So if you held the GO Train for ten minutes, would it have a chance to recover that time?
To flesh out the scenario as it occurs a bit more: the westbound VIA is more-or-less on time, and passes the westbound GO - also on-time and running on its own tracks, parallel to the CN line that the VIA is running on - between Whitby and Ajax stations.
The VIA then makes it to Pickering Junction, where it sees a red signal, and has to wait on the GO train it already passed to complete its station stops and pull onto the Kingston Sub ahead of it.
It then runs on the GO train's signals, which includes the GO making a station stop at Rouge Hill.
At Guildwood a third mainline track starts, and the VIA train will get switched over the middle main, while the GO stays on the north and makes its station stop.
By the time the GO train is prepping to stop at Scarborough Station, the VIA train passes it on the middle main.
In this scenario, the GO train is on time, while the VIA has had to hold at Pickering Junction picking up a delay, and then gets a further delay by operating on the slower GO's signals for several miles. A 15 minute penalty is not unusual.
If the VIA train was not held at Pickering Junction, it is generally far enough ahead of the GO train that the GO would not see a single signal that is less restrictive than a proceed.
And on top of everything, It's actually required the RTCs to do more work this way - they need to line route for the GO, then once its passed the various control points they need to line a second route for the VIA to pass it. If they allowed the VIA through first, the only intervention that they would need to do is configure the switch at Pickering Junction after the VIA has passed - and have all of the signals fleeted (allowing the signals to progress to clear once the train is through) on the same single-track route.
It looks bad, definitely.... but it's actually very good execution, from the perspective that GO Train schedule adherence is undoubtedly a scoreboard measure for senior ML Operations execs, who may be breathing down the dispatching center's neck to not delay GO trains.
Absolutely. But holding a train on the mainline is also a very poor use of the limited corridor capacity that exists
Always the bridesmaid.....
And to give GO RTC's their due, at current block spacing, giving VIA a clear shot through either Guildwood eastwards or Liverpool westwards is a bit of a needle-thread. Virtually impossible to keep VIA running on greens until the preceding GO has cleared Rouge Hill in either direction. And only if an eastbound GO isn't lined through the plant at Durham Jct, which freezes the plant for minimum 2-3 minutes out of every 15. And no CN around to mess with Liverpool or Pickering Jct. An RTC would have to be paying close attention to figure those meets effectively, and they are watching a pile of territory. GO says they don't need to triple track all the way through that section, but I'm dubious, and frankly a flyover at Durham Jct ought to be in the plan... unless GO is hoping that post-HFR, VIA simply won't care if the remaining service needs to be padded.
- Paul
You're absolutely right, and that's why VIA had configured their outbound (from Toronto) schedules to try and avoid any interference. Of course, then GO had to then go and change their schedules about a year ago....
Inbound, is in theory potentially more of a headache, as you have different trains with different performance metrics trying to funnel into a 2-track corridor. But with the way that the trains are currently scheduled, and maybe more importantly dispatched, what you see instead is just a blanket hold on all incoming non-GO trains and delays to them. This is and will continue to be an ongoing issue it seems.
Dan
