GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[Northern Light]

I never argued that Metrolinx' mandate is set in stone, with the opposite being manifest by its slow but steady transition from traditional Commuter Rail (refer to the current schedules of the Milton and Richmond Hill lines) towards Regional Express (refer to the current schedules of the Lakeshore service east of Aldershot and of the UP Express).

However, to argue that GO should create in London its second hub for its rail operations before even a single GO passenger has boarded a train in that city is ludicrous and embodies exactly the kind of fantasy discussion towards which @crs1026 sees this discussion heading...

I agree that its premature for London to be a hub in light of the state of the current network.

Hamilton, to me, would the logical next choice with it being a mid-point for connections to Toronto and Niagara, with potential branch service to Brantford. (which may also be served through VIA, I'm agnostic on that)

But, of course, its not simply about declaring any given city a 'hub', its about putting in place those services that would make it so.

Where @crs1026 rightly asks about congestion, anyone familiar with Hamilton, and trips to Niagara will note that is an issue there, and based on GO's weekend service to Niagara, there is strong evidence of latent demand.

London is somewhere down the road.

But, it is important to have a vision ( I don't mean a formal planning exercise at this stage) of how one envisions service evolving over the next 2 decades.

 

[Nomad_87]

The province made a point of imposing Presto on many non-GTA transit systems.

It was only Ottawa and Hamilton, but the rest is something I 100% agree with

 

[innsertnamehere]

Hamilton makes a ton of sense for using PRESTO, it in reality is an extended part of the GTA. Ottawa is an odder choice, especially since initially Ottawa Presto cards wouldn't work on GTA systems and vice-versa (that has long been corrected of course).

 

[DirectionNorth]

Let's move this here:

https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/london-commuter-rail-discussions.32733/

Mods, if you want to rename it to GO Mandate Discussion or something, go ahead.

 

[smallspy]

Could they not put those dead head trips into service? The train needs to pass all of the stations anyways. It doesn't cost anything extra.

At 1 and 2 in the morning? Sure, but why?

Dan

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

GO doesn't have a constitution or anything of the sort, just an act of parliament. Mandates change the moment some politician wills it to change.

If a smart government came into power tomorrow, and said that we had to create commuter rail networks with London, Hamilton, and Ottawa serving as the hubs (Union Station equivalents in Toronto) and tasked Metrolinx with planning and GO with operations, that would be a change in mandate (and frankly, one that we should wish to see happen).

 

[Coolstar]

GO doesn't have a constitution or anything of the sort, just an act of parliament. Mandates change the moment some politician wills it to change.

If a smart government came into power tomorrow, and said that we had to create commuter rail networks with London, Hamilton, and Ottawa serving as the hubs (Union Station equivalents in Toronto) and tasked Metrolinx with planning and GO with operations, that would be a change in mandate (and frankly, one that we should wish to see happen).

That Moose proposal still stands for the Ottawa area.

 

[innsertnamehere]

that proposal has been a joke from the start and will never, ever happen.

 

[EnviroTO]

GO and Metrolinx were obviously set up to coordinate and provide commuter transportation in and around the GTA (it's called Metrolinx, not Ontlinx).

It is called GO Transit (Government of Ontario Transit) not GTAH Transit. I don't think that matters. GO and Metrolinx were set up to meet a transit need. It's service was originally geared for commutes, but they have expanded on that with all day and weekend service. I don't think Metrolinx should go beyond delivering "regional transit services", but within that boundary I think it should expand to wherever the demand for regional transit services exists in the province. Its mandate is improving transit across regions. Presto was clearly an improvement in transit interoperability across the region.

Regional transit services and inter-city rail are clearly different things... so if GO was to provide non-stop or one stop London to Toronto service I can see an argument against it. But something with single class service and stops at St.Marys, Stratford, Kitchener, Guelph, Action, etc.... seems like regional service to me.

 

[DirectionNorth]

It is called GO Transit (Government of Ontario Transit) not GTAH Transit. I don't think that matters. GO and Metrolinx were set up to meet a transit need. It's service was originally geared for commutes, but they have expanded on that with all day and weekend service. I don't think Metrolinx should go beyond delivering "regional transit services", but within that boundary I think it should expand to wherever the demand for regional transit services exists in the province. Its mandate is improving transit across regions. Presto was clearly an improvement in transit interoperability across the region.

Regional transit services and inter-city rail are clearly different things... so if GO was to provide non-stop or one stop London to Toronto service I can see an argument against it. But something with single class service and stops at St.Marys, Stratford, Kitchener, Guelph, Action, etc.... seems like regional service to me.

I don't really care what GO does, as long as it's good transit service.

And I don't see any downsides to good transit service.

 

[kamira51]

It is called GO Transit (Government of Ontario Transit) not GTAH Transit. I don't think that matters. GO and Metrolinx were set up to meet a transit need. It's service was originally geared for commutes, but they have expanded on that with all day and weekend service. I don't think Metrolinx should go beyond delivering "regional transit services", but within that boundary I think it should expand to wherever the demand for regional transit services exists in the province. Its mandate is improving transit across regions. Presto was clearly an improvement in transit interoperability across the region.

Regional transit services and inter-city rail are clearly different things... so if GO was to provide non-stop or one stop London to Toronto service I can see an argument against it. But something with single class service and stops at St.Marys, Stratford, Kitchener, Guelph, Action, etc.... seems like regional service to me.

At least GO Transit has constant funding, unlike a certain federal rail company hmm?

I would rather have Metrolinx handle ontarios regional rail network compaired to VIA.

 

[Deadpool X]

Ugh. As a former-non-Torontonian, I found this attitude infuriating. GO stands for Government of Ontario, not Greater Toronto Area.

I think I once posted that GO's mandate can and should change (although the Northlander is a better service - that's a different discussion.

Who is debating that GO does not stand for Government of Ontario or it is not owned by the province? GO could even be owned by government of Canada or the Universe but it won't change the fact that GO was created to serve the Toronto area and that's why it is Toronto centric. It's not me who decides what GO should serve and how it should serve. Please show your displeasure towards the province instead of getting infuriated with me. I don't make these decisions.

 

[DirectionNorth]

Who is debating that GO does not stand for Government of Ontario or it is not owned by the province? GO could even be owned by government of Canada or the Universe but it won't change the fact that GO was created to serve the Toronto area and that's why it is Toronto centric. It's not me who decides what GO should serve and how it should serve. Please show your displeasure towards the province instead of getting infuriated with me. I don't make these decisions.

I don't mean it personally, but if you want it, so be it.

 

[Deadpool X]

I don't mean it personally, but if you want it, so be it.

A sentence like this can't be called impersonal: "Ugh. As a former-non-Torontonian, I found this attitude infuriating".

I would rather say you took it personally that's why you were infuriated. Otherwise everyone was just discussing the facts and their opinions.

 

[Urban Sky]

At least GO Transit has constant funding, unlike a certain federal rail company hmm?

I would rather have Metrolinx handle ontarios regional rail network compaired to VIA.

With VIA's corridor services recovering 130% of their direct operating costs (thus contributing $77 million towards VIA's overheads in 2018 alone), the issue really isn't operating funding. It's capital funding (Missing Link, anyone?) and that could be provided by any entity (public or private), irrespective of who runs what passenger rail service...