GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[Woodbridge_Heights]

They didn't know that there was a subway in Vaughan. They usually drove to Kipling or Finch. I had to explain to them the other day how to use the GO Train and it was a mind blowing experience for them...

I'm starting to feel alot of people don't take transit because they don't even know it exists.

I can see finch being a draw due to the massive parking lot, even kipling. Downsview and Wilson didnt/don't really have the amount of parking that finch and kipling have. Finch I feel also resonated in Brampton because of the rte 77 service to finch. So for someone in Brampton for the last 30 years "going to the subway" generally meant finch. That being said I'm kind of surprised that they didn't know about yorkdale's parking. As my experience 20 odd years ago was that yorkdales was popular among the casual entertainment oriented trips from the west into the city. The garage was generally packed on days when the leafs/jays/raptors had games, especially on weekends.

Note I'm not including the recent subway extension to Vaughan as that only opened about 5 yrs ago and up was talking about a 20 yr time frame.

 

[dowlingm]

The deadheading only happens on Friday evenings and Monday mornings. And the way it is built into those crews, over the course of the week they end up working about the same number of hours as a "regular" crew that has the same work 5 days a week.

Dan

hi Dan, thanks for the clarification, I understood (clearly mistakenly) that it was deadheading daily, and the reason being that because London isn’t set up for 575v hotel power. Did that change or is GO idling the locomotive overnight?

 

[Krypto98]

So on the other days the train lays over at London Station?

Yeah, that's what the engineer for that trip has told me. Monday morning and Friday night they deadhead to/from Kitchener

 

[smallspy]

hi Dan, thanks for the clarification, I understood (clearly mistakenly) that it was deadheading daily, and the reason being that because London isn’t set up for 575v hotel power. Did that change or is GO idling the locomotive overnight?

The original plan did have them deadheading back to Kitchener every night, but GO and VIA ended up coming to an agreement days before the service was scheduled to launch.

To the best of my knowledge they did not convert any of the wayside positions at London, and so one of the locos just leaves it's HEP genset on overnight.

Dan

 

[Bordercollie]

hi Dan, thanks for the clarification, I understood (clearly mistakenly) that it was deadheading daily, and the reason being that because London isn’t set up for 575v hotel power. Did that change or is GO idling the locomotive overnight?

I thought that was an easy fix?

The original plan did have them deadheading back to Kitchener every night, but GO and VIA ended up coming to an agreement days before the service was scheduled to launch.

To the best of my knowledge they did not convert any of the wayside positions at London, and so one of the locos just leaves it's HEP genset on overnight.

Dan

What would it take for then to upgrade the wayside power?

 

[nfitz]

The original plan did have them deadheading back to Kitchener every night, but GO and VIA ended up coming to an agreement days before the service was scheduled to launch.

What happens to the crew? I assume they are based in Kitchener.

 

[Krypto98]

What happens to the crew? I assume they are based in Kitchener.

I believe the crew in the morning is different from the crew in the evening. I might have to ask the engineer to confirm this...

 

[nfitz]

I believe the crew in the morning is different from the crew in the evening. I might have to ask the engineer to confirm this...

I'd assume so.

Though previously the crew ended their day in Kitchener. If they now end their day in London ... taxi? Who pays?

 

[Allandale25]

I assume this doesn't imply VIA is about to start stopping at Pickering...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1483206306081165312

 

[dullturtle06]

I assume this doesn't imply VIA is about to start stopping at Pickering...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1483206306081165312

hahaha.... looks like IF HFR gets off the ground one day it will just be a single track milk run. ALL STOPS TO OTTAWA 🤣🤣🤣

 

[lenaitch]

I'd assume so.

Though previously the crew ended their day in Kitchener. If they now end their day in London ... taxi? Who pays?

The employer I would assume. Using taxis to deliver and retrieve crews isn't unheard of.

 

[Krypto98]

The employer I would assume. Using taxis to deliver and retrieve crews isn't unheard of.

I've seen crews drive off at Kitchener in a alstom or GO branded mini-van

 

[Allandale25]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1483238529438208002

 

[smallspy]

What happens to the crew? I assume they are based in Kitchener.

They are.

The morning crew piles into a company van in Kitchener and drives it to London. The evening crew takes that same van back to Kitchener.

Dan

 

[nfitz]

The morning crew piles into a company van in Kitchener and drives it to London. The evening crew takes that same van back to Kitchener.

That doesn't sound like much fun every day. I've found London to Kitchener a tough drive when the lake effect snow takes over - on an otherwise beautiful day (today would be a good example, looking at the weather radar!)