GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[ARG1]

I compiled data from Transsee to get the speed of the train for today's London - Toronto Run. There are two versions, a small version where the speed "peaks" look somewhat exaggerated and a Large version that is more smoothed out.
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yo what's happening between Stratford and Kitchener?

 

[Krypto98]

yo what's happening between Stratford and Kitchener?

I actually have no idea, possible it's just speed restrictions on certain areas

 

[nfitz]

Quite simple. A lot of workplaces in Kitchener begin at 8. A train arriving to Kitchener at 8:02 would be far too late for many workers in the region. If your work does start later, well there's a VIA train that arrives in Kitchener at 9:18.

Universities don't start until 8:30 AM, so works very well for students who head to their parents for a few days, and then come back Monday morning in time for class.

 

[Krypto98]

Universities don't start until 8:30 AM, so works very well for students who head to their parents for a few days, and then come back Monday morning in time for class.

As well most classes don't go past 6 pm so the train back makes sense for Friday night.

 

[drum118]

I really don't follow service changes closely and was at Bloor Station to see a change I knew would happen one day in place. When did GO start to have some trains stopping at Bloor for the Milton Line as it show 2 Milton trains stopping with Bramalea and Brampton as next stop as well an express train bypassing it???

The trains were to use Platform 3. There is a switch north of Wallace walkway that allows this move.

I expect Platform 4 will be built once the construction of the tower on the west side is completed in 2022 as there is room for it.

 

[crs1026]

yo what's happening between Stratford and Kitchener?

Longstanding slow orders at particular spots that started out temporary due to track conditions and have gradually become long term. Easily corrected. #bringmoney

- Paul

 

[anb]

I really don't follow service changes closely and was at Bloor Station to see a change I knew would happen one day in place. When did GO start to have some trains stopping at Bloor for the Milton Line as it show 2 Milton trains stopping with Bramalea and Brampton as next stop as well an express train bypassing it???

I believe that is another mistake that got implemented into GO’s schedule just like the 30 min off peak trains to Bramalea, which either means that is also coming soon in like January, or it really was mistakenly added for some questionable reason, which i doubt. I‘m surprised to see these future changes getting leaked like this as GO and transit in general isn’t really known for that.

 

[drum118]

I believe that is another mistake that got implemented into GO’s schedule just like the 30 min off peak trains to Bramalea, which either means that is also coming soon in like January, or it really was mistakenly added for some questionable reason, which i doubt. I‘m surprised to see these future changes getting leaked like this as GO and transit in general isn’t really known for that.

This was showing on the platform screens

 

[Krypto98]

Anyone know if there is any particular operational reason Go is using a double header consist for the London trains, (locomotive 558 and 561 to be exact)

 

[SaugeenJunction]

I really don't follow service changes closely and was at Bloor Station to see a change I knew would happen one day in place. When did GO start to have some trains stopping at Bloor for the Milton Line as it show 2 Milton trains stopping with Bramalea and Brampton as next stop as well an express train bypassing it???

The trains were to use Platform 3. There is a switch north of Wallace walkway that allows this move.

I expect Platform 4 will be built once the construction of the tower on the west side is completed in 2022 as there is room for it.

According to recent Google Maps imagery there isn’t a switch from the track that serves the furthest west platform to the Milton Line track(s). I’m not sure how Milton Line trains could serve Bloor GO? Was one installed recently?

 

[Urban Sky]

Anyone know if there is any particular operational reason Go is using a double header consist for the London trains, (locomotive 558 and 561 to be exact)

Maybe it's to aid on-time performance through better acceleration? You would be surprised how much travel time represents the difference between once loco and six cars (which has the same power-to-weight ratio as 2 locos+12 cars) and the same loco with twelve cars...

According to recent Google Maps imagery there isn’t a switch from the track that serves the furthest west platform to the Milton Line track(s). I’m not sure how Milton Line trains could serve Bloor GO? Was one installed recently?

There is no such connection between the Galt Sub and any platform track at Bloor, to the best of my knowledge...

 

[reaperexpress]

When did GO start to have some trains stopping at Bloor for the Milton Line as it show 2 Milton trains stopping with Bramalea and Brampton as next stop as well an express train bypassing it???

MALTON, not Milton. They mistakenly put Malton as the destination for the westbound trips which terminate at Bramalea. I noticed this in the GTFS data yesterday.

 

[reaperexpress]

Which makes you wonder at how much projected delay at Kitchener is the cut-off for sending 3960's equipment as 3760 instead...

The majority (15 minutes) of these delays were caused by a CP train blocking the diamond in London, so unrelated with freight traffic on the Guelph Subdivision itself:

Well today the train was delayed again in London, and the destination has already been changed from Union Station to Kitchener GO before the train has even reached St Marys. I assume this is a dummy change which makes it easier for them to swap consists on the runs east of Kitchener.

Don't mind the mislabeled Stratford station...

UPDATE: a half hour later, the station labels have been corrected but now the line is missing west of Kitchener... I think someone's fixing stuff as we speak.

UPDATE 2: Yep. Stations/line are all fixed now, and a new train is waiting in Kitchener to fill the 7:32 departure that should have been operated by the London train. But for some reason it's showing as 6 minutes late even though its scheduled departure time isn't for another 24 minutes.

Universities don't start until 8:30 AM, so works very well for students who head to their parents for a few days, and then come back Monday morning in time for class.

When I did my undergrad at the University of Waterloo, hardly anything ever started at 8:30. Students and profs both avoid scheduling classes that early whenever possible. In first year many of my friends who were technically in the 8:30 statistics class would actually go to the afternoon lecture for the same course instead. Admittedly this only works in first year where there are multiple lectures for the same course. In later years I had a couple instances where the prof asked on the first day if anyone had a problem if we started at 9:00, and of course nobody objected.

In general, students are extremely reluctant to get up early. And parents wouldn't be thrilled to get up at 4AM on Monday morning to drive their kid to downtown London to catch the train either. I did once take the first GO train of the day while I was studying in Waterloo, but that was because I stayed up late, not because I woke up early.

The only way GO will capture any "going home to London for the weekend" demand is if they run an eastbound trip on Sunday afternoon.

Lol nuts. The via station does have a small lot, couldn’t riders use that?

Sure, if they're willing to pay an additional $16/day in addition to their train tickets.

 

[smallspy]

Anyone know if there is any particular operational reason Go is using a double header consist for the London trains, (locomotive 558 and 561 to be exact)

Protection. The train now operates so far away from GO's core network that there is a legitimate concern that should the train crap out that it would take several hours to source the buses to rescue the passengers. A second locomotive added to the consist should ensure that only in the most extreme of cases would a train not make it to its destination.

On top of that, Metrolinx has retained the services of two small Southwestern Ontario bus lines to provide buses on an emergency basis should the need arise, but their primary plans still call for the use of their own equipment and staff.

According to recent Google Maps imagery there isn’t a switch from the track that serves the furthest west platform to the Milton Line track(s). I’m not sure how Milton Line trains could serve Bloor GO? Was one installed recently?

One has not been installed, nor are there plans for that to ever happen.

There are no plans to have platforms built for the Milton line tracks at Bloor, either.

Dan

 

[Urban Sky]

Protection. The train now operates so far away from GO's core network that there is a legitimate concern that should the train crap out that it would take several hours to source the buses to rescue the passengers. A second locomotive added to the consist should ensure that only in the most extreme of cases would a train not make it to its destination.

That would be a similar reasoning as for why VIA always has two units on its Winnipeg-Churchill service, since the lack of road coverage would only leave helicopters for evacuation...