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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

Kitchener schedule is up now...damn that's a lot of extra trips all the way to Kitchener!
I only had the chance to quickly glance at the schedule, but there appears to be a small, but welcome savings of five minutes end-to-end on the Kitchener Line. I wonder if VIA will follow suit?
 
I only had the chance to quickly glance at the schedule, but there appears to be a small, but welcome savings of five minutes end-to-end on the Kitchener Line. I wonder if VIA will follow suit?
The press release mentioned 20 min savings for the express trips from Kitchener.
 
Say what you want about Doug Ford and his party, but this is a serious increase in GO train trips, which should be applauded.

My impression is that Ford is feeding ML measured amounts of money - less than the previous government promised, but more than the previous government delivered, and likely reliably so for the future. With both Barrie and Mount Joy expansion now confirmed, fourth track to Bramalea in progress, and some easing of CN's stance on the Halton evident (which may be due to changes in senior personnel at CN, rather than ML's efforts), it's clear that Ford is not playing Grim Reaper with the GO system. I would rather have $XM reliably delivered than (2x$XM) promised but never delivered.

I will still carp about the puffery and misleading numbers and the lack of transparency in all this: the new services mean lots of new seatmiles, which ML will include in its declarations about the % of expansion.....but lots of those seats may run empty, especially on the longer runs to Kitchener and Niagara. But that's only a partly empty glass. Those seats may fill with time.

Note the announcement that some trains may be shorter....I wonder if the latest railcar acquisitions has given GO the breathing room to create some short consists without impairing the number of 12-car trains needed - that may have some efficiencies.

- Paul
 
I only had the chance to quickly glance at the schedule, but there appears to be a small, but welcome savings of five minutes end-to-end on the Kitchener Line. I wonder if VIA will follow suit?
The 610am trip from Kitchener is down to 1 hour, 46 minutes and the 6pm trip from Union is down to 1 hour, 47 minutes.

BTW, hi Carly Rae!
 
At first glance it appears that the new Bramalea trains are at rush hour, where the new off peak trains go to Mount Pleasant. Some of the Mount Pleasant runs now extend further west, as opposed to originating/terminating at MP.

The late evening timings to Guelph and Kitchener are certainly welcome. I just wonder if they depart too early for the evening show/sports event crowd.

We sure need those track upgrades to get a morning counterflow train to Kitchener.


- Paul
Is it just me or the existing bus trips to from union on the kitchener line still around?
 
I only had the chance to quickly glance at the schedule, but there appears to be a small, but welcome savings of five minutes end-to-end on the Kitchener Line. I wonder if VIA will follow suit?
It appears to be entirely saved between Kitchener and Guelph, Guelph is still posting the same travel times. Travel time between Guelph and Kitchener on the 14:50 train from Union is now 25 minutes, down from 32. This is an improvement of average speed from 41km/h to 54km/h. Still a long way to go.
 
Is it just me or the existing bus trips to from union on the kitchener line still around?
198979

198980
 
TY Dan.

Not like me to miss the obvious like that.

But of course, like most transit customers, I don't think in terms of weekly trips, but daily ones.

That'll make some folks in Durham region happy.

I'm not a fan of it either, especially when they also use trips per day in other parts of the announcements, but it allows them to puff up the numbers in their press releases - and thus they keep doing it.

Dan
 
Lakeshore East/West Comments

Observing the new Lakeshore schedule. The odd 15/30 min service split still continues to exist on Lakeshore West. No 15-minute service to Aldershot anytime of the day just yet, it's more tangled than Lakeshore East.

I'm pleased to see I can finally depart Hamilton at a much saner time -- nearly 8am -- on a train instead of a bus. Not enough service for West Harbour, but this will be an attraction for me when I need to be in downtown Toronto for about ~9am without departing as early.


Aldershot --> Long Branch Super Express Trains

199048


I just noticed beginning midnight through 2am, you can now catch a GO train from Aldershot to Long Branch in only 30 minutes.

I doubt many people will use these express trains -- it looks like revenue-activation of some deadheading trains.

These trains, however, will be very handy if you are stuck at Aldershot after midnight and need to get closer to Toronto (And the 24 hour streetcar service) -- the bus options are essentially nonexistent at these hours.


The Union-to-Oshawa/Pickering Super Expresses

The new Aldershot-to-LongBranch expresses reminds me of the Pickering/Oshawa expresses (revenue activation of formerly deadheading trains):

199050


There's even an evening option too to get you home from your Oshawa job to your Toronto downtown condo in a mere 40 minutes:

199054



The Union-To-Oakville Super Expresses:

Live downtown, have a job near Oakville GO?
Here's super express options that gets you to Oakville in a mere 26 minutes.

199051


Doubling of West Harbour Service

There are now 6:09, 6:39, 7:09 and 7:49am trains!
Now you can wake up half an hour later, if you feel like catching the 7:49am train from West Harbour, instead of the 7:18am train from Downtown GO!

199049


Some interesting super express options, none nearly as useful as a 45-minute Hamilton-to-Toronto (or vice versa) train. One can wish someday, though.
 
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The schedule is now live and working per the above post.

A couple of interesting details :
- There is a four hour gap in eastbound train service from Mount Pleasant, between the 16:00 and 20:00 departures.
- The late afternoon train that departs Kitchener at 14:57 runs express after Malton, leaving a three-hour eastbound gap at Etobicoke North, Weston, and Bloor.

It’s still a significant improvement, but it shows that there is room to grow once there is more track available.

- Paul
 
A couple of interesting details :
- There is a four hour gap in eastbound train service from Mount Pleasant, between the 16:00 and 20:00 departures.
- The late afternoon train that departs Kitchener at 14:57 runs express after Malton, leaving a three-hour eastbound gap at Etobicoke North, Weston, and Bloor.

It’s still a significant improvement, but it shows that there is room to grow once there is more track available.

- Paul
It looks to me like
3:42 Arrival at mount pleasant sits at mount pleasant and turns into the 20:00.
>personally i would have had it turn into a 17:00 train, then add a new train to mount pleasant that could become the 20:00 but of course track space restrictions
21:42 Arrival at mount pleasant deadheads back to union?
The last train to guelph probably deadheads back to union.
the 16:32 union to Bramalea no longer deadheads after its done its trip and becomes the 18:14 train
 

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