04-17-2015, 01:27 PM
Pretty thin gruel and no gravy on the GO train between Waterloo/Guelph and the center of the universe for the next two decades: GO train expansion leaves little for Kitchener, Guelph
Note that when the province says "Kitchener GO train line" they want to think Waterloo region but they really mean only the section between Brampton and Union Station.
Quote:Kitchener and Guelph will eventually see boosted GO train service and express trains to downtown Toronto as part of a planned rail service expansion announced by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne in Barrie on Friday morning.
While commuters north of Toronto and along Lake Ontario on either side of Toronto will see two-way, all-day electrified service sometime in the next 10 years, commuters in Kitchener and Guelph will eventually see express trains to Brampton and trains departing every 30 minutes in a "peak direction" during "peak periods" on weekdays.
The expansion and electrification of the GO rail network is made possible by Thursday's announcement of a partial sale of Hydro One, which will provide the province with about $4 billion. The total cost of the upgrades to GO transit over the next 10 years is $13.5 billion.
Provincial transit agency Metrolinx says they'll add six peak morning and afternoon trips to the Kitchener GO train line between now and 2018. They'll also add 24 weekday and 28 weekend trips to the Kitchener corridor at "off peak" non rush-hour times by 2018. It is not clear how many of these new train trips will extend all the way to Guelph and Kitchener.
The section of the Kitchener GO train line between Bramalea and Union Station will eventually be upgraded to host electrified trains, departing every 15 minutes in both directions.
During the 2014 provincial election, the Liberals promised regional express rail, with trains running every 15 minutes in each direction on all seven GO train lines, by 2024.
Metrolinx said last year that electrified express rail would require upgrades at 60 of GO's stations, 130 bridge expansions, 150 kilometres of new train track, 500 kilometres of new overhead wire catenary and as many as 15 new rail-road grade separations.
Note that when the province says "Kitchener GO train line" they want to think Waterloo region but they really mean only the section between Brampton and Union Station.