09-15-2021, 11:08 AM
(09-15-2021, 10:40 AM)ijmorlan Wrote:(09-15-2021, 08:51 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: Also FWIW, they're expecting about 68 total passengers on the west of KW leg. That's an awfully small number for a full size GO Train.
68? That can fit on a single double-decker SuperLo, according to a page from Metrolinx:
https://blog.metrolinx.com/2020/09/08/th...nd-beyond/
And the trip between London and Kitchener can be done in about 1¼ hours:
https://goo.gl/maps/kw9fh5L9f9r57Lwe9
So while I’m a big fan of trains, it’s obvious that this service should be implemented with buses to start, and only switched to trains when a suitable combination of track upgrades allowing comparable travel time and ridership increases justifying running a train take place.
Hang on a moment, I didn’t consider intermediate stops. If I force the route to go through Stratford, travel time goes up to a bit over 1½ hours while distance is almost the same. OK, so actually my point still stands. We use trains because they are higher capacity and/or faster than buses; it makes no sense to have a train which is lower (used) capacity and slower than a bus.
Given the lower operating costs of buses vs. trains, they could literally run three buses (London -> Toronto: fast), (London <-> KW express), and (London - St. Marys - Stratford - Kitchener).