GO Transit

[danbrotherston]

It's the same story with going to Guelph.

Yes, technically possible, but despite loving the city of Guelph, I have never bothered to go there because it's infeasible without a car.

This isn't rocket science...we're just making bad choices and bad priorities.

[ac3r]

I can't wait to hear all the grand proposals regarding transit over the next few months since it's an election year. I'm sure each party will be promising us all day train service, high speed rail, intercity bus plans and all sorts of money and promises. Then they'll all vanish as they usually do with the exception of all day GO that barely makes any progression. One more reason I'm going to move back to Germany...because this country is a joke.

[Acitta]

It is not true that you can't get to Toronto on the Weekend. The #25 may not be as fast as the #30 to Bramalea, but there are several GO bus connections  at Square One to Finch, Yorkdale, Scarborough Town Centre, Richmond Hill and beyond. Even taking the #30 during the week requires a transfer to the train or another bus.

The 25 takes much longer than the 30. So yes, while possible...it is not feasible. I can also take megabus to London from Toronto now (new route), but I would never do so because they decided to service the Flying J by the 401, so I'm not going to walk up the shoulder of a dangerous highway with my 19 month old daughter.

The 30 transfer to the train is annoying, but ultimately not totally inconvenient.

It is true that the 25 takes longer than the 30 because it makes more stops, but calling it infeasible is a bit of an exaggeration. I have taken it with no problems. I would prefer, however if the #30 ran at least a few times on the weekend.

[danbrotherston]

The 25 takes much longer than the 30. So yes, while possible...it is not feasible. I can also take megabus to London from Toronto now (new route), but I would never do so because they decided to service the Flying J by the 401, so I'm not going to walk up the shoulder of a dangerous highway with my 19 month old daughter.

The 30 transfer to the train is annoying, but ultimately not totally inconvenient.

It is true that the 25 takes longer than the 30 because it makes more stops, but calling it infeasible is a bit of an exaggeration. I have taken it with no problems. I would prefer, however if the #30 ran at least a few times on the weekend.

I have taken it as well...many times. When single, or a couple, it's possible to sit through the extra time. When I have the privilege of time and flexibility.

But no, it isn't feasible, it's incredibly inconvenient and now that I have a family to travel with, it simply is not an option. Sadly I won't be going to Toronto until we have better options.

[nms]

With the complete departure of Greyhound, does that crack open the door for the province removing the restrictions on intercity bus routes? My understanding was that the reason that GO buses don't travel direct from Kitchener to Toronto is because Greyhound had that route. The workaround was the connecting bus at Square One.

I hope that one day intercity transit will not assume that every passenger wants to terminate their train trip at Union Station in Toronto. I'm sure that some people would accept a transfer at Georgetown if it meant more frequent service with smaller trains between the cities west of Georgetown. The same could be said for the other outlying stops on the other GO routes.

[taylortbb]

With the complete departure of Greyhound, does that crack open the door for the province removing the restrictions on intercity bus routes? My understanding was that the reason that GO buses don't travel direct from Kitchener to Toronto is because Greyhound had that route.  The workaround was the connecting bus at Square One.

Technically GO has always been exempt from those rules, they only applied to private operators. In practice, GO did try to avoid causing too many problems with Greyhound, but I don't think it was the sole (or even largest) factor in why we didn't have more service to Toronto. I think GO likely considers route 30 adequate, though maybe we'll see it extended up to the university area.

[danbrotherston]

With the complete departure of Greyhound, does that crack open the door for the province removing the restrictions on intercity bus routes? My understanding was that the reason that GO buses don't travel direct from Kitchener to Toronto is because Greyhound had that route.  The workaround was the connecting bus at Square One.

Technically GO has always been exempt from those rules, they only applied to private operators. In practice, GO did try to avoid causing too many problems with Greyhound, but I don't think it was the sole (or even largest) factor in why we didn't have more service to Toronto. I think GO likely considers route 30 adequate, though maybe we'll see it extended up to the university area.

Route 30...which doesn't operate on weekends, and involves a connection in Bramalea.

Yeah, no you're right, that's exactly the kind of thing GO would consider adequate.

[jamincan]

GO is extremely Toronto-centric. If you're not a commuter travelling into Toronto during the week, or a Torontonian travelling out of Toronto on the weekend, you simply don't exist.

[ac3r]

Evening trains to return to Kitchener GO line: https://www.kitchenertoday.com/local-new...ne-4182524

On weekday evenings, Kitchener line customers travelling between Mount Pleasant GO and Union will have two additional westbound trips, departing Union at 7:34 p.m. and 8:34 p.m., and an additional eastbound trip to Union, at 8:40 p.m. Customers travelling between Kitchener GO and Union will have one additional eastbound trip to Union, departing at 8:39 p.m., and an additional westbound trip to Kitchener GO, departing at 9:34 p.m. 

[KevinL]

A GO train appeared in London today, there's still no official explanation. Trial run, or something less ambitious?

[timio]

A GO train appeared in London today, there's still no official explanation. Trial run, or something less ambitious?

"Conducting some testing" : https://twitter.com/MetrolinxSpox/status...3035483144

[Acitta]

A GO train appeared in London today, there's still no official explanation. Trial run, or something less ambitious?

"Conducting some testing" : https://twitter.com/MetrolinxSpox/status...3035483144

That would be great! With the demise of Greyhound, it is nearly impossible to get to London. VIA is useless since they don't have two-way service on the same day. I would be happy if they just had one mid-morning train and one coming back in the evening. I had to get a friend to drive me to London recently to visit my 100-year-old mother, who I hadn't seen since before the pandemic started.

[panamaniac]

GO for Toronto-Kitchener-London and (eventually) VIA HFR on the main line?

[bgb_ca]

GO for Toronto-Kitchener-London and (eventually) VIA HFR on the main line?

would it be plausible to extend the Milton line to there?

[taylortbb]

GO for Toronto-Kitchener-London and (eventually) VIA HFR on the main line?

would it be plausible to extend the Milton line to there?

Theoretically possible, but not plausible. CP is very difficult to work with, and overall I think would prefer to not have any passenger trains on their tracks. VIA also seems to avoid CP tracks wherever possible, so it's not just a GO issue.

https://rac.jmaponline.net/canadianrailatlas/ is great for seeing the different lines and their ownership. Serving London with GO trains could be via the Kitchener, Milton, or Lakeshore West lines.

The problem with Lakeshore West is that it's planned to go to Hamilton, which precludes running via Brantford and Woodstock to London.

Even if you could extend the Milton line, via Cambridge and Woodstock to London, you need a lot more kilometres of extension (Milton is much farther from London than KW) without a ton of population to justify it (Cambridge and Woodstock aren't big cities).

The Kitchener line can serve London via Stratford and St Mary's, without it being as long of an extension. It also has the upside of being the least busy of the three, west of its current end, because most freight takes either CP or the CN south mainlines. That also likely makes it cheaper for GO to purchase the track.

The downside of course is that via Kitchener is long, the CP route is probably the fastest way to downtown Toronto from London. But the Kitchener line would be useful for people heading from London to KW, or to Pearson.