GO Transit: Construction Projects (Metrolinx, various)

[tsm1072]

The problem is that's a temporary solution. Eventually OL WILL be extended west, and then what? The line will swap sides to accommodate one not so well designed station?

It's not ideal, but certainly not unheard of. The Northern Line in London has 3 stations where the tracks are on flipped sides:

 

[reaperexpress]

Reverse-running or weaving the tracks over each other seems like overkill to solve a problem that Metrolinx hasn't even created yet.

Even if every train stops at Exhibition, I don't see any advantage of their layout compared to building 3 island platforms: OL (both tracks), LSW EB (express + local) and LSW EB (express + local). The frequency of the OL will be too high for all trains to terminate on a single side platform, so there are two options for the interim situation where the OL terminates at Exhibition:
A. Trains terminate on both side plaforms, so only half the westbound OL trains get a cross-platform transfer to westbound LSW. Passengers connecting to GO therefore still need to plan for the time to switch platforms. Or,
B. Trains unload on the westbound platform, run not-in-service to a tailtrack and load on the eastbound platform. In which case, the only cross-platform transfer is from westbound LSW to eastbound OL, which is pointless.
There is also no point in having a cross-platform interchange between eastbound LSW express and westbound LSW express. Better to group all the LS services onto a single platform by direction so you can just take the first train to show up if you're heading to Union.

 

[Northern Light]

The announcement due this morning from Transportation Minister Mulroney, will be that Mx is moving ahead with the RFP for improvements in the Georgetown to KW track segment of the Kitchener corridor, in
service of 2 way, All-Day service.

Article in the Waterloo Region Record is here:

Two-way, all-day GO trains to Waterloo Region one step closer to reality

Province soliciting bids for track upgrades and other infrastructure improvements between Kitchener and Georgetown

www.therecord.com

Behind the paywall, here:

Outline.com

outline.com

From said article:

"Ontario Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney is to announce Friday morning that Metrolinx has issued a Request for Proposals to move ahead with procurement for improved infrastructure between Georgetown and Kitchener."

**

"The request for proposals will solicit bidders to carry out infrastructure improvements at Acton GO Station and Guelph Central Station that will help enable two-way train service, new maintenance of tracks, as well as other track upgrades that will allow for higher train speeds."

**

"Two way all-day GO service would provide one train every hour throughout the day between Kitchener and Union Station, and a train every 30 minutes at peak times. Total travel time would be between 90 and 98 minutes, depending on which improvements the province invests in. That’s at least 20 minutes less than the current trip which takes one hour, 51 minutes."

 

[allengeorge]

I wonder if this means that there will be dedicated tracks for passenger rail along that entire corridor? Maybe not: they don’t mention new tracks.

 

[KevinT]

I wonder if this means that there will be dedicated tracks for passenger rail along that entire corridor? Maybe not: they don’t mention new tracks.

I'd expect at least a flyover or a duck under to get GO/VIA traffic from north of the CN tracks at Georgetown to south of them to avoid crossover conflicts with freight. Unfortunately the Record article was low on technical detail, ML probably hasn't revealed any yet.

 

[Allandale25]

^ Previous reports have suggested the fly under would be at or near the Credit River bridge east of the Georgetown Station.

Also, recall @ShonTron's post from 2019.

I came upon this map from a recent Metrolinx presentation showing planned improvements to the Halton Sub through Brampton and Georgetown.

The first phase of track improvements includes a new connection from the third platform at Bramalea Station to the mainline, as well as a second track leading westbound out of Georgetown Station/Yard. I would guess that Phase I is coincident with major station construction at Bramalea, which includes a new bus loop, new tunnel and bridge, and parking garage.

A second phase would extend the third track from Mount Pleasant to Georgetown, probably for the benefit of CN freights as it wouldn't connect with the Georgetown GO tracks. Finally, the third phase would build that third track through Brampton Station on the south side, and build a track flyover/flyunder between Mount Pleasant and Georgetown.

There would also be a third track on the GO Weston Sub and another platform at Bramalea for local/RER trains - tying in with the 401/409 tunnel and the plans to finally build the fourth track on the section dominated by UP Express.

As Brampton is now planning to tear down 8 Nelson Street West and replace the bus terminal (among other things) this will make the third track downtown easier to build.

View attachment 190195

 

[Allandale25]

Further on this. Kitchener Line blog post and report by Metrolinx: https://blog.metrolinx.com/2021/04/...o-transit-rail-service-on-kitchener-corridor/

Report dated March 2021: http://www.metrolinx.com/en/regiona...ner-Mid-Term-Service-Expansion-PDBC-FINAL.pdf

 

[reaperexpress]

Great to hear that the project is moving forward. As usual I have some issues with the reporting:

Two way all-day GO service would provide one train every hour throughout the day between Kitchener and Union Station, and a train every 30 minutes at peak times. Total travel time would be between 90 and 98 minutes, depending on which improvements the province invests in. That’s at least 20 minutes less than the current trip which takes one hour, 51 minutes.

The current schedule has a travel time of 1h49 for local services from Kitchener to Toronto, on an effectively off-peak schedule due to the reduced passenger volumes. Given that the pre-covid express trains covered Bramalea to Toronto in 26 minutes compared to the current local train's 35 minutes, the existing infrastructure can support a travel time of 1h40 (100 minutes) for off-peak express services from Kitchener to Toronto if they run all-stops to Bramalea then non-stop to Union.

The work is the most significant the province has ever done for the Kitchener corridor, and would allow more trains to run more frequently, the officials said.

So this "hundreds of millions of dollars" project is more significant than the billion-dollar Georgetown South Project which fully grade-separated the corridor between Wice (Pearson Junction) and the USRC and widened its structures from single/double track to quad-track?

 

[sacred]

VIA can do the Toronto-Kitchener trip in around 90-100 minutes (not sure what the exact time was pre-pandemic). I do wonder what they could pull off as a travel time. When I lived in Kitchener I would always say it would be great to have a few 1-hour express journeys

 

[Haydenpoon]

The Report gives absolutely no mention of how the service pattern will affect the local services between Woodbine GO and Union station, and UP Express.

 

[Allandale25]

The RFQ: https://www.metrolinx.merx.com/public/solicitations/1794576257/abstract?origin=0

Interesting to note in the PDBC that it appears the rail-rail grade separation would take place at Silver Junction.

""The Two-Way Service to Kitchener with Grade Separated Silver Junction option proposes a rail-rail grade separation that will allow passenger trains to crossover from the south side of the corridor to the north side without interfering with freight rail movements. This eliminates the requirement for a precise train meet at Silver Junction and the potential for delays from conflicting freight movements, thereby improving the service reliability on the corridor."

It appears to be a change...previous documents suggested the separation bridge structure would be closer to the Credit River.

 

[Allandale25]

^ Further reading in the PDBC:

"In particular, the rail-rail grade separation proposed under the Two-Way Service to Kitchener with Grade Separated Silver Junction option is a major infrastructure work that has not been previously assessed."

 

[crs1026]

So this "hundreds of millions of dollars" project is more significant than the billion-dollar Georgetown South Project which fully grade-separated the corridor between Wice (Pearson Junction) and the USRC and widened its structures from single/double track to quad-track?

There’s a discount on any amount spent by a previous government.

- Paul

 

[crs1026]

A few points from the Business Case

- Anticipated time to completion - 66 months (p46)
- EA under the federal process is required, will be carried out by CN
- Opportunities for incremental service increases during construction will be explored
- 2009 EA is adequate for all work west of Silver

The Two-Way Service to Kitchener with Existing Crossing at Silver Junction and Two-Way Service to Kitchener with Grade Separated Silver Junction options do not anticipate full double tracking of the Guelph Subdivision or four-tracking of the Halton Subdivision. Instead, specific passing locations were identified based on the results of railway operational simulations. Specifically on the Halton Subdivision, the location and extent of additional passing tracks on the Halton Subdivision will continue to be refined as more information on operational requirements and greater cost certainty on infrastructure components become available.

- Paul

 

[Northern Light]

A few points from the Business Case

- Anticipated time to completion - 66 months (p46)
- EA under the federal process is required, will be carried out by CN
- Opportunities for incremental service increases during construction will be explored
- 2009 EA is adequate for all work west of Silver



- Paul

5 years, 6 months.

Wow.

So 2027'ish........

That really does seem needlessly long.