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GO Transit: Construction Projects (Metrolinx, various)

ARG1 said:
As someone who doesn't use the Kitchener Line, how is it that Brampton -> Union trips are so much shorter than Union -> Brampton trips?
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That slide must contain a typo - that 69 minute trip time makes no sense.

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
That slide must contain a typo - that 69 minute trip time makes no sense.

- Paul
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The slide also references a 31 minute improvement in travel times, though, which makes me think the number isn't a mistake. If you check the schedule, express trips are 34 minutes and local are 42 regardless of direction. Perhaps the average out of Union includes all trains departing on the Kitchener Line, including trips ending at Bramalea (and thus the travel time includes the bus to Brampton).
Andy_in_Toronto said:
I’m not clear on the timeline of increasing service. When do we see finally weekend service to Brampton and also Kitchener?
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My understanding is that the impediment to weekend service to Kitchener is the construction work on the line.
 
jamincan said:
The slide also references a 31 minute improvement in travel times, though, which makes me think the number isn't a mistake. If you check the schedule, express trips are 34 minutes and local are 42 regardless of direction. Perhaps the average out of Union includes all trains departing on the Kitchener Line, including trips ending at Bramalea (and thus the travel time includes the bus to Brampton).

My understanding is that the impediment to weekend service to Kitchener is the construction work on the line.
Click to expand...

I can't find a schedule that would back up the 69 figure. But 69 (current, as shown) minus 38 (target) is 31, I'm guessing the 69 is a mistake and someone inferred that they could claim the difference as a reduction in time. Makes sense as long as you don't have enough information to do a sanity check.

Moral of the story: don't let interns prepare your powerpoint presentation.

- Paul
 
The figures look correct to me. In the AM peak period, counterpeak service requires a bus transfer at Bramalea to get to Brampton GO, resulting in a 69 minute travel time. During this time, peak service has a trip time between 34 and 42 minutes from Brampton GO to Union.
 
EnviroTO said:
I disagree that the problem with the new Smarttrack stations are that not all services stop at them. Different services should serve different audiences and not all routes should be turned into a milk run. Every stop a train makes will have some positive and some negative benefits. Once you have achieved most of the positive benefit of serving a location (i.e met the capacity and most of the trips), the detractors of having more an more trains stop there start to outweigh the positives. An express that stops everywhere is not express. There needs to be stations where people can transfer between two lines running on the same path... but those don't need to be all stations any more than it would make sense to say all routes must go to the same places.

The problem with Smarttrack stations are:
  1. They don't exist yet. Caledonia supposedly figured out qualified vendors more than a year ago and nothing has occurred since. So far these stations are a paper based exercise where no money has been given out in terms of a construction contract that will make it actually happen.
  2. There is no fare framework defined. How are local routes, express routes, streetcars, LRTs, subways, frequent trains, express trains, and commuter trains going to be priced and how are the transfers handled. In Japan they have a great system of fare zones, base fare, and additional service upgrade (local vs express vs super-express vs shinkansen, and class of service) fares on top. Here we have regional transit companies with their own fares, no shared definitions of zones across them all, and while there has been discussion on fare strategy... since the last provincial election those presentations to the board have stopped.
  3. Little thought about treating these stations similar to subway stations with bus loops, redirected surface routes, and sheltered connections between modes.
The problem is definitely not:
  • All trains don't stop at a particular station.
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One or two additional stops on a faster train does not make it a milk run. There's a reason regional rail systems tend to have a load splitting station or two on the edge of the core. Nobody is asking for 5 extra stops in the 905 which would actually not be useful. Not everyone's final destination is Union.

It's also possible that there are more than one problem that exists with a plan . . .
 
crs1026 said:
That slide must contain a typo - that 69 minute trip time makes no sense.- Paul
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In afternoon rush-hour from Union to Brampton - I can believe it. Especially from the north side of Union - could take 20 minutes just to get to Dufferin on the Gardiner! The AM peak travel time of 37 minutes from Brampton to Union seems optimistic to me though - if there's a typo it's surely there.
 
nfitz said:
In afternoon rush-hour from Union to Brampton - I can believe it. Especially from the north side of Union - could take 20 minutes just to get to Dufferin on the Gardiner! The AM peak travel time of 37 minutes from Brampton to Union seems optimistic to me though - if there's a typo it's surely there.
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I believe Metrolinx staff verbally confirmed the time when presenting the deck at today's Committee of Council meeting. When the video is available I'll post the link. There were also some fairly specific questions. One of the responses was that the Silver Grade Separation is being designed right now and it will be near Winston Churchill.
 
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The items listed in that article are all favourable and to be cheered, but the picture is certainly selective

Critical missing links:
- Work on shifting the Railpath and completing the 4th track from Nickle to Strachan, including changes to Bloor station
- The whole discussion about CN implies that there is no agreement yet on what work will be done through Brampton and onwards to Silver... after how many years of negotiation?
- No mention of work to add passing capacity especially west of Georgetown - probably the most important impediment of all to 2WAD west of Mount Pleasant

- Paul
allengeorge said:
blog.metrolinx.com

Metrolinx Press Room

Find the latest Metrolinx news, project updates and more.
blog.metrolinx.com
Summary of the changes currently happening on the Kitchener Line as well as “in-service” dates.
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crs1026 said:
The items listed in that article are all favourable and to be cheered, but the picture is certainly selective

Critical missing links:
- Work on shifting the Railpath and completing the 4th track from Nickle to Strachan, including changes to Bloor station
- The whole discussion about CN implies that there is no agreement yet on what work will be done through Brampton and onwards to Silver... after how many years of negotiation?
- No mention of work to add passing capacity especially west of Georgetown - probably the most important impediment of all to 2WAD west of Mount Pleasant

- Paul
Click to expand...

In the Q and A at yesterday's Brampton Committee of Council meeting, a question was asked about the Silver Grade Separation and Metrolinx responded that it is being designed. Here's the video and the Q and A is after the presentation, and the Silver question was the last one.

Delegation from Metrolinx re: Preliminary Design Business Case for Two-way All-day GO Service on the Kitchener Line - Committee of Council - September 22, 2021

pub-brampton.escribemeetings.com pub-brampton.escribemeetings.com
 
blog.metrolinx.com

Metrolinx Press Room

Find the latest Metrolinx news, project updates and more.
blog.metrolinx.com

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