robmausser
Senior Member
Yes. Its a very good location and they got it for a decent price now.
Just like buying the Don Branch Sub from CP, it will probably be put to good use, just not yet.
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GO Transit: Construction Projects (Metrolinx, various)
- Thread starter drum118
- Start date
Yes. Its a very good location and they got it for a decent price now.
Just like buying the Don Branch Sub from CP, it will probably be put to good use, just not yet.
dowlingm
Senior Member
I wonder if there was an intention to push ahead on the CP alignment by now, but which RER and electrification (and the $ required) have caused it to fall way down the list. There may have also been thinking back then that if Jim Flaherty had lived and stayed in politics that there would have federal help for such a project, thus making it possible to build it sooner.
SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
There is a chance that we might see the CP Don Branch used by VIA Rail for their Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal HFR (high frequency rail) proposal. There are tons of rumours that they will build HFR along the old CP Havelock Sub, meaning the Don Branch would be used to access the line to Peterborough.
vegeta_skyline
Senior Member
As of 8:00am this morning the CTC system is finally online on the Newmarket sub(hooray! its a minor miracle!).
The new controlled locations are;
-Holland, mile 41.1 (Bradford)
-Lefroy, mile 51.9
-Allandale, mile 62.8
No speeds have been changed.
The new controlled locations are;
-Holland, mile 41.1 (Bradford)
-Lefroy, mile 51.9
-Allandale, mile 62.8
No speeds have been changed.
mdrejhon
Senior Member
Is the centralized traffic control (CTC) office located at the new GO Transit Operations Centre, the one supposed to be completed this year?
From http://www.gotransit.com/public/en/docs/publications/quickfacts/Quick_Facts_Union_Station_EN.pdf
mdrejhon
Senior Member
That'd be quite an interesting development.... Peterborough GO service could happen after all, if federal funding overhauled this line for VIA HFR service. A little provincial pitch-in may be needed for GO station sidings and passing sidings in sections to allow GO trains to stay out of way from VIA HFR trains, but this would turn an expensive capital-intensive megaproject down to something a relatively manageable rail add-on for Ontario (thanks to feds doing most of the rail rehab work)...
Obviously some negotation is required at provincial versus federal -- but with Wynne and Trudeau apparently being buddies, would bode well from a rail-transit perspective (whether you're for them or not).
It might be that we see HFR go through Kingston instead (and maybe it should), but if the freight railway corridors there are untouchable and if faster Ottawa-Toronto HFR can occur with $3bn through that ROW....
I am not aware how straight-arrow or poor shape this routing is, but does anyone know? Could we achieve VIA HFR sub-3-hour Toronto-Ottawa through Peterborough for only ~$3bn?
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SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
Again this is just a rumour that has been circulating. The Toronto-Peterborough-Ottawa route would require re-laying a significant amount of abandoned rail among other obstacles. In terms of what the route would look like, here is a rough map I made on Google Maps. And yeah, GO to Peterborough would (seem) to be an obvious inclusion in this proposal.
drum118
Superstar
Feb 20
John St Bridge and you can see the railing protection framing on the bridge for the overhead
John St Bridge and you can see the railing protection framing on the bridge for the overhead
mdrejhon
Senior Member
One curiousity I have is, will the rail speed limits of the curves of a Peterborough routing for VIA HFR -- if it still provides the ability to do sub-3-hour service? The 401 corridor seemed more straight-arrow, but the link between Kingston and Ottawa is also fairly curvy in many parts. Could be wrong; would be great to see a comparison to the existing VIA routings.
SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
From what I recall when I mapped the potential Peterborough (Toronto-Ottawa) route on Google Maps, there were no dramatic curves where GO or VIA trains would have to substantially slow down. Most curves were quite gradual. Nothing close to the sharp curve in Paris, Ontario that VIA trains currently navigate.
crs1026
Superstar
Anything is possible with enough money. However....
Check out the swing bridge over the Trent. Check out the alignment thru Sharbot Lake, Burketon, and Claremont. Consider that CP would never agree to frequent service between Agincort and Leaside without a new bridge and additional trackage over the Don Valley. Consider that the recent proposals for revived Peterboro GO rerouted the proposed GO service down the Uxbridge line rather than tackle the CP issue, but these predate RER/Smatrtrack and the Uxbridge line may no longer be able to accommodate these trains. Consider that the Peterboro line is single track through a fair bit of rough terrain.
Solving all that will take a LOT of money.
- Paul
Check out the swing bridge over the Trent. Check out the alignment thru Sharbot Lake, Burketon, and Claremont. Consider that CP would never agree to frequent service between Agincort and Leaside without a new bridge and additional trackage over the Don Valley. Consider that the recent proposals for revived Peterboro GO rerouted the proposed GO service down the Uxbridge line rather than tackle the CP issue, but these predate RER/Smatrtrack and the Uxbridge line may no longer be able to accommodate these trains. Consider that the Peterboro line is single track through a fair bit of rough terrain.
Solving all that will take a LOT of money.
- Paul
dowlingm
Senior Member
In terms of GO activity on CP, the thing which for me stands out in terms of potential is if the DRL reaches Don Mills and Eglinton, a few hundred metres short of the CP line as it crosses Don Mills. With Crosstown, DRL and heavy rail there should be potential to start building over the massive swathes of parking in that vicinity - and without hundreds of millions in flood relief works to make it viable, unlike Unilever and the Port Lands.
smallspy
Senior Member
Well, considering that construction hasn't started on GO's own CTC centre, no - GO is not dispatching the Newmarket Sub.
The Operations Centre is not a CTC facility.
Dan
Toronto, Ont.
kEiThZ
Superstar
Again this is just a rumour that has been circulating. The Toronto-Peterborough-Ottawa route would require re-laying a significant amount of abandoned rail among other obstacles. In terms of what the route would look like, here is a rough map I made on Google Maps. And yeah, GO to Peterborough would (seem) to be an obvious inclusion in this proposal.
Peterborough over Kingston and Belleville? That's not going to happen.
Komiksulo
Active Member
I went through Oshawa station yesterday, and had a look at the track.
The south GO track, #2, is right next to the northernmost VIA track (#3), and can't be extended without hitting the bridge building.
The north GO track, #1, would clear the buildings and go right through the site of the old station.
What GO might do, then, is lay another track (#0?) immediately to the north of Track 1. Both tracks ate extended to the east through the old station site. The platform becomes an island platform, and the bridge is extended over it to join to the new station.
At the west end of the platform, track 0 and 1 could become the line tracks, shifted over, and track 2 can become a pocket track.
What I'm wondering about is the gradient and curve necessary to join the CP spur that crosses the 401. There would certainly have to be some expropriation of truck yards and things to make that curve. And then there's the other curve, onto the main CP line.
The south GO track, #2, is right next to the northernmost VIA track (#3), and can't be extended without hitting the bridge building.
The north GO track, #1, would clear the buildings and go right through the site of the old station.
What GO might do, then, is lay another track (#0?) immediately to the north of Track 1. Both tracks ate extended to the east through the old station site. The platform becomes an island platform, and the bridge is extended over it to join to the new station.
At the west end of the platform, track 0 and 1 could become the line tracks, shifted over, and track 2 can become a pocket track.
What I'm wondering about is the gradient and curve necessary to join the CP spur that crosses the 401. There would certainly have to be some expropriation of truck yards and things to make that curve. And then there's the other curve, onto the main CP line.