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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

GO just texted out that the Dufferin Bridge will be demolished by the City of Toronto on November 30 and December 1st (Saturday and Sunday) meaning there will be no service on Lakeshore West. They will be adding special trains on Milton line for each of those days.
 
TOareaFan said:
GO just texted out that the Dufferin Bridge will be demolished by the City of Toronto on November 30 and December 1st (Saturday and Sunday) meaning there will be no service on Lakeshore West. They will be adding special trains on Milton line for each of those days.
Click to expand...

The City of Toronto will be demolishing the Dufferin Street Bridge the weekend of November 30th and December 1st. As this bridge runs over our tracks, GO will not be able to operate service on the Lakeshore West line on these days. To continue to move people from west of the city into downtown, we will be running 5 special inbound and outbound trains on our Milton Line throughout each day to give you an alternative travel option.
For details on traveling that weekend, please visit GOtransit.com.
 
gweed123 said:
A spur to Sherway, possibly, but I think any extension past Honeydale should probably go west along Dundas into Mississauga.
Click to expand...

I have always recommended that the BD line go west along Dundas to Dixie and beyond as there is no real development at Sherway to support an extension there in the first place. Even the employment land there will not support a subway.

If Mississauga allows the full redevelopment and density west up to Dixie, there will be 250,000 residents and employes in this area that would support the extension.

Since the rail corridor is only wide enough for 4 tracks, no room for the BD. Even if you expectorate land for the BD, you are going to miss 50% of the ridership and make it harder for them to get to this extension. You will still need surface transit on Dundas.

You will have to put in 2/3 stations in between Cloverdale and Dixie to service the area. They can be boxes until the development take place to support a station in the first place.
 
TOareaFan said:
GO just texted out that the Dufferin Bridge will be demolished by the City of Toronto on November 30 and December 1st (Saturday and Sunday) meaning there will be no service on Lakeshore West. They will be adding special trains on Milton line for each of those days.
Click to expand...

drum118 said:
The City of Toronto will be demolishing the Dufferin Street Bridge the weekend of November 30th and December 1st. As this bridge runs over our tracks, GO will not be able to operate service on the Lakeshore West line on these days. To continue to move people from west of the city into downtown, we will be running 5 special inbound and outbound trains on our Milton Line throughout each day to give you an alternative travel option.
For details on traveling that weekend, please visit GOtransit.com.
Click to expand...

Now we get to see if Milton can support all day service.
 
denfromoakvillemilton said:
What do you suggest exactly?
Click to expand...

I am suggesting that this is a two day, very limited, service created simply because of bridge construction and it would be totally inappropriate to make any conclusion (one way or the other) about the Milton line's ability to support all day service based on that weekend....that is all.

EDIT: here is the actual schedule for those two days:

http://gotransit.com/public/en/updates/dufferin/Schedule_Dufferin_Bridge_Construction_Milton.pdf
 
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I made a map depicting a conservative estimate of GO service levels by 2040:

0hDE6VX.png

Green: all-day 2-way service
Pale Green: 2-way peak service
Chartreuse: 1-way peak service
You can get a more detailed look here.

The network uses only existing rail lines with the exception of a spur off Cooksville GO to Square One via a tunnel beneath Palgrave Road and the proposed rail connection from the CN line to the CP line in Downtown Oshawa. It's for this reason that I've extended service as far as Stratford in the west but not Peterborough (given track geometry and required upgrades, I don't think it'll happen, especially if there is service to Clarington at 401/115 and the 407 bus is extended along with the highway to Peterborough).

I've also made the assumptions that by 2040:
-GO's mandate will have switched to being a GTHA focused commuter network to a regional train and bus network in the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
-Electrified EMUs would be running on the Kitchener, Lakeshore, Square One, and Markham Lines, although I also see electrified service being possible to Bradford.
-VIA Rail would have ceased service on the north mainline in favour of the more service on the direct southern line. GO would then run shorter but more frequent express trains between Kitchener and Toronto.
-GO will have purchased the entirety of track formerly leased to GEXR from Georgetown to London as well as the Canpa Subdivision, and the eastern end of the Lakeshore Line.
-CN freight trains would be diverted away from the Weston subdivision with a freight track running north of the 401 and south of the 407 to connect track between Milton and the York Subdivision. In exchange for the Government of Ontario building the corridor, CN then sells the rest of the Weston Subdivision to GO of which CN has exclusive rights.
-CP still owns the North Toronto Subdivision (assuming they haven't already been partially or fully acquired by CN).
-High Speed Rail is completed on the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal corridor run by a public-private partnership. The Quebec City and Niagara Falls extensions are under construction (thanks to the province of Quebec funding almost all of it, and Ontario wanting to connect to the Empire corridor at Buffalo). We are still investigating extending the high speed track to the west because noone wants to spend the money.
-The population of the Greater Golden Horseshoe is quickly approaching 20M (provincial estimate is closer to 15) due to an influx of climate refugees.
 
dunkalunk said:
I made a map depicting a conservative estimate of GO service levels by 2040:

The network uses only existing rail lines with the exception of a spur off Cooksville GO to Square One via a tunnel beneath Palgrave Road and the proposed rail connection from the CN line to the CP line in Downtown Oshawa. It's for this reason that I've extended service as far as Stratford in the west but not Peterborough (given track geometry and required upgrades, I don't think it'll happen, especially if there is service to Clarington at 401/115 and the 407 bus is extended along with the highway to Peterborough).

I've also made the assumptions that by 2040:
-GO's mandate will have switched to being a GTHA focused commuter network to a regional train and bus network in the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
-Electrified EMUs would be running on the Kitchener, Lakeshore, Square One, and Markham Lines, although I also see electrified service being possible to Bradford.
-VIA Rail would have ceased service on the north mainline in favour of the more service on the direct southern line. GO would then run shorter but more frequent express trains between Kitchener and Toronto.
-GO will have purchased the entirety of track formerly leased to GEXR from Georgetown to London as well as the Canpa Subdivision, and the eastern end of the Lakeshore Line.
-CN freight trains would be diverted away from the Weston subdivision with a freight track running north of the 401 and south of the 407 to connect track between Milton and the York Subdivision. In exchange for the Government of Ontario building the corridor, CN then sells the rest of the Weston Subdivision to GO of which CN has exclusive rights.
-CP still owns the North Toronto Subdivision (assuming they haven't already been partially or fully acquired by CN).
-High Speed Rail is completed on the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal corridor run by a public-private partnership. The Quebec City and Niagara Falls extensions are under construction (thanks to the province of Quebec funding almost all of it, and Ontario wanting to connect to the Empire corridor at Buffalo). We are still investigating extending the high speed track to the west because noone wants to spend the money.
-The population of the Greater Golden Horseshoe is quickly approaching 20M (provincial estimate is closer to 15) due to an influx of climate refugees.
Click to expand...

Very nice! But by 2040 I would hope that we had a bit more AD2W service. After all, regional rail is more similar to intercity rail, where a lot of the demand is outside the peak period. I'm mainly referring to Toronto-Kitchener and Hamilton-Niagara.

I also assume that it was just a mapping error to end the Kitchener Line at Stratford. London is a major city which needs the rail connection to Kitchener and Guelph.

I also think Mount Joy should be the terminus for off-peak service, not Markham. It has more parking capacity (important for people driving in from the rural areas), and room for a second track (important for track capacity).
 
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drum118 said:
The City of Toronto will be demolishing the Dufferin Street Bridge the weekend of November 30th and December 1st. As this bridge runs over our tracks, GO will not be able to operate service on the Lakeshore West line on these days. To continue to move people from west of the city into downtown, we will be running 5 special inbound and outbound trains on our Milton Line throughout each day to give you an alternative travel option.
For details on traveling that weekend, please visit GOtransit.com.
Click to expand...

Wow. Pathetic. Five trains on Milton do little for Port Credit, Clarkson and do nothing for Oakville and Burlington. The Hamilton Express bus (which is the only way to the Niagara GO bus) will only get two extra westbound runs in the late night.

You'd think GO could run additional Oakville-Burlington express buses, perhaps one serving Clarkson and Oakville, another serving Bronte and Appleby and another connecting Hamilton, Aldershot and Burlington with Union.

Yes, I see why the demolition has to be done, but this is a total fail for providing any service to Oakville and Burlington.

VIA's contigency plan is to bus passengers on some of its trains between Oakville and Toronto and divert the rest - likely via the Halton Sub through Brampton and Milton.
 
Yep I would make Richmond Hill all day 2 way. Uxbridge should probably get 1 way peak service as well. the route to Stratford should probably be 1 way service as well..
 
reaperexpress said:
Very nice! But by 2040 I would hope that we had a bit more AD2W service. After all, regional rail is more similar to intercity rail, where a lot of the demand is outside the peak period. I'm mainly referring to Toronto-Kitchener and Hamilton-Niagara.
Click to expand...

I was thinking bare minimum service in this instance. AD2W? (nevermind, didn't pick up the acronym for all day 2 way)

I also assume that it was just a mapping error to end the Kitchener Line at Stratford. London is a major city which needs the rail connection to Kitchener and Guelph.
Click to expand...

Not an error, although you strike a good point. I was initially thinking there'd be express service to London via Brantford, and that there'd be a bus connection from Stratford.

I also think Mount Joy should be the terminus for off-peak service, not Markham. It has more parking capacity (important for people driving in from the rural areas), and room for a second track (important for track capacity).
Click to expand...

Local knowledge is power!
 
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TOareaFan said:
GO just texted out that the Dufferin Bridge will be demolished by the City of Toronto on November 30 and December 1st (Saturday and Sunday) meaning there will be no service on Lakeshore West. They will be adding special trains on Milton line for each of those days.
Click to expand...

That's one advantage of being stuck with weekend bus service - there will be NO GO service whatsoever for people in Oakville or Burlington (well, unless you could the 47G bus between Hamilton and York U/Yorkdale stopping at the 407).
 
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