GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[urbancog]

This is email, from Metrolinx, is included in Appx D of the rail crash wall design report for the 1 Rosetta Condos development (https://urbantoronto.ca/database/projects/1-rosetta-condos.49935) ZBA in Georgetown. Available here: https://www.haltonhills.ca/en/busin...pment-proposal.aspx#2nd-Submission-June-2023-

It suggests that Metrolinx plans a 2 trains per hour per direction frequency on the Kitchener line at least as far as Georgetown.

 

[nfitz]

Just the Chi-Cheemaun by the looks of it.

The ad is a year or two after the Ministry of Transportation took over ferry operations. Initially it was under Ontario Northland; perhaps they were thinking of merging or branding all three provincial agencies (GO Transit, Ontario Northland, and Owen Sound Transportation Company) in one.

They do seem to have been having more fun with their livery recently than Metrolinx.

 

[WB62]

The ad is a year or two after the Ministry of Transportation took over ferry operations. Initially it was under Ontario Northland; perhaps they were thinking of merging or branding all three provincial agencies (GO Transit, Ontario Northland, and Owen Sound Transportation Company) in one.

They do seem to have been having more fun with their livery recently than Metrolinx.

View attachment 505062

I think combining the brands early on in the 70’s would have been a fantastic idea, it’s far too late to do so now but when they had the opportunity to I would have supported it.
The province really wanted the GO brand to be used for all different modes of transportation in Ontario, they introduced GO bus and GO On Demand (Dial A Bus) in the 70’s, wanted to do this GO Marine thing, and GO Urban; which was supposed to be maglev networks in Ottawa, Hamilton, and Toronto:

 

[reaperexpress]

Here is a collection of GO schedules that someone made a few years ago, has schedules from all different years: https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1t0twyNqJtaLfHHa3WwIW3ZgA3y5qjW8C

"someone"

I continue to maintain the full archive on a hard drive and update that Google Drive folder periodically when someone requests something. The pre-2014 tables were assembled by @Krypto98.

Looks like the 2018 tables are already in the Google Drive, so I don't need to update the Drive for this request.

 

[WB62]

"someone"

I continue to maintain the full archive on a hard drive and update that Google Drive folder periodically when someone requests something. Looks like the 2018 tables are already in the drive though.

I’m sorry the link was pinned in a discord channel posted by someone else, so I genuinely didn’t know where it came from

 

[peelregionrails]

Can someone tell me why GO has decided to butcher the 21 route due to “traffic” but the 16 bus (which is probably the easiest bus on the system to convert into a train) gets to stay? I used to use the 21 from union to square one a ton and I have never found the traffic westbound to be bad after 9pm in any of my trips. I’d understand their logic if all buses were cut, but why does the 16 still exist? Cut none or cut all imho

 

[Allandale25]

Martin Ritsma Calling for Permanent Rail Service in Stratford | The Ranch 100.1 FM

theranch100.com

 

[reaperexpress]

Martin Ritsma Calling for Permanent Rail Service in Stratford | The Ranch 100.1 FM

theranch100.com

This article is only four lines long and three of them are questionable.

Stratford Mayor Martin Ritsma is calling for a permanent passenger rail service in the city.

There has already been a passenger rail service to Stratford continuously for 165 years. It doesn't get much more permanent than that. The Grand Trunk began passenger service to Stratford in 1858, which was taken over by CN in 1923, and then that service was taken over by Via Rail in 1978 who continues to operate it today.

Ritsma’s call to action comes as the Go Train service between London and Toronto which has stop in Stratford and St Marys will cease to exist as of October 13th following a two year pilot project.

Metrolinx which operates the service says the call to remove the service is due to Via Rail announcing they would bring back its train which runs between London and Toronto.

Metrolinx's statement was actually that they are losing access to the infrastructure (a.k.a. they can't be arsed to renew the contract). The reintroduction of the morning Via train (which serves a completely different market than the London-Kitchener-Toronto GO service) is merely a consolation prize.

Ritsma will be speaking with the federal Minister of Transport on September 12th to speak on the importance of rail service for Stratford.

But the federal government don't run GO Transit, they run Via Rail. They're the ones who already run a permanent passenger rail service to Stratford. Ritsma needs to speak to the Provincial Minister of Transport if they want GO service.

I'm not sure if these are issues with the article or with the mayor, but at least one of them needs to do a bit of research if they want to be effective at advocating for more trains.

 

[CanadianNational]

*edit: I removed this post, as the erroneous content posted had nothing to do with GO Transit. Sorry!

 

[E•MO•TION]

A couple pics of the newish Kitchener GO Layover Yard.

View attachment 505192


View attachment 505193

Isn’t this just a parking structure for Google?

 

[crs1026]

But the federal government don't run GO Transit, they run Via Rail. They're the ones who already run a permanent passenger rail service to Stratford. Ritsma needs to speak to the Provincial Minister of Transport if they want GO service.

I'm not sure if these are issues with the article or with the mayor, but at least one of them needs to do a bit of research if they want to be effective at advocating for more trains.

Actually, the mayor (and other Southern Ontario mayors, as well) is doing the right thing by making noise, any kind of noise.....the problem crosses many jurisdictions so it's not a situation that can be fixed by lobbying a single agency or Minister, or putting forth a single discrete ask.

Passenger service to Stratford may be "present" or "longstanding", but I would not use the words "satisfactory", "sufficient", "sustainable" or "assured" to describe it. More like "crying for better".

Any pressure that gets the right people in a room together is time well spent, even if the ask is described imprecisely.

- Paul

 

[KevinT]

Isn’t this just a parking structure for Google?

Yes, the Stewart St garage serves the Breithaupt Block, connected by an offshoot of the Iron Horse trail that runs to Central Station (the future transit hub).

 

[reaperexpress]

Actually, the mayor (and other Southern Ontario mayors, as well) is doing the right thing by making noise, any kind of noise.....the problem crosses many jurisdictions so it's not a situation that can be fixed by lobbying a single agency or Minister, or putting forth a single discrete ask.

Passenger service to Stratford may be "present" or "longstanding", but I would not use the words "satisfactory", "sufficient", "sustainable" or "assured" to describe it. More like "crying for better".

Any pressure that gets the right people in a room together is time well spent, even if the ask is described imprecisely.

- Paul

Yes, the mayor is certainly doing the right thing by making noise about the poor rail service to Stratford, my point is that it is most effective to make noise when you understand to whom noise must be made, on which issues.

But I suspect that the factual errors were actually introduced by the article, rather than the mayor. It's totally plausible that the mayor is talking to the Federal minister about Via service, or improved cooperation between Via and GO, but the writer couldn't be bothered to do two seconds of googling to see what train services currently exist in Stratford, and what the actual Metrolinx statement said.

 

[anb]

Can someone tell me why GO has decided to butcher the 21 route due to “traffic” but the 16 bus (which is probably the easiest bus on the system to convert into a train) gets to stay? I used to use the 21 from union to square one a ton and I have never found the traffic westbound to be bad after 9pm in any of my trips. I’d understand their logic if all buses were cut, but why does the 16 still exist? Cut none or cut all imho

Its been talked about quite a bit here but the backstory of how the 21 doesn’t go to Union anymore has to do with last summer. Traffic was insufferable on weekends to the point where getting into downtown took almost 2 hours to get into and there was also construction near the Union bus terminal at that time which made matters worse. 21 buses were then all rerouted to detour to Port Credit, along with 31 buses as well (this was way before the Kitchener weekend train service started), which made matters even worse because of the Hurontario LRT construction and QEW traffic.

So GO earlier this year gave their solution to this problem by these Milton bus reroutings and finally introducing the Kitchener corridor weekend trains. These buses going to the LSW stations were nice at first but now its only useful going anywhere else in the GTA but DT Toronto which is obviously where most people are going and where most of the complaints come from when discussing the Milton corridor bus reroutings. The connections to the 407 corridor buses and the LSW trains actually do work out well though.

 

[nfitz]

Ancedotally, I know people in Streetsville living near Erin Mills Parkway. And from what I hear, the neighbourhood sees regular direct off-peak buses to Clarkson and GO into Union as a big upgrade.

Yeah, it sucks for some, at some times. But helps others at other times. Really the only solution is for the Ontario government to stop bucking the hog on full-day Milton service.