than the subway.

 

[andrewpmk]

Why? There's already hourly bus service between Malton Station and Pearson Airport Terminal 1 on route 34, it doesn't seem too far fetched to co-ordinate schedules with the hourly train service and move the bus off the street and into the station terminal.

Then again, the Union-Pearson GO trip wouldn't be any faster than the TTC subway+bus connection:

Union - Malton train: 33 min
Malton transfer: 7 min (trip holds for connection)
Malton - Pearson bus: 10 min

Total: 50 minutes.

It is possible we could shave a few minutes off the travel time by using 6-car trainsets, but that's still not going to make it much faster than the subway.

This is not going to happen. Metrolinx wants as many people paying $27.50 as possible.

 

[TOareaFan]

Why? There's already hourly bus service between Malton Station and Pearson Airport Terminal 1 on route 34, it doesn't seem too far fetched to co-ordinate schedules with the hourly train service and move the bus off the street and into the station terminal.

Then again, the Union-Pearson GO trip wouldn't be any faster than the TTC subway+bus connection:

Union - Malton train: 33 min
Malton transfer: 7 min (trip holds for connection)
Malton - Pearson bus: 10 min

Total: 50 minutes.

It is possible we could shave a few minutes off the travel time by using 6-car trainsets, but that's still not going to make it much faster than the subway.

This is not going to happen. Metrolinx wants as many people paying $27.50 as possible.

Both of these answers are valid.....if we presume people only go to Pearson airport from Toronto.

Creating a connection/extension of GO trains from Malton to the airport terminals means that the KW line has the ability to deliver people to the airport even if, god forbid, they live west of the 416 and dare to want to fly somewhere

 

[ssiguy2]

The real big news is when Metrolinx finally makes a decision and firm implementation of fare integration.

The current system of 10 transit agencies with total, partial and no fare integration between GO or any other system is absurd.
If they want to make these GO corridors viable, yes they must be frequent but also affordable and user friendly or the ridership gains will be very limited.

 

[Megaton327]

Both of these answers are valid.....if we presume people only go to Pearson airport from Toronto.

Creating a connection/extension of GO trains from Malton to the airport terminals means that the KW line has the ability to deliver people to the airport even if, god forbid, they live west of the 416 and dare to want to fly somewhere

Playing the devil's advocate for a moment, if we go with that POV of Metrolinx wanting people to use UPX as the fares are higher, people living on the Kitchener line west of Toronto can take the train to Weston and transfer to the UPX. Admittedly that takes a bit longer--while the transfer time to the bus at Malton and the drive is probably comparable to transferring to UPX at Weston and that trip, the train ride from Malton to Weston adds what, 10-12 min?--but I even recall someone in this thread who lives in Kitchener who did exactly this recently. Very doable, and if we're being cynical, it not only nets Metrolinx a slightly higher GO fare plus the UPX fare but it means they don't have to expend a significant amount of resources running that bus service.

Also, for the passenger, it's a bit longer and costs a bit more, but (not to rehash the beaten-to-death UPX fares argument) how often does the average GTA resident fly out of Pearson anyways, and if they're spending so much on a flight is at most $15 extra (1-stop UPX Presto fare, and 2 stops farther on GO from Malton) and a few minutes really going to be a dealbreaker? And while you could transfer to a bus, although it's a short trip the UPX is much more comfortable and significantly easier to take luggage on and off of. Also, for somebody who absolutely, positively wants to connect at Malton instead of going to Weston and taking the UPX, they could always take a cab from Malton--probably a pretty cheap and short trip, especially via UberX--or take a MiWay/TTC bus.

On that note, I'm not sure what the exact current services are, but if I recall correctly from debating doing it recently, taking TTC/MiWay from Malton to Pearson involves a fair bit of a walk from the station proper, at least at some times of day or week and if you want to avoid a circuitous route/transferring buses. I certainly think that AD2W on Kitchener justifies MiWay rethinking service to Malton station, i.e. having buses go right into the station proper and being reasonably frequent to the point that at least they connect to departing+arriving trains and wait for the connection. I think improved MiWay service would make more sense than operating an entire GO Bus route for such a simple trip--I hope that the TTC, MiWay, and Brampton Transit generally give serious consideration to better bus service to Kitchener Line stations in general once AD2W happens, not just Malton.

We'll see what happens. Presumably the GO bus link, if it exists, will be announced along with AD2W soon; if it isn't, then it's probably not in the cards. Hoping MiWay/etc do revamp their services though.

 

[andrewpmk]

I think that the long term plan is to build a station at Woodbine Racetrack where GO and UP stop.

Of course, the SmartTrack proposal may end up interfering with this, though if this is built it is likely to take the form of a new spur to Pearson and Airport Corporate Centre which replaces the UP. The SmartTrack thing seems kind of like a joke though.

 

[ShonTron]

For some people (especially those who live near Shoppers World), the elimination of the train-buses on the Brampton corridor will be an inconvenience, as well as going from 30 minute bus service to an hourly service. The devil, as always, is in the details; I'd hate to see service gaps in the schedules like there were with the limited midday trips to/from Bramalea prior to the UPX work. Hourly or bust.

As we're also expecting some major changes to at least a few bus routes, this is going to be a major announcement. I'm eager to find out all the details.

 

[TOareaFan]

For some people (especially those who live near Shoppers World), the elimination of the train-buses on the Brampton corridor will be an inconvenience, as well as going from 30 minute bus service to an hourly service. The devil, as always, is in the details; I'd hate to see service gaps in the schedules like there were with the limited midday trips to/from Bramalea prior to the UPX work. Hourly or bust.

This is precisely what I was thinking about when I suggested that if there is hourly bi-directional train service coming there is no reason to cancel all the buses but keep half of them running...also hourly but complimentary to the trains. Then you get half hourly service, those that prefer trains at all cost will wait for the next train...those that get off between train stops may keep using the buses....those that arrive just as a train leaves will decide whether to wait an hour for the next train or wait half hour and take next bus...etc.

I am an interesting personal example....when I commute by GO it is a combo of Brampton Transit and GO (i am in the school of...if you are going to use public transit whats the point of driving to it if you don't have to)....so on the way to work it is BT #7 to Queen then Zum or BT to GO train and off to work. On the way home if I miss the last train I actually get home faster (and with one less transfer) by GO bus (unless there is a major road mess along the way) because the bus, unlike the train, will drop me right at Steeles and Kennedy and I can transfer directly to the #7.

Yet, for me, speed is less important than comfort and I will, more often than not, gear myself towards the "next train" when I leave the office rather than the "next possible trip"..... but others that will be more trip focused will view hourly trains with no in-between bus trips as a reduction in available service.

You still end up cancelling +/- 50% of the buses on the various routes affected....you still increase service to the 3 stations/communities not presently served by the buses (Etobicoke N, Weston, Bloor) but you do it in a way to no appear to be disguising an cut in frequency as an increase in service.

As we're also expecting some major changes to at least a few bus routes, this is going to be a major announcement. I'm eager to find out all the details.

It is huge day for GO....it is a huge non-Lakeshore move......and while it affects just the KW line it will give all non-lakeshore riders a hint as to how their new services will be rolled out.

 

[CDL.TO]

New schedules are online, though service changes haven't been posted yet.

Schedules here: http://www.gotransit.com/timetables/en/schedules/full_schedules.aspx

New Kitchener corridor PDF here: http://www.gotransit.com/timetables/en/PDF/Timetables/09151215/Table31.pdf

New Kitchener trains are hourly, midday only. No evening or weekend service.

No new Stouffville service as previously stated in the media.

 

[CDL.TO]

Lots of changes. Noticed so far:

Route 39 is gone.

Route 40 extended from Pearson to Hamilton.