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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

Apart from Georgetown and 407 cutbacks (which really sucks!), most of the service cuts are not very big dissapointment.
The Yonge/Newmarket service cut seems to make sense later in future, as to GO/Metrolinx's claim that they are to complement the local transits rather than competing against them. Surprised to find that Airport service is going to be trimmed just to RHC and YYZ.

What matters me the most is the core Milton Train service. For MCC commuters like me, this is a real improvement (until then Sauga Transit routes 28, 61 & 62 shuttle often arrive at Cooksville 2 to 3 minutes later than GO train departures at 7:15, 7:35 and 7:50, giving no time to reach the train on time). Now that extra 3 minutes should buy commuters enough time for coffee break or slower strolls to the station platform.

In addition, shouldn't be Milton line be among the first (other than Lakeshore lines) to have "all-weekdays" train service? When will that take place?
 
Honestly grade separations are pretty low down in terms of priorities for me. They tend to cost a fortune and relatively short and fast passenger trains aren't really all that disruptive. For really major streets and really busy lines, they do make sense, but I think that high quality four point gates and flashers should be more than enough to keep idiots off the right-of-way when a train is coming.

The need is certainly not desperate as long as there's only 5 trains each way each day, but I was noting that if service is improved only marginally and we begin systematically grade-separating rail/road crossings with the highest indices and not just crossings chosen by some guy behind a desk because he feels like choosing them, we'll be spending a lot of time and a lot of money on one short stretch of the Stouffville line. It must be a factor in Stouffville not getting all-day/express service as quickly as other lines.
 
It is simply a case of someone saying "hey a lot of those mid day Bramalea trains aren't very full" then I think there needs to be real examination of what determines if a service continues.....I drive beside a lot of (near)empty lakeshore off peak trains too.

Could it be... I don't know, that mid-day riders would be attracted to frequent service instead of a couple 10-car monster trains at random times of the day?
 
n addition, shouldn't be Milton line be among the first (other than Lakeshore lines) to have "all-weekdays" train service? When will that take place?
Yes, but Go needs to find a way around the CP mainline that the Milton corridor uses. That's a very heavily used freight corridor with not a lot of space to expand to more tracks, and so any all day Go service on it would be very inconsistent.

kettal said:
Could it be... I don't know, that mid-day riders would be attracted to frequent service instead of a couple 10-car monster trains at random times of the day?
I'm not sure, maybe they find monster trains to be safer than their un-monster counterparts? :rolleyes:
I actually don't really get why Go's not looking into EMUs to start up their frequent service. Speed and efficiency concerns aside, I just can't fathom how regular commuter Go trains running hourly or half hourly... makes sense. It doesn't!
 
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GO adjusts schedules to reflect real trip times
Published On Fri Mar 12 2010
Tess Kalinowski Transportation Reporter

For the first time in 40 years GO Transit is overhauling its schedules to an extent that virtually all of its train riders and many bus riders will be affected.

The changes, effective April 3, are being made to better reflect real trip times. Riders are being advised to check their route schedules in advance at GO Transit’s website.

About 40 train trips will be adjusted by one to eight minutes — three minutes on average — in response to GO’s ridership growth, which has increased from about 36 million passengers annually in 1998 to about 55 million.

More riders translates to longer stops as passengers board and exit the trains. It is taking trains two to three minutes longer on average than it once did to arrive at Union Station, said GO managing director Gary McNeil.

He asked GO staff to investigate real trip times after hearing about a similar move in Boston, where transit officials adjusted many schedules by 12 minutes.

The changes are good news for some eastern commuters. They’ll make room for an additional westbound trip on the Lakeshore East line, departing Oshawa at 6:47 a.m. and making all stops to Pickering, then running express to Union Station.

But six, off-peak trains on the Georgetown corridor that run every 90 minutes are being cancelled temporarily. They will be replaced by 22 buses to allow work crews better access to the track, which is undergoing a major expansion.

“Once the major construction is finished we can put the trains back and ultimately we hope to go to an hourly off-peak service as opposed to a 90-minute off-peak service on the Georgetown corridor,” said GO managing director Gary McNeil.

The average ridership on those trains is about 90 people.

To make buses available for the Georgetown run, some other routes are being eliminated, including the Newmarket bus to York University and the 62 B Newmarket run to York Mills. GO will no longer offer buses from the Mississauga City Centre to the airport.

York Region Transit and Mississauga Transit operate similar routes that can carry those passengers.

“It’s a reallocation. It’s a question of, where can we get the resources, as opposed to buying new buses and hiring new drivers. And because of the duplication of the service on the Newmarket corridor, there’s an opportunity to do it (in a) relatively revenue- neutral (way),” said McNeil.

Many of the 500 commuters who are losing their GO ride on the Newmarket routes say the alternative service will take them more time and money.

Metrolinx and GO officials have agreed to a meeting with MPP Frank Klees (Newmarket-Aurora) to discuss whether those riders can be accommodated. One possibility is a month’s free pass on YRT/Viva as an incentive to try the local service.

A few other early-morning GO buses will be eliminated where the ridership is so low it makes no sense to keep the service, said McNeil.

“It does mean some people will have to adjust their work styles,” he acknowledged.

There will be more train service on the busy Lakeshore line once the third track construction is finished in the fall. But putting on more rush-hour trains will be a challenge as renovations to the Union Station train shed requires closing some platforms temporarily.

It makes sense to put more trains on the shoulders of the rush hour, however, said McNeil. Capacity will be increased as more 12-car trains come on-line. About half the trains on Lakeshore should have 12, rather than 10 cars, by the end of the year.

Later in the year, GO expects to publish new, easier-to-read schedules.

Last year, GO’s operations were taken over by the province’s regional transportation agency, Metrolinx.
 
Could it be... I don't know, that mid-day riders would be attracted to frequent service instead of a couple 10-car monster trains at random times of the day?

It very well could be.....I don't know what drives each and every decision point that people make. Like I said, I may be among the few that these service adjustments benefit in a big way. The idea of being able to leave my office at 6:35 walk to a 6:45 train and be back in DT Brampton at 7:30 is very good news.

Once word gets out on this (it is kinda buried in the notice) I think it will have a positive influence on ridership (surely I can't be the only bus hating person that has trouble getting out of the office by 5:30?)
 
Could it be... I don't know, that mid-day riders would be attracted to frequent service instead of a couple 10-car monster trains at random times of the day?

I haven't taken a good look at what service will be like for those who go from Brampton or Bramalea, but there is no increase in service for mid-day Georgetown or Mount Pleasant passengers. I guess Georgetown doesn't really matter so much (and I say this as a resident of Georgetown) because I don't think there's actually that much demand in Georgetown for off-peak service. However, a decent number of people at Mount Pleasant use the mid-day service, and I think even more would use it if the arrival times at Union were at all convenient.

I was not a fan of the infrequent monster-train service--it took forever, transferring added a lot of time, and the trains were frequently delayed and occasionally cancelled entirely--but for me, this change is not much of an improvement. The changes to the 2:45 train are great--3:30 is a much better time, and I love that it extends to Georgetown. However, I will dearly miss the 6:35 express to Mount Pleasant and Georgetown.
 
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However, I will dearly miss the 6:35 express to Mount Pleasant and Georgetown.

They did not just eliminate it on a whim....now there is the 6:45 train that goes to Mt. Pleasant so the need for a bus was eliminated. Isn't that an improvement?
 
“Once the major construction is finished we can put the trains back and ultimately we hope to go to an hourly off-peak service as opposed to a 90-minute off-peak service on the Georgetown corridor,” said GO managing director Gary McNeil.

Ultimately?
 
They did not just eliminate it on a whim....now there is the 6:45 train that goes to Mt. Pleasant so the need for a bus was eliminated. Isn't that an improvement?

In some ways, yes. But personally, no. I prefer not transfering, and I prefer the seats on the bus by a large margin. I'm not incredibly annoyed with the change, but the 6:35 is luxurious, by public transit standards. Also, the 6:35 gets you to Georgetown by 7:41 or earlier--for a time, the 6:35 had a driver who really booted it on the highway. The extended 6:45 train/bus combo will get me to Georgetown by 7:55.

I'm just having a little moan, really; don't mind me.
 
But six, off-peak trains on the Georgetown corridor that run every 90 minutes are being cancelled temporarily. They will be replaced by 22 buses to allow work crews better access to the track, which is undergoing a major expansion [...] The average ridership on those trains is about 90 people.

That Star piece appears to confirm the theory, correctly or incorrectly, that this change is being prompted by the WTD work falling way behind schedule. Clearing all the traffic off those tracks for six hours in the middle of the day could help reduce the number of extra months that GO will have to pay contractors for, and could adds up to millions in savings.

Also, whether it's 90 people per six runs or 90 people per train, you can't deny those are some rather unfortunate numbers.

Could it be... I don't know, that mid-day riders would be attracted to frequent service instead of a couple 10-car monster trains at random times of the day?

Except, even if you wave a magic wand and make the WTD and Dufferin Jog construction sites vanish, there's no way to run hourly service without assigning a second train. Do you think moving from 90-minute to 60-minute headways would double ridership?

If you want to lower headways below hourly service, you're literally not going to be able to do it without adding a heck of a lot of new trackage. Which they're kinda trying to do.

Also, on the monster train thing... it would be an added headache for GO to shorten a train down to 4 cars and lengthen it again for rush hour, and even if they did, the operating savings on fuel consumption from dropping the extra weight are probably comparatively minor. Yes, I think there's a consensus here that the ideal would be smaller trains with shorter headways, but that would likely require a move to EMUs.
 
As a near daily rider of the midday GO runs, I can confirm that the 90 people per train statistic is somewhat accurate. On a good day, I might guess 200, but more than that would be a stretch.

I am speaking as a user of these midday trips:

90 to 120 minute frequency is not convenient. I have to be at Ryerson for 2:10 pm on Thursdays. The 12:15 train gets me downtown for before 1pm, while the 1:45 train gets me down too late. I have to take the 12:15, which means I have to leave my house at 11:15 to board the bus at Brampton Station. Because of this, I'm seriously considering cycling the 65 km from my house to the downtown core. If I leave an hour earlier than I do today I can reach the core on time and spend the four hours doing what I love (I know, I'm a little different...).

Hourly/half-hourly buses represent an increased quality of service for me as I can leave later and arrive closer to the time I actually have to be in class. That's time that I can use to sleep in or do what I want to do. I recognize that buses are less reliable than trains, but if I absolutely have to be on time I can take a bus 30 minutes earlier than normal - instead of 90 minutes earlier using the current schedule.

It's quite clear to me that the reason for this schedule change is to build the infrastructure necessary for long-term improvements faster. When I consider that this will lead to all all-day service, express service, trains to kitchener, more VIA rail service and the airport link (and potentially a GO + Finch LRT link to the airport), I conclude that this is a sacrifice I'm willing to make - even though I don't consider it much of a sacrifice.
 
Essentially, we can thank the good people living in the Juction for this service cut.

Every time a train approaches a location where work is being done on or very near to the tracks they must call the foreman to receive instructions on how to proceed. This is done well in advance so that there will be enough time for instructions to be relayed between both parties. The foreman is responsible for moving any equipment and personal that are near to tracks away from them. Only once a train has cleared the entire working limits may the equipment and personal begin to work again. The whole process can easily take 10-15 minutes or more. Evidently GO has weighted its options and has determined that the mid-day trains can be reliably replaced temporarily by buses to eliminate these work stoppages. This would not have been necessary previous but now that construction progress is being carried out at a far slower pace it is a necessity.

re using smaller trains.
Bombardier would have to double their shop staff(with GO paying for it) to accommodate all the shop moves to allow for smaller mid-day trains. It can easily take an hour to prepare a new consist because of all the electrical connections, brake tests and other tests required to switch out bi-level coaches and prepare a passenger train for service. Thats a lot of down time. The fuel savings are not very significant and are easily matched by the added manpower costs.
 
Except, even if you wave a magic wand and make the WTD and Dufferin Jog construction sites vanish, there's no way to run hourly service without assigning a second train. Do you think moving from 90-minute to 60-minute headways would double ridership?

If you want to lower headways below hourly service, you're literally not going to be able to do it without adding a heck of a lot of new trackage. Which they're kinda trying to do.

Also, on the monster train thing... it would be an added headache for GO to shorten a train down to 4 cars and lengthen it again for rush hour, and even if they did, the operating savings on fuel consumption from dropping the extra weight are probably comparatively minor. Yes, I think there's a consensus here that the ideal would be smaller trains with shorter headways, but that would likely require a move to EMUs.
If Mike Sullivan is to be believed, 42 services per day are possible on the current tracks. That's 30 minute headways.

Even DMUs would do. A single American Railcar DMU will carry those 90 people plus 100 more. Sending a 3000 capacity train to serve 90 people is just a set-up to call the service a waste.

Regional rail works in countless cities around the world, it's not that difficult, and there's no excuse for GO not taking best practices from these cities.
 
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