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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

Am I correct to calculate that at roughly 2hrs 41M over approx. 120km of track length, that Toronto-NF service is running at an average speed of 45km/ph? (yes, including station stops)....

Still, that seems ghastly slow.

If one could get the average speed up to just 70km/ph you would drop the travel time to decently below 2hrs each way. That's hardly seems unattainable.

@reaperexpress likely has all this modelled somewhere........

I wonder what strategic investments would drive the biggest potential speed increases?
 
robmausser said:
GO offers new service:

Everyone here: Lets find every way to complain about it and nitpick it to death.
Click to expand...
It is strange to think of GO being above reproach for doing something. They are not an amateur painter showing off their works at the local community centre, they are a company offering a service. If the service is unsuitable or difficult, criticizing it is entirely alright.
 
Northern Light said:
@reaperexpress likely has all this modelled somewhere........

I wonder what strategic investments would drive the biggest potential speed increases?
Click to expand...

If he doesn't, here's a start for him to work with (times based on first-of-day Niagara to Toronto schedule):

1684770963066.png


The obvious place to start IMHO is removing the backup move at West Harbour - that is in progress.
I don't know what stands in the way of raising track speed further from West Harbour to St Catherines - it's a long straight line, should be capable of 80 with perhaps some crossing maintenance and track repairs/upgrades and removal of the 35 mph PSO from West Harbour to Woodward Ave. One ought to be able to get that leg down by 15 minutes over today.
As I noted above one could probably squeeze 5 minutes off the Niagara - St Catherines leg by signalling that line and upgrading turnouts.
The West Harbour - Aldershot leg is new ML-installed track. I don't know why ML didn't aspire for higher speeds there, but I doubt that can be improved upon very much at this point.
From Aldershot to Toronto, the key is likely to make these runs "express" - but again, I can't see squeezing many minutes out of that until GO removes some of the padding from their entire LSW schedule.

- Paul
 
Made it to Niagara in record time today with the new schedule, cause I'm crazy enough to make the 2 minute connection to the bus at Burlington GO. Total trip time was 1 hour 40 minutes from Union to Stanley/420.

Looks like they're doing another unscheduled 10:45pm post fireworks train tonight...way too late for me haha.
 
Willybru21 said:
I’ve read the Alstom job sheet and I can’t fully understand them but I’m almost 100% sure this is not true, there’s no mention of 3 weekday Union Station-Niagara Falls-Lewis Road Yard jobs.

Edit: Seems I was wrong about this again, I’m going to start taking these Alstom sheets with a grain of salt.
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They literally change every 20 minutes...
 
gabe said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1660691785151070212
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This is exactly the same problem they had with Niagara traffic for a couple years at Burlington, and then they finally added more trains and even more just recently to where it could hopefully allow the crowd control to be reduced to as minimally as possible given the resources they could do.

Now hopefully they don't play this out for a couple years, and can give us full Kitchener train service sometime this year. This line already has a bigger advantage over Niagara as they own 80% of track on its entire run to Kitchener, and has done a decent job at running trains almost every 3 hours back and forth on the weekdays.

It probably can be pushed even more when Guelph's second platform gets completed and if they continue skipping Etobicoke North. It'll probably have similar results to the full Allandale runs on the Barrie line which for now is still better than our current situation.
 
First, I tried to see fireworks in Niagara Falls and catch a GO train out of there once before, never again. It was so jammed up we couldn't get to the station in time. Niagara needs an elevated people mover along the Parkway ASAP.

robmausser said:
GO offers new service:

Everyone here: Lets find every way to complain about it and nitpick it to death.
Click to expand...

Second, what else did you think this place was for? If it weren't for nitpicking this forum wouldn't exist.
 
Metroscapes said:
Niagara needs an elevated people mover along the Parkway ASAP.
Click to expand...

Disagree.

Agree that NF needs higher order transit to link the VIA./GO Station to the Falls and restoring the old track is not likely on.... (GO trains rumbling through people's back yards would not be a popular plan.

As such, I would suggest LRT along Victoria as the preferred choice.

Elevated following the Parkway would actually block the view of the Falls and the hotels would throw a hissy fit like you've never seen.

Victoria offers better opportunities for development/density en route.

I would take it to Ferry, then run a loop along Stanley and Fallsview.

1684848495913.png


Also, still not sure elevated for the whole route would work, though I do get the argument for grade-separation to improve capacity/speed.
 
Why not just dedicated BRT lanes? I'm skeptical passenger volume warrant LRT.
 
afransen said:
Why not just dedicated BRT lanes? I'm skeptical passenger volume warrant LRT.
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I think the main problem is how to handled the on/off-loading of a full GO Train.

That's ~1200 passengers. Moving them, even by articulated bus is something like 9 buses, at crush-load, probably more like 12+ to be efficient and allow for strollers.

Its not beyond do-able, but its certainly a challenge.
 
Northern Light said:
I think the main problem is how to handled the on/off-loading of a full GO Train.

That's ~1200 passengers. Moving them, even by articulated bus is something like 9 buses, at crush-load, probably more like 12+ to be efficient and allow for strollers.

Its not beyond do-able, but its certainly a challenge.
Click to expand...

When there are no crush loaded GO trains involved you can get away with buses.

The Green Line goes to the Train Station from Table Rock Point and works just well. Having LRT's run anywhere near the falls is asking for problems with all the crowds.
 
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