GO Transit: Construction Projects (Metrolinx, various)

[hw621]

Very common for this area from what I have heard. Been there only a few times, each time I saw fools do this on both sides and once being done on both sides at the same time. I posted a video showing another fool doing this some weeks ago.

Seen it happen elsewhere as well and not only in Toronto.

Police should have raid on this...just like J walking...

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

wooowwwwwwww r u serious. How fast was the train going @drum118 ?

 

[drum118]

wooowwwwwwww r u serious. How fast was the train going @drum118 ?

If you look at the ditch lights of the loco, they were off. This means, the train was off loading before crossing Steeles. There is a video of another train on the move as pedestrians cross the tracks heading north and a lot closer than this shot.

As for have police there, it will be more of a miss than catching anyone doing this. An example for need of grade separation on RR lines, but very costly to do. In many places, streets would have to be close since huge numbers of homes would have to be torn down to do it and not enough room for grade on streets coming off that road.

 

[crs1026]

^ What kind of bridges are they right now?

Big, long flat deck style, each with multiple piers. As you can see, the Breslau bridge has had some patching and the deckwork is all new, but the piers would need a lot of work to add a second track. The Collenette study reported, and a source has confirmed, that it's too rickety to handle much higher speed than at present.

I have never tried to get a picture of the Eramosa bridge, but from Google Earth you can see that it's not a small structure either.

- Paul

 

[Allandale25]

^ Cool! Great shots. Thanks.

 

[crs1026]

@crs1026 so are we waiting for 2022-2024 for all of these projects on Barrie, Kitchener and Stouffville to be completed?

Well, Metrolinx's page says 2025 for everything to Kitchener. Clearly work was going on this year, and I expect Ford won't kill all of that. Although, as usual it's not clear what funding ML had allocated to this project and how firm this money was.

So we might see some gains sooner than 2025. But there is a lot to be done.

- Paul

 

[Leo_Chan]

They’ve added gates to the ends of the old path at Oriole Station. I’d assume they either plan to close it off permanently or close it when conditions get worse.

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

They’ve added gates to the ends of the old path at Oriole Station. I’d assume they either plan to close it off permanently or close it when conditions get worse.
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That seems strange, but perhaps it's so people don't get caught in it when a train rolls up?

 

[SaugeenJunction]

Some concrete and wiring work at Exhibition GO. Maybe for more PRESTO readers?

Also, I noticed at Willowbrook Yard what look to be about 3 bridge girders located on the VIA side, and some transport trucks (I also saw them on a previous trip, sorry I couldn't get a shot). Also, there were three flatcars or four flatcars looking like they were going to be loaded int the future. They looked way to large and substantial to be for the CIBC Square Park. No idea what they could be for, maybe the forum cold shed some light on what they are. I'll try to get a shot on Saturday. Very strange, I wasn't aware of any bridge replacements in the near future.

Edit: The "bridge girders" looked identical to those in @crs1026 post above

 

[TOareaFan]

Funny sight on the north side of Exhibition GO around 9:30 tonight.

About 5 trucks of workers and equipment stuck on Atlantic trying to access the station.....guess no one told them that arriving there after a TFC match was a dumb idea

 

[Garuda]

Any progress with the Highway 401 tunnel? I believe construction was supposed to start this spring.

 

[Allandale25]

^ Good question.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

First GO Transit question and response in Question Period at Queen's Park of our wonderful "For the People" government (sarcasm).

GO Transit
Mr. Jeff Burch [NDP MPP Niagara Centre]: My question is to the Premier. The NDP had been calling on the previous government for years to commit to a firm timeline for the expansion of GO train service to Niagara. Niagara was finally promised year-round service by 2021, but during the campaign, the Premier put the entire expansion into question, saying that he would have to review it. That would be taking transit in Niagara from bad to worse. So I ask, will this government commit here and now to the 2021 timeline for GO train expansion into Niagara?

Hon. Doug Ford: Minister of Transportation.

Hon. John Yakabuski: I thank the member from Niagara for the question.

The Premier has made it clear: We’re going to expand GO rail throughout this province, including all-day, two-way service to Bowmanville, Kitchener and Niagara. It’s clear, and we’ve made it clear, that Premier Ford will be known as the transit Premier.

We recognize the challenge of moving people in this province is one that hamstrings our economy. So we’re going to make sure that we move people more efficiently and we move goods more efficiently. One of the keys to an expanding, growing and flourishing economy is our ability to move people along on their daily commute.

So to the member: You can relax. We are committed to expanding the GO to Niagara. You can count on it.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Mr. Jeff Burch: Expanding GO train service would have a positive impact on the Niagara economy. The expansion will inject $195 million into the Niagara region. And the minister didn’t answer the question. We asked when.

The expansion will create 2,400 new permanent, full-time jobs as well as another 1,200 full-time jobs during construction. It will connect all the people of Niagara with employment opportunities around the GTA, and it will connect the residents of the GTA to the region’s wineries, gaming and horse racing facilities and, of course, our iconic Niagara Falls.

So I ask again: Will this government commit today to the 2021 timeline for expanding GO train service to Niagara?

Hon. John Yakabuski: I appreciate the member’s commitment to this project, but it is no greater than our commitment here in the PC government under Premier Ford. We were elected on a plan to change what was going wrong in Ontario. Some of our first acts: to get rid of the carbon tax, to get rid of cap-and-trade, to fix the mess at hydro, to get the children and the students back to school at York University. So one of the things that we’re doing right with our first bill here, Bill 2, is to get that done.

But our commitment to expanding transit is, as I said yesterday, as ironclad as the rails that the GO will run on. We have absolutely made that clear. We’re working with our partners at GO and Metrolinx and reviewing all of the plans and all of the schedules so that we have a comprehensive and wholesome approach to developing transit here in the GTA and beyond, including—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you.

 

[steveintoronto]

First GO Transit question and response in Question Period at Queen's Park of our wonderful "For the People" government (sarcasm).

I'm just so shocked (sarcasm). Well if there's any doubt that the 'grownups' of this regime would respond any more intelligently (intelligibly) than Ford, obviously they're reading from the same script.

Question Period, both provincially and federally, has become a joke, and not the session of 'accountability' it was intended to be. It's essentially the caricature presented in movies from the Thirties to Fifties for slick, corrupt, unaccountable poloticos.

I've just accessed the link, just to see how the other ministers are responding. Remember, this Summer session was called to 'deal with business' by the Ford salespeople, and here's the first thing out of Fedeli's mouth:
"This government was elected for the people, and we will restore trust in the people of Ontario."

I'm reminded of this Star Trek episode:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_the_Archons

 

[TOareaFan]

^I am no fan of Doug Ford or a lot of guys in his government....but that is a pretty good answer IMO.

One of the problems we had with our previous government was they had this tendency to bigfoot GO/Metrolinx with their own announcements and timelines. So we got (personal peeve example warning) situations where a budget speach promised evening and weekend service on the KW corridor by March 31, 2017.....but GO/ML were nowhere near ready to implement that and it caused angst.

What you have above is the appropriate answer.....the gov't is committed to expanding GO service (to Niagara and other areas) but they will consult with GO on the hows and whens of the matter.

This is, as I said, as surprisingly good answer.