GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[unimaginative2]

The trains stop at Bramalea because beyond there the corridor runs on the Halton Sub, which is CN's main freight bypass of the Toronto area. It's a much, much more heavily used stretch of track than the Weston Sub.

 

[RedRocket191]

Yeah why don't they have all trains like that.


Why does a train go all the way from Union to Bramalea empty??

There would be maybe 100-150 people who would get on it from Union at least...


Like a 3:15 train comes from Union why can't it go back the same way? Is it because the stations have one sided platforms??


Like lake shore service is done this way...

The 3:15 has to highball it back to union to clear the single track section for the 4:15 train. It also has to make it back to go into service on another line (Richmond Hill or Stouffville, I cannot recall) If the 3:15 is delayed even by 10 minutes, they have to cut it short and send it back - the schedule is that tight. At most, it could run express from Brampton to Union.

The 6:45 train could run back to Union in service, but I can't say for sure as I don't know if it goes into service on another line or not.

 

[DENTROBATE54]

The trains stop at Bramalea because beyond there the corridor runs on the Halton Sub, which is CN's main freight bypass of the Toronto area. It's a much, much more heavily used stretch of track than the Weston Sub.

Darn it, I only live one stop over! It'd be difficult to add on new tracks between Bramalea and Mt Pleasant as there's alot of narrow overpasses and street-level crossings intermittantly. However, how much real harm can one round per hour daily cause the freight industry? I'm a major fan of improvement to the Geogretown Line since it normally takes me 1.5-2 hours via bus to Toronto using Acceleride 77, 11 Steeles or 19S Hurontario + 3 Bloor East.

 

[ShonTron]

The additional track along the entire line from Bramalea and Mount Pleasant is well underway, and will allow for all-day, hourly trains easy. The only obstacles are GO's stupidity and neglect of Brampton, as well as improving capacity between Bramalea and West Toronto, but is being held up because of the Blue 22 fiasco. (Incidentially, GO could put in hourly train service, but has yet to promise it, even with all the new capacity). However, all the trains terminating at Bramalea (except rush-hour locals, like the one morning local departure) will terminate at Mount Pleasant as soon as the Bramalea-Mount Pleasant work is done.

 

[RedRocket191]

The additional track along the entire line from Bramalea and Mount Pleasant is well underway, and will allow for all-day, hourly trains easy. The only obstacles are GO's stupidity and neglect of Brampton, as well as improving capacity between Bramalea and West Toronto, but is being held up because of the Blue 22 fiasco. (Incidentially, GO could put in hourly train service, but has yet to promise it, even with all the new capacity). However, all the trains terminating at Bramalea (except rush-hour locals, like the one morning local departure) will terminate at Mount Pleasant as soon as the Bramalea-Mount Pleasant work is done.

I look forward to that day, but there must be better transit links to get to Brampton Station, as the parking lot is full by 7:15. Brampton transit should consider building a Park & Ride at Heart Lake terminal.

 

[canrocks]

I look forward to that day, but there must be better transit links to get to Brampton Station, as the parking lot is full by 7:15. Brampton transit should consider building a Park & Ride at Heart Lake terminal.

aah! I hate to seem like a troll but the last thing they should be doing is building more parking. Park and Rides are obsolete, especially in light of the Province's policy goals of densification and greenhouse gas reduction. What they need to do is improve transit links to GO stations, build high-density communities around the stations, and charge for parking at GO stations.

 

[RedRocket191]

aah! I hate to seem like a troll but the last thing they should be doing is building more parking. Park and Rides are obsolete, especially in light of the Province's policy goals of densification and greenhouse gas reduction. What they need to do is improve transit links to GO stations, build high-density communities around the stations, and charge for parking at GO stations.

Granted, but you must understand that I live in a municipality which has passed laws that are specifically designed to prevent transit services from being operated. I can fight a town council that wants to keep the town in a 1970s status quo, or I can advocate for a park and ride. The park and ride is the lesser of two evils.

 

[unimaginative2]

Agreed, RedRocket. We can live in a dream world where everybody can and will walk to the nearest GO stop, but that's just not realistic. Sure, even if we build TOD around every station, people from outside those developments will still want to ride. It's just much more practical in the 905 to drive to the GO station. We should be happy that they drive to the GO instead of all the way downtown, rather than demonizing them for not following the urban ideal. It will take decades to rebuild our suburbs to make them more transit friendly.

 

[RedRocket191]

Agreed, RedRocket. We can live in a dream world where everybody can and will walk to the nearest GO stop, but that's just not realistic. Sure, even if we build TOD around every station, people from outside those developments will still want to ride. It's just much more practical in the 905 to drive to the GO station. We should be happy that they drive to the GO instead of all the way downtown, rather than demonizing them for not following the urban ideal. It will take decades to rebuild our suburbs to make them more transit friendly.

Running transit in the suburbs as they are now will be expensive, but sometimes the most expensive things are worth it. Having said that, it gets us nowhere when the government doesn't care about transit in the first place. Having said that, I would be happy to sit down with Caledon Mayor Marolyn Morrison and see why her leadership has seen explosive growth without transit services being offered.

 

[ShonTron]

Caledon can have transit so easily. Valleywood could easily be served by a route contracted to Brampton Transit. Even a bus on a 30 minute frequency, 6 days a week would be a tolerable start. Route 7 or even 24 could do this no problem, adding only maybe 10 minutes to either route's running time.

Bolton could even have a scheduled, semi-fixed route "pulse" system in the short term.

Georgetown is the other place that's incredibly backwards when it comes to transit. If Milton could make a go of it, why not Georgetown, where there's obvious trip generators and a commuter population? Even Cobourg and Port Hope have scheduled transit.

 

[unimaginative2]

I completely agree, SeanTrans. I really think we've failed to develop our suburbs around transit. There's no reason why developers shouldn't be forced to design subdivisions in a way that facilitate easy transit. Valleywood would be so easy to serve with a simple contract with Brampton Transit.

 

[RedRocket191]

I completely agree, SeanTrans. I really think we've failed to develop our suburbs around transit. There's no reason why developers shouldn't be forced to design subdivisions in a way that facilitate easy transit. Valleywood would be so easy to serve with a simple contract with Brampton Transit.

At this point, I would kill for such a contract. No one should have to walk down highway ten, inches from trucks doing 100 km/h just to do their part. I honestly fear that it will take someone being struck.

My grandmother lived in Rexdale for years. Everything was within walking distance, and the 73 Royal York stopped five minutes from her house for anything that was too far to walk to. Every day, she would walk over to the library or to the Albion Centre to do some shopping. Some of my best memories were going over with her, mainly because it usually ended in some candy or a handful of cashews.

Since she moved to Valleywood with us, she only gets out of the house once a week, and I wonder if the lack of mobility has caused her arthritis to worsen. More importantly, she has lost her independence. Just yesterday, she asked me to take her to the grocery store. My mom managed to pick up what she needed and eliminated the trip, but I think she mostly wanted to get outside.

I guess the moral of the story is that the suburbs may seem like a pleasant place to live, but it can be very depressing for those who don't have access to a car or to those, like me, who want to give up their cars.

 

[DENTROBATE54]

I completely agree, SeanTrans. I really think we've failed to develop our suburbs around transit. There's no reason why developers shouldn't be forced to design subdivisions in a way that facilitate easy transit. Valleywood would be so easy to serve with a simple contract with Brampton Transit.

For some odd reason the 2 Main (Hurontario) manages to be a major bus route that somehow manages to bypass Shoppers World Terminal, Downtown Terminal and everything north of Sandalwood, leaving a very circuitous Van Kirk or MacLaughlin route to service Snelgrove. I don't see why the end route for the Main bus can't encompass a loop through Valleywoods, creating direct, continuous non-transfer along Hwy 10.

 

[canrocks]

My grandmother lived in Rexdale for years. Everything was within walking distance, and the 73 Royal York stopped five minutes from her house for anything that was too far to walk to. Every day, she would walk over to the library or to the Albion Centre to do some shopping. Some of my best memories were going over with her, mainly because it usually ended in some candy or a handful of cashews.

Since she moved to Valleywood with us, she only gets out of the house once a week, and I wonder if the lack of mobility has caused her arthritis to worsen. More importantly, she has lost her independence. Just yesterday, she asked me to take her to the grocery store. My mom managed to pick up what she needed and eliminated the trip, but I think she mostly wanted to get outside.

That's actually really sad. My nana had similar independence to what you described when she lived in Britannia, a neighbourhood on the northwestern edge of Ottawa. She was on the 17th floor of a condo (not an "adult lifestyle community", none of this elderly apartheid, just a plain old condo) and it was only a 15 minute walk away from a mall that served most of her needs. If she needed to go to her bank branch downtown, she would just hop on the 18 and it would take her there without transfers. I always loved visiting, not because of the candy, but because of the cable tv and indoor pool. I think she managed to get to the age of 88 without assistance, until she had a stroke.

 

[299 bloor call control.]

This should probably help alleviate some congestion problems at Union and help accomodate the increased service they plan

Siemens gets rail-automation order from Canada's Go Transit
By MarketWatch
Last update: 6:26 a.m. EST Dec. 17, 2007
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Edited Press Release
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Germany's Siemens AG's (SI:







148.77, -2.03, -1.3%) Transportation Systems unit received its biggest ever rail automation order in America worth EUR140 million from the Canadian transit authority Go Transit, Siemens said Monday.
Siemens will upgrade the entire signaling and communication systems in and around Toronto's Union Station, as well as the traffic control center.
The entire system upgrade will take place in 2008.
The modernization of the system covers a section of 5.8 kilometers including some 42 kilometers of track.
The heart of this system is the Union Station, which is one of the most complex stations in North America. When finished, it will be the biggest station on the continent to be equipped with electronic interlockings.
-Contact: 201-938-5400