GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[DonValleyRainbow]

I didn't know there used to be a station there, interesting! Yes, I'd imagine building a modern GO station there would be quite the engineering challenge. It would also need to heavily rely on HSR (the transit company, not the rail type) to act as a feeder system, since any parking there would need to be in a parking garage, and thus would be pretty limited.

Still advocating over here for a 'Delta station' to facilitate transfers in all 3 directions; Toronto, Niagara and Southwestern Ontario bound trips.

 

[andrewpmk]

Info at https://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2016/04/ontario-expanding-go-bus-service-to-brantford.html

Only 1,000 weekly passenger trips. So less than 100 per direction per day. And at $1.3 million in cost, that's $25 per rider. I wonder if that includes the fare revenue.

I presume this will replace some of the 15 trips between Aldershot and McMaster. So I imagine that the Brantford GO bus will be 15A or something similar.

 

[mdrejhon]

Still advocating over here for a 'Delta station' to facilitate transfers in all 3 directions; Toronto, Niagara and Southwestern Ontario bound trips.

I find this concept rather interesting and we need to create a fantasy station here to see what's possible. But on a megaproject scale, the 407 Freight Bypass will probably happen long before a Delta station because of the freight ownership as well as the ecologically sensitive Cootes Paradise area, and logistics of curved platforms (possibly solvable by cameras and flaps), and the average 300 meter walk between platform centers (moving sidewalks?). In a hundred years from now, when Hamilton is a Metropolis, the 22nd century, and Metrolinx owns all three directions, and freight is nighttime only. TKL and Toronto-Hamilton-Niagara would also need to long coexist as separate HSR lines first, and station infrastructure will have long been optimized for that.

 

[nfitz]

GO's Cambridge announcement is 4 new bus runs from Cambridge to Milton - and 8 from Milton to Cambridge (all in afternoon and evening).

https://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2016...o-bus-trips-between-cambridge-and-milton.html

No indication of where in Cambridge. The existing stops? Or are they running into Galt?

 

[P0per]

GO's Cambridge announcement is 4 new bus runs from Cambridge to Milton - and 8 from Milton to Cambridge (all in afternoon and evening).

https://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2016...o-bus-trips-between-cambridge-and-milton.html

No indication of where in Cambridge. The existing stops? Or are they running into Galt?

Unless there are some unforeseen Milton line announcements forthcoming, I wish GO would give up the Cambridge -> Milton connection. Either run to Aldershot or Bramalea for a train connection, both of which have much better connection options. Yeah, yeah, maybe one day Milton line will extend to Cambridge, but until then, there are better options.

 

[ShonTron]

Well that's a disappointment.

Yeah, Bramalea via Highways 401 and 407 is a better connection, rather then sending buses through Milton.

And nothing about the Hamilton-Guelph-KW Triangle.

 

[gweed123]

Unless there are some unforeseen Milton line announcements forthcoming, I wish GO would give up the Cambridge -> Milton connection. Either run to Aldershot or Bramalea for a train connection, both of which have much better connection options. Yeah, yeah, maybe one day Milton line will extend to Cambridge, but until then, there are better options.

Honestly, my preference would be to rehab the abandoned line between Cambridge and Guelph, and have half of the long-haul Kitchener Line trains run to Kitchener, and the other half to Cambridge. It would still provide a connection to the GTA, but Cambridge->Guelph is a more important connection than Cambridge->Milton, IMO. You could even supplement it with O-Train style shuttles that just run between Kitchener and Guelph and Cambridge and Guelph.

Also, that coupled with the Ion LRT would complete the "transit triangle" between Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, and Guelph.

 

[nfitz]

Honestly, my preference would be to rehab the abandoned line between Cambridge and Guelph, and have half of the long-haul Kitchener Line trains run to Kitchener, and the other half to Cambridge. It would still provide a connection to the GTA, but Cambridge->Guelph is a more important connection than Cambridge->Milton, IMO. You could even supplement it with O-Train style shuttles that just run between Kitchener and Guelph and Cambridge and Guelph.

An interesting thought. But I don't think it's abandoned. I thought it was GEXR.

 

[ShonTron]

Not yet abandoned, but I don't think it sees much, if any, traffic anymore. The industrial spurs in Cambridge that it connects to have lost most of their industry.

I've said this before, but I think it's better off as a multi use path than a rail corridor if there's no industrial customers left.

 

[P0per]

An interesting thought. But I don't think it's abandoned. I thought it was GEXR.

Correct, is it not abandoned. Very infrequent runs, but it's still active. It's a massive job to rehabilitate, though, and a good portion of the line is in the floodplain of the Speed River. It would be very, very expensive to bring up to standards to allow GO to run on it.

 

[crs1026]

GO's Cambridge announcement is 4 new bus runs from Cambridge to Milton - and 8 from Milton to Cambridge (all in afternoon and evening).

Pretty amazing when this kind of minor schedule adjustment merits a photo op. Can't wait for them to add the evening/weekend runs to the Mount Pleasant line..... Will there be fireworks? Will Drake perform ?

/s

- Paul

 

[gweed123]

An interesting thought. But I don't think it's abandoned. I thought it was GEXR.

I wasn't aware of that. When I drove by it it looked pretty rough, so I figured it was abandoned.

Correct, is it not abandoned. Very infrequent runs, but it's still active. It's a massive job to rehabilitate, though, and a good portion of the line is in the floodplain of the Speed River. It would be very, very expensive to bring up to standards to allow GO to run on it.

I guess it all comes down to would it cost more to upgrade that track or upgrade the Milton track? Many of the improvements to facilitate service to Cambridge via Guelph are already being done in conjunction with the Kitchener line improvements (rehab from Georgetown to Guelph, GTS, etc). Personally, I think that if the two are cost comparable, going via Guelph is better than going via Milton.

 

[mdrejhon]

Pretty amazing when this kind of minor schedule adjustment merits a photo op. Can't wait for them to add the evening/weekend runs to the Mount Pleasant line..... Will there be fireworks? Will Drake perform ?

I'd reserve that Drake performance for the 3-level-of-governments photo-op of faregates. With the faregate paddles & lights going nuts in sync with the music.

 

[mpd618]

Pretty amazing when this kind of minor schedule adjustment merits a photo op. Can't wait for them to add the evening/weekend runs to the Mount Pleasant line..... Will there be fireworks? Will Drake perform ?

In Cambridge, the issue of GO trains to Toronto figures very prominently. This appears to be a clear step towards that, so the political interest seems clear.

 

[crs1026]

In Cambridge, the issue of GO trains to Toronto figures very prominently. This appears to be a clear step towards that, so the political interest seems clear.

I agree that this is a real and immediate need for Cambridge. ( If I were @Tigermaster's Transport Minister, the trains would have been running by now). But please explain how this is a closer step. If anything it's just a smokescreen for an inexcusable further delay. Nothing prevents GO from sitting down with CP and hammering out a deal - today.

- Paul