GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[Megaton327]

The weekend service is operated by 2 trainsets, doing two round trips each. In the past, they have been the line's two 6-car sets, except on special events days when 10-car sets are used.

Ah, I hadn't realized that--makes sense!

On a related note, do you (or anyone else!) know if the plan to make the Barrie line summer weekend trains permanent is still set to happen this year? Previously they always stop offering the service after Labour Day, but I believe I'd heard they were going to keep it permanently this time as a step towards AD2W in advance of RER.

 

[smallspy]

I assume this is in addition to the 2 existing 6-car trains on the Barrie line? 6-car trains for off-peak on the Kitchener line is good news, hopefully the schedules are adjusted to reflect the faster acceleration.

Nope, that's the total number. We will be getting 2 more 6-car trains, and an 8-car train.

On a related note, do you (or anyone else!) know if the plan to make the Barrie line summer weekend trains permanent is still set to happen this year? Previously they always stop offering the service after Labour Day, but I believe I'd heard they were going to keep it permanently this time as a step towards AD2W in advance of RER.

As far as I know, that is still the plan. Unfortunately, the documents that I received didn't show any of the weekend service.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[reaperexpress]

Nope, that's the total number. We will be getting 2 more 6-car trains, and an 8-car train.

I don't see how that adds up. Off-peak Mount Pleasant service requires 3 trains, so on top of the existing 2 six-car Barrie line trains, that would be 5 six-car sets. Does that mean that one of the Kitchener trains will be the 8-car set? Perhaps the 7:54 departure from Kitchener?

As far as I know, that is still the plan. Unfortunately, the documents that I received didn't show any of the weekend service.

The initial plan was for the 2016-2017 weekend service to be a lot more than the current 4 trips per direction. It probably makes sense to just wait a few more months for the current double-tracking work to be complete, to allow more service. Until then, the line can only accommodate 2 trainsets at a time in bi-directional service, passing at the siding between Maple and King City, which translates to a 2h headway. With the extra track, it might just be possible to run hourly service to Newmarket/East Gwillimbury.

 

[smallspy]

I don't see how that adds up. Off-peak Mount Pleasant service requires 3 trains, so on top of the existing 2 six-car Barrie line trains, that would be 5 six-car sets. Does that mean that one of the Kitchener trains will be the 8-car set? Perhaps the 7:54 departure from Kitchener?

2x 6-car trains on the Barrie Line, 1 for the Richmond Hill Line, and 1 for the Stouffville Line. That equals 4.

The off-peak Mount Pleasant trains are coming from Richmond Hill, Stouffville, and one of the Barrie trains. That allows GO to cycle all 4 sets through a rotation - and through Willowbrook - every 4 days.

The initial plan was for the 2016-2017 weekend service to be a lot more than the current 4 trips per direction. It probably makes sense to just wait a few more months for the current double-tracking work to be complete, to allow more service. Until then, the line can only accommodate 2 trainsets at a time in bi-directional service, passing at the siding between Maple and King City, which translates to a 2h headway. With the extra track, it might just be possible to run hourly service to Newmarket/East Gwillimbury.

It may be possible to run hourly to Newmarket, but that isn't the intention as far as I know. They want to run all of the weekend service, at least to start, all the way to Barrie. They're going to need some more track before they can think about an hourly service all the way to Newmarket.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[drum118]

No idea where this should go, but a major announcement is to take place somewhere in Brampton on Monday for X.

Know nothing on this at all as well what its for other than been told of an Brampton Event. Your guess is good as mine, but I do know California BYD is going to have their all Electric 60' articulated bus there, as it was at Mississauga City Hall today.

 

[nfitz]

Given the chatter of Mount Pleasant service increases in June, and with plan to add more off-peak service and weekend service to that line this fiscal year, I'd assume it's evening and weekend service on the Kitchener line to Mount Pleasant, 2 days before this get's discussed at Wednesday's Metrolinx board meeting.

Barrie weekend service was also supposed to start this fiscal year. Presumably the summer weekend service will also start in June. I wonder if this will be announced as well.

It may be possible to run hourly to Newmarket, but that isn't the intention as far as I know. They want to run all of the weekend service, at least to start, all the way to Barrie. They're going to need some more track before they can think about an hourly service all the way to Newmarket.

Isn't the weekend service this fiscal year supposed to be hourly to Barrie?

 

[innsertnamehere]

the wednesday board meeting is a joint TTC meeting, not a standard quarterly meeting, so I doubt they'll spend much time on GO related items.

 

[nfitz]

the wednesday board meeting is a joint TTC meeting, not a standard quarterly meeting, so I doubt they'll spend much time on GO related items.

They've got 20 minutes scheduled for a Metrolinx update (in addition to 15 minutes for the LRT projects). So I assume there'll be the usual inane back-slapping. Particularly when 4 of the 8 stations on this service are in Toronto and this service is on the city's SmartTrack corridor.

 

[TOareaFan]

I've been on the LRT platform a few times at Stadium station in Seattle at an event at Century Link or QWest Field. It's never been worse than rush-hour at Westlake, and I'd have never would have called it crushed. or overcrowded.

I see no reason to add extra trains; your numbers assume that the trains are carrying no one else. I've been on trains arriving at Union after a Jays game, which were already standing-room only, and few got off at Union.

I see nothing wrong with them adding extra service. Though it's a good point that perhaps they should run on the other lines as well. How bad is the crowding at the GO Bus terminal - I haven't been there after a game? How full were the trains on the other routes when they used to run them after a game?

Saw a tweet post Jays game that made me think of this discussion we had a couple of weeks ago.

 

[johntauren]

Brampton GO buses are awful whenever there's any event downtown.
Fan Expo? Jays game? Comic Con? GO Buses always go to standing room only once they let out, with 30 minute wait in between (depending on your destination)

The same is true of many other bus routes when trains aren't running.

 

[cbrown2009]

Extra buses are routinely called in to run to Bramalea and Georgetown after events, especially sports. Sometimes 2 or even 3 extra vehicles have to be called in if more than one game is taking place simultaneously. Watch out for Tuesday April 26. Blue Jays and Raptors are both home that evening. If the Jays are close to a sellout, could be up to 80,000 people hitting the streets around 10-10:30 extra time not withstanding. A special home bound on each line would certainly do well.... Oh to dream

 

[ShonTron]

Remember when GO ran buses from Brampton every three hours, making all stops to Malton? That was fun.

GO's excuse was to tell you to pay the subway fare, ride the subway for 30 minutes to Yorkdale or York Mills, and take a slow milk run instead. A more expensive, much slower ride.

 

[TOareaFan]

Remember when GO ran buses from Brampton every three hours, making all stops to Malton? That was fun.

GO's excuse was to tell you to pay the subway fare, ride the subway for 30 minutes to Yorkdale or York Mills, and take a slow milk run instead. A more expensive, much slower ride.

yes....and I remember explaining to a GO person that after that subway ride to a milk run the bus dropping me off in front of the mattress factory at Steeles and Bramalea was not quite returning me to where I started my journey in the morning....they said, words to the effect of ...that's too bad, but its pretty close.

 

[dowlingm]

With the subway down for maintenance east of Vic Park I'm sure Jays fans were crammed in heading home towards Kennedy, but still no Stouffville train. Oh well.

Was beside the LSE for about 6 hours Saturday and today. Not keeping written score but CEMs seemed to appear about twice as often as legacy cabs. Highest number I saw was 321.

 

[reaperexpress]

Isn't the weekend service this fiscal year supposed to be hourly to Barrie?

It would be great to have hourly service to Barrie, but unfortunately it's not physically possible with the current track layout. The northernmost siding is the second platform at Bradford station, which isn't up to current standards since the platform is short, lacks an accessible mini-platform and is curved inward so the CSA can't see all the doors. Even if that siding were usable, it wouldn't allow hourly service, since it takes 29 minutes from Bradford to Barrie, which would require a 2 minute layover to get back to Bradford within the hour. If the Bradford siding is used, the best practical headway is around 90 minutes. That would also have trains meeting on the new siding between York University and Rutherford stations.

Sample of a 90-minute schedule, with meets highlighted for the first northbound trip

I highly doubt GO would use the siding at Bradford in its current form, so the most practical short term option may be to just extend the existing weekend schedule year-round. There's also the issue that the Davenport Diamond is not yet grade separated, so CP is inconvenienced by extra GO trips.