GO Transit

[ijmorlan]

A lot of the abandoned rail lines in the country were actually not very good rail lines. It’s far from clear that a route laid down over a century ago and abandoned for decades is the right route for a new service, especially through the country where obtaining another right of way isn’t as difficult or expensive as in the city. Many old rail lines had poor grade and curve profiles. Additionally, removing a trail is the opposite of what we should be doing, so I would hope that rail trail closures are off the table. Even if a rail trail is the right route for a new service, I would hope that the trail would be retained alongside the re-instated trackage. If necessary the right-of-way could be slightly widened to allow for this.

[plam]

A lot of the abandoned rail lines in the country were actually not very good rail lines. It’s far from clear that a route laid down over a century ago and abandoned for decades is the right route for a new service, especially through the country where obtaining another right of way isn’t as difficult or expensive as in the city. Many old rail lines had poor grade and curve profiles. Additionally, removing a trail is the opposite of what we should be doing, so I would hope that rail trail closures are off the table. Even if a rail trail is the right route for a new service, I would hope that the trail would be retained alongside the re-instated trackage. If necessary the right-of-way could be slightly widened to allow for this.

So many historic trains ran at 50km/h with level crossings. Not great for modern service. I read a book about the NZ historic rail network. It was extensive. Service standards weren't great. People still preferred trains to buses.

[SF22]

Ontario announcement for GO train expansion: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/10044...ronto-area

-starts on April 28
-adding more than 300 train trips per week
-15% overall increase in weekly trips
-switching every 2nd UP Express train to be 'express' from Union to Pearson without stopping at Bloor or Weston, presumably to combat crowding issues on those trains, instead of getting more trains (UP will only stop at those stations once every 30 minutes, now)
-"For the first time, riders on the Kitchener line will also benefit from new 30-minute weekday service during midday and evenings between Bramalea and Union Station."

Mixed reviews on this one, for sure. Great to see that the core lines are getting huge increases in frequency during off-peak hours, but Kitchener and Guelph have been totally left out again, still with no timeline provided on when we can expect to join the party.

[tomh009]

UP Express is crowded? That's at least good news, given how slow the start was for this service.

[KevinL]

Kitchener and Guelph service increases are, I understand, dependent on some track updates (various double-tracked sections, etc) that are not yet fully complete. Hopefully that gets activated by the summer.

[danbrotherston]

UP Express is crowded? That's at least good news, given how slow the start was for this service.

My coworker said that a lot of people were riding it from bloor or Weston to Union.

I think there is just huge transit demand in the area.

[SF22]

UP Express is crowded? That's at least good news, given how slow the start was for this service.

My coworker said that a lot of people were riding it from bloor or Weston to Union.

I think there is just huge transit demand in the area.

That was my understanding, that people weren't just using it to get to the airport, but to quickly hop between the other stations on the line.

[plam]

UP Express is crowded? That's at least good news, given how slow the start was for this service.

Turns out fares matter. The initial pricing was like $30 per ride and no one took it. When they changed it to $9 per ride then everyone takes it. There should probably be more service instead of making some runs express. I also would appreciate the express runs.

[taylortbb]

Is this actually a service reduction for the Bloor/Weston <-> Union trips? Yes, there's fewer UPX trains stopping there, but there's a bunch of new GO trains making those stops. If GO trains are every 30, and UPX is every 30, with appropriate timing there's still service every 15.

My only complaint is that when coming from KW I use Weston as my transfer point between the GO train and UPX. It'll be annoying if I have to overshoot all the way to Union. I've already been thinking GO should have the express trains stop at Weston just for the UPX connection.

[bravado]

The minister has already changed their mind on the UP Express changes

https://twitter.com/PrabSarkaria/status/...6250153066

[danbrotherston]

The minister has already changed their mind on the UP Express changes

https://twitter.com/PrabSarkaria/status/...6250153066

I mean, I’m always glad when the Ford government is responsive to public opinion. But it would be nice if they got even one thing right without our help

[cherrypark]

Yeah Weston UPX is my hack for getting to downtown when there is no good transit at the time I need to be heading through. Park and ride from Weston skips a lot of the downtown gridlock. Just wish there was more GO from KW so that wasn't necessary but alas...

[plam]

Is this actually a service reduction for the Bloor/Weston <-> Union trips? Yes, there's fewer UPX trains stopping there, but there's a bunch of new GO trains making those stops. If GO trains are every 30, and UPX is every 30, with appropriate timing there's still service every 15.

My only complaint is that when coming from KW I use Weston as my transfer point between the GO train and UPX. It'll be annoying if I have to overshoot all the way to Union. I've already been thinking GO should have the express trains stop at Weston just for the UPX connection.

Maybe it wasn't, but it was perceived as one? The increased Bramalea to Union service is also going to be a lot.

[coriander]

Is this actually a service reduction for the Bloor/Weston <-> Union trips? Yes, there's fewer UPX trains stopping there, but there's a bunch of new GO trains making those stops. If GO trains are every 30, and UPX is every 30, with appropriate timing there's still service every 15.

My only complaint is that when coming from KW I use Weston as my transfer point between the GO train and UPX. It'll be annoying if I have to overshoot all the way to Union. I've already been thinking GO should have the express trains stop at Weston just for the UPX connection.

Maybe it wasn't, but it was perceived as one? The increased Bramalea to Union service is also going to be a lot.

For a number of trip pairs, it was a substantial service reduction. For instance, a counter-flow traveller going from Weston to Union might have previously had 5 trains in an hour in the afternoon. With the halving of UPX service, they'd then have 3. The new schedules don't add any counter-peak trains, and since the trips aren't equally spaced, this means a good chance that the headway experienced by our hypothetical traveller is doubled. Even at favourable times, it's a reduction from 5 trains an hour to 4 poorly-spaced ones.

[Acitta]

You see what happens when you people demand more GO Transit service? Alstom tries to deny vacation time to employees. :-)

Exclusive: union head speaks out after GO workers denied vacation