GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[crs1026]

The UT server is not playing nice today, and the two images I had tried to post somehow got deleted. I'm trying again. You can see the gap that would be available for extensions, and you can see how the current stub tracks aren't very well aligned to an extension.

- Paul

 

[Allandale25]

This could go under GO Construction, but I'll put it here since I'm going to refer to the Bowmanville Extension. I wonder if the drawing below from PDF page 40 here provides some insight for what may happen at the Oshawa Station for the Bowmanville Extension. Source: https://www.metrolinxengage.com/en/content/new-track-facilities-environmental-project-report

View attachment 291673

Dashed lined for the Extension added below. Not sure if a second track would extend under the new Oshawa Station platform bridge (picture here looking west towards the existing GO tracks).

View attachment 291674

I'll correct my record again because I hadn't realized that the Bowmanville Extension IBC provided concept plan for the changes to the Oshawa GO Station. PDF page 81 here.

So with this latest track plan from the TPAP, it provides some guidance on what may happen at Oshawa. The only the the IBC drawing doesn't show is that new north platform and two stub tracks.

 

[generalcanada]

I'll correct my record again because I hadn't realized that the Bowmanville Extension IBC provided concept plan for the changes to the Oshawa GO Station. PDF page 81 here.

So with this latest track plan from the TPAP, it provides some guidance on what may happen at Oshawa. The only the the IBC drawing doesn't show is that new north platform and two stub tracks.

View attachment 291792

This is what i have been trying to say,

The bowmanville expansion and TPAP are 2 completely separate projects with 2 completely separate station designs.

The TPAP design WILL happen thats for sure.

The only question now is how the bowmanville expansion will work with the new station.

As for my 5 years comment, that was a pessimistic comment noting the snails pace of the bowmanville extension and also most other transit projects in the region in the last 20 years

Remember the original plan had the Oshawa go being torn down and moved north of the 401 via a bridge

 

[robmausser]

I'll correct my record again because I hadn't realized that the Bowmanville Extension IBC provided concept plan for the changes to the Oshawa GO Station. PDF page 81 here.

So with this latest track plan from the TPAP, it provides some guidance on what may happen at Oshawa. The only the the IBC drawing doesn't show is that new north platform and two stub tracks.

View attachment 291792

Existing structure to be demolished? They JUST BUILT IT! Seriously??? Am I missing something here? They didnt design the new Oshawa GO station to allow for the tracks to continue to Bowmanville??

 

[crs1026]

Existing structure to be demolished? They JUST BUILT IT! Seriously??? Am I missing something here? They didnt design the new Oshawa GO station to allow for the tracks to continue to Bowmanville??

Yup. Its only money - ours, mostly.

- Paul

 

[ARG1]

Existing structure to be demolished? They JUST BUILT IT! Seriously??? Am I missing something here? They didnt design the new Oshawa GO station to allow for the tracks to continue to Bowmanville??

Get ready for more. In a few years we'll rebuild the Stouffville line platforms to accommodate level boarding across the entire platform.

 

[Mcurtis]

As someone not from that area of the province has the expansion to Bowmanville always been something that was on the table or talked about? or was that a pet project introduced by the government on its way out that was allowed to continue. It seems baffling to be that the Oshawa Go Station was underbuilt or the future expansion plans disregarded that it would need to essentially be completely demolished and rebuilt in less than 5 years.

 

[generalcanada]

As someone not from that area of the province has the expansion to Bowmanville always been something that was on the table or talked about? or was that a pet project introduced by the government on its way out that was allowed to continue. It seems baffling to be that the Oshawa Go Station was underbuilt or the future expansion plans disregarded that it would need to essentially be completely demolished and rebuilt in less than 5 years.

Its basically always been a thing since that '08 metrolinx region-wide plan.

2011 is when it really picked up

As for the go station thing... Well the original plan was to move it north of the 401 and close the existing one. from there it basically sat in the planning stage for years, and unrelated projects like this go expansion TPAP force changes to be made to it

 

[Allandale25]

It doesn't look like to me the entire new GO Oshawa Station and platform bridges need to be demolished when comparing the TPAP plan and the GO Bowmanville Extension Option 2 (GM Spur) Oshawa Station plan.

It appears that only a portion of the north side pedestrian bridge structure would need to be demolished and rebuilt to the east, and the low hanging canopy. Given the small scale, I don't see the big deal in the bigger picture.

Here's a rough comparison I've done to a Google Map. Red shows what will be demolished, the orange structure to the right would be added for the bridge. Maybe they could even just reuse and shift the existing bridge. Blue lines are the tunnel under the extended track.

 

[crs1026]

^Well, the VIA siding track has lost its platform, so it likely no longer has any purpose.... it's not that old. That's a waste.

The north stairs may be retainable, but the greyed out area does suggest the elevator shaft and stairways are both being moved. That's a waste of the original construction. I'm acutally surprised by that since, as you suggest, they could just build a second bridgeway in the orange area, and keep the existing structure.

To reuse the bridge, VIA would lose all access to its south platform while the work was being done. I'd say that's not doable.

- Paul

 

[Allandale25]

^ Sorry, good point. The existing bridge isn't as long as what's needed (as shown in orange). So probably best to just create a new one.

 

[Allandale25]

Metrolinx announces temporary GO Transit and UP Express service adjustments while ridership levels remain low

Metrolinx announces temporary GO Transit and UP Express service adjustments while ridership levels remain low

blog.metrolinx.com

 

[Northern Light]

Metrolinx announces temporary GO Transit and UP Express service adjustments while ridership levels remain low

Metrolinx announces temporary GO Transit and UP Express service adjustments while ridership levels remain low

blog.metrolinx.com

The sharp reduction in capacity may save some money; but will not only do nothing to curtail Covid; it likely, at least modestly, increase the risks of transmission.

8 passengers on a bi-level rail car may be a waste of $$; but they have a near-zero risk of transmitting any contagion to one another.

8 passengers on a closed in bus, for any length of time, even if mask-compliant is a higher (if still low risk).

At best, I'm unimpressed; at worst I see this as dubious.

 

[ShonTron]

Metrolinx announces temporary GO Transit and UP Express service adjustments while ridership levels remain low

Metrolinx announces temporary GO Transit and UP Express service adjustments while ridership levels remain low

blog.metrolinx.com

Saving you a click:

- Starting Jan. 23, Barrie, Stouffville and Kitchener line GO trains will be temporarily replaced by GO buses during weekday evenings and weekends.
- The adjusted weekday Stouffville schedules will have buses temporarily replacing trains first thing every weekday morning and in the evenings.
- From Monday to Friday, UP trains will operate hourly in the midday and in the late evening with the last trains departing from Union at 10 p.m. and from Pearson at 10:27 p.m. On weekends, UP trains will operate hourly in the mornings and evenings with the first train now departing at 6 a.m. and the last trains departing from Union at 10 p.m. and from Pearson at 10:27 p.m.

 

[anb]

Well.. i wouldn’t say this is exactly terrible as i get the reasoning, but this definitely makes simple access for multiple bikers, strollers and mobility devices narrowed down to less service, and that was one glory of having the trains running


The Barrie line suffered the most from this as they don’t even service a couple stations for the replacement buses to go to