GO Transit

[Bytor]

CP is orders of magnitude more obstinate than CN ever was with the Kitchener Line. If you want to wait for that, you'll be waiting far beyond 2035.

The Galt Subdivision is the only line CP has going west from Toronto where CN had 2, so no wonder CP doesn't want to sell it off. Doing so would split their North American network into two disconnected halves, or at the every least, force them to go up through the Dakotas and around Lake Superior to get anything from US midwest or southern Missiissippi River to anywhere east of Toronto.

The only workable solution there requires Metrolinx building brand new track, and a lot of land appropriation because th right of way is not always wide enough to add two more tracks on to. Though it's likely that CP would not allow sharing the ROW like that.

If I recall the same right of way that was going to be used to bypass the CN line will also bypass the CP line. And I don't think CN will play ball with closing their main freight line either.

While there was some talk about the bypass only going as far as Meadowvale and having CN trains share the CP line to Milton, all the maps from the Province and Metrolinx always included the full distance of Bramalea Rd. to Milton. Early on as just a straight line meant to indicate general location, and later ones following a combination of the 407 and the hydro corridor beside it.

I do not believe there was any serious talk of  using it as a CP bypass to gain control of the Milton Line as that requires diverting CP traffic up to Woodbridge and down the CN tracks to Bramalea to get to the bypass. Given the freight volumes both those companies run through there, just doing that minimum distance of Bramalea to Meadowvale would probably be unworkable as the shared sections on either end wouldn't have the capacity to handle both sets of traffic.

[danbrotherston]

If I recall the same right of way that was going to be used to bypass the CN line will also bypass the CP line. And I don't think CN will play ball with closing their main freight line either.

While there was some talk about the bypass only going as far as Meadowvale and having CN trains share the CP line to Milton, all the maps from the Province and Metrolinx always included the full distance of Bramalea Rd. to Milton. Early on as just a straight line meant to indicate general location, and later ones following a combination of the 407 and the hydro corridor beside it.

I do not believe there was any serious talk of  using it as a CP bypass to gain control of the Milton Line as that requires diverting CP traffic up to Woodbridge and down the CN tracks to Bramalea to get to the bypass. Given the freight volumes both those companies run through there, just doing that minimum distance of Bramalea to Meadowvale would probably be unworkable as the shared sections on either end wouldn't have the capacity to handle both sets of traffic.

I'm not sure why they'd have to use the CN tracks.

The CN bypass would require tracks on the 401/7 from Hornby to Bramalea. If those tracks were extended east to Woodbridge long the 407 and west to Campbelleville they would meet the CP tracks at both ends. CN and CP could share the 407 freight corridor. Building that out would no doubt be more expensive but would also enable two rail corridors to come into full passenger usage, and the only sharing would be along the 401/7 corridor, which should have plenty of right of way.

This kind of thing should be a priority if lack of capacity really is the problem on Milton and Kitchener.

[KevinL]

GO has announced that construction in downtown Kitchener has led to them moving the Charles and King/Victoria bus stops to new places on Weber. In a way, this is the final death of the Charles terminal as a location for intercity service.

GO Bus Route 25 will follow a different route in downtown Kitchener and some stops will be moved due to upcoming road construction projects in the area.

In downtown Kitchener, buses will run along Weber St. The stops on Victoria St. @ King St., Joseph St. @ Ontario St., Charles St. @ Queen St., and King St. @ Montgomery Rd. will be removed and relocated to Weber St., and will be an approximate five-to-ten minute walk from the stops being removed.
Route 25 will no longer serve the on-street stop near the Kitchener Bus Terminal. The replacement stop is located on Weber St. @ Queen St.

[bgb_ca]

Yea, not surprised at them closing that stop. It didn't really make much sense there with the terminal shuttered.

And with Greyhound "gone" (I would be really surprised if they restart up again to be honest), once the covid center wraps up, I would not be surprised to be the building demo'd shortly after.

[ac3r]

And with Greyhound "gone" (I would be really surprised if they restart up again to be honest), once the covid center wraps up, I would not be surprised to be the building demo'd shortly after.

I've heard that Greyhound is pretty much done at this point. Apparently they were looking for a way to pull out of Canada for good and the pandemic gave them a great opportunity to finally do so. They could have restarted service months ago if they wanted because GO Transit is still able to operate their buses, but they've chosen not to. I won't be surprised if they come out publicly to announce a closure at some point in the next few months. It's a shame because if you're not going somewhere serviced by GO Transit or VIA, they're the only real option to get around the province.

[danbrotherston]

GO has announced that construction in downtown Kitchener has led to them moving the Charles and King/Victoria bus stops to new places on Weber. In a way, this is the final death of the Charles terminal as a location for intercity service.

GO Bus Route 25 will follow a different route in downtown Kitchener and some stops will be moved due to upcoming road construction projects in the area.

In downtown Kitchener, buses will run along Weber St. The stops on Victoria St. @ King St., Joseph St. @ Ontario St., Charles St. @ Queen St., and King St. @ Montgomery Rd. will be removed and relocated to Weber St., and will be an approximate five-to-ten minute walk from the stops being removed.
Route 25 will no longer serve the on-street stop near the Kitchener Bus Terminal. The replacement stop is located on Weber St. @ Queen St.

Well as someone who lives right next to the stop, it's a pain (although I haven't used the bus in over a year), but it's not a surprise. I think the bigger reason is the impending construction on Joseph to add cycle tracks. There would be no room for a GO Bus to stop without blocking traffic, so it makes sense that they must move the stop.

[danbrotherston]

Yea, not surprised at them closing that stop. It didn't really make much sense there with the terminal shuttered.

And with Greyhound "gone" (I would be really surprised if they restart up again to be honest), once the covid center wraps up, I would not be surprised to be the building demo'd shortly after.

The building is in use for COVID testing, but even after that, I doubt there is an incentive to demolish the building until a new use is found/planned, as we've seen having the building can be useful.

[danbrotherston]

And with Greyhound "gone" (I would be really surprised if they restart up again to be honest), once the covid center wraps up, I would not be surprised to be the building demo'd shortly after.

I've heard that Greyhound is pretty much done at this point. Apparently they were looking for a way to pull out of Canada for good and the pandemic gave them a great opportunity to finally do so. They could have restarted service months ago if they wanted because GO Transit is still able to operate their buses, but they've chosen not to. I won't be surprised if they come out publicly to announce a closure at some point in the next few months. It's a shame because if you're not going somewhere serviced by GO Transit or VIA, they're the only real option to get around the province.

I have little doubt that GO Transit is operating their buses at a loss, something that Greyhound, a for profit company cannot do. Whether transit should be operated for profit is a discussion in itself, but it is clear that just because GO is operating, does not mean Greyhound could.

That being said, I suspect you are right, and I think that it is hard to demonstrate a worse failure of transportation policy than the near complete collapse of all intercity bus service (with the exception of Calgary<->Edmonton and Montreal<->Toronto, possibly others I'm not thinking of). I don't know what the solution is, but there is nothing redeemable about the current situation.

[tomh009]

Yea, not surprised at them closing that stop. It didn't really make much sense there with the terminal shuttered.

And with Greyhound "gone" (I would be really surprised if they restart up again to be honest), once the covid center wraps up, I would not be surprised to be the building demo'd shortly after.

The building is in use for COVID testing, but even after that, I doubt there is an incentive to demolish the building until a new use is found/planned, as we've seen having the building can be useful.

And COVID testing will not necessarily be "done" soon, either. Will wait and see on this one.

[Acitta]

And with Greyhound "gone" (I would be really surprised if they restart up again to be honest), once the covid center wraps up, I would not be surprised to be the building demo'd shortly after.

I've heard that Greyhound is pretty much done at this point. Apparently they were looking for a way to pull out of Canada for good and the pandemic gave them a great opportunity to finally do so. They could have restarted service months ago if they wanted because GO Transit is still able to operate their buses, but they've chosen not to. I won't be surprised if they come out publicly to announce a closure at some point in the next few months. It's a shame because if you're not going somewhere serviced by GO Transit or VIA, they're the only real option to get around the province.

I hope that Greyhound comes back. I want to get to London for my mother's 100th birthday in May and Greyhound was the only way to get there. VIA schedules are rather useless.

[KevinL]

You have another, though non-direct, option: Perth County Connect.

[bgb_ca]

I've heard that Greyhound is pretty much done at this point. Apparently they were looking for a way to pull out of Canada for good and the pandemic gave them a great opportunity to finally do so. They could have restarted service months ago if they wanted because GO Transit is still able to operate their buses, but they've chosen not to. I won't be surprised if they come out publicly to announce a closure at some point in the next few months. It's a shame because if you're not going somewhere serviced by GO Transit or VIA, they're the only real option to get around the province.

I hope that Greyhound comes back. I want to get to London for my mother's 100th birthday in May and Greyhound was the only way to get there. VIA schedules are rather useless.

I agree. I'm heading down in a few weeks and the only option is the 7pm via train.

[ac3r]

Two-way, all-day GO service to become reality by 2025: https://www.kitchenertoday.com/amp/local...io-3573673

[danbrotherston]

Two-way, all-day GO service to become reality by 2025: https://www.kitchenertoday.com/amp/local...io-3573673

I've seen this, and I've seen this from the region.

AFAIK there is no concrete construction projects, nor agreements with CN in place at this point, I don't know what we're celebrating here. The government could promise me a unicorn in 2025, I wouldn't bother making hay about it.

[Bytor]

Two-way, all-day GO service to become reality by 2025: https://www.kitchenertoday.com/amp/local...io-3573673

I've seen this, and I've seen this from the region.

AFAIK there is no concrete construction projects, nor agreements with CN in place at this point, I don't know what we're celebrating here. The government could promise me a unicorn in 2025, I wouldn't bother making hay about it.

Quite right. The biggest project on this brief, the freight bypass, was cancelled by them and there's been no new information for more than 2 years how they will be dealing with that. We're now at two and a quarter years since then-Transorptation Minister Yurek's December 2018 promise of "big news" in a year to a year and a half. The next biggest—the environmental assessment for electrification from Georgetown to Kitchener, and the tunnels under the 401/407—were both started under the Liberals. The few remaining projects that have been done on Kitchener Line between Union and Bramalea were also all planned out by the Metrolinx under the GO RER project of the Liberals. lso, in 2019, the Tories cut almost $200M from Metrolinx's budget.

Until I see some actual action and not just talk about budget "commitments", I'm going to view this as election fruit for next year.