GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[TOareaFan]

^in an update to that story....no one has been arrested yet but they are looking for people

https://twitter.com/femwriter/status/767714177507024896

https://twitter.com/femwriter/status/767714373368438784

 

[crs1026]

I realize that. I just get the impression (the investigation into UPX mostly) that MTO and Minister of Transportation blames Metrolinx staff execution for the budget explosion rather than the concepts themselves.

From an outsiders view, Metrolinx as an organization is either very secretive or incompetent; the numerous projects that get started and delayed/retendered makes me lean toward the latter (USRC signalling, Union Train shed, Exhibition station, Presto's massively lengthened development program, etc.)

The one that has me shaking my head is the Niagara GO service. This one seemed to have been suddenly brought forward in priority, presumably for political reasons. I'm not arguing against it, the point is it's too major a project to just toss on the front burner. One or more other projects, already in preparation, must have been pushed out into the future to make room for Niagara. That's a huge waste of whatever was invested in the bumped project. No wonder we don't see much forward progress.

We need more transparency about work-in-progress to control disruptive backroom rewrites. And we need on-the-record staff recommendations as one sees in municipal projects. If Niagara did create ripple impacts, ML should have been able to table these and take a position on the relative priorities. As in municipal matters, the elected reps make the final decisions and may ignore staff input, but they need to do so in the public eye. And MOT should not be playing parlour games about budget compliance if ML is not in control of what is being spent.

- Paul

 

[TOareaFan]

As I stated before, operating cost is the same as a 4 or 12 car train. You gain very little going to DMU unless its running as a one crew, then not that much.

I imagine there is some saving (albeit minor) in fuel cost just cause the weight of the train being pulled is less....but my total question/suggestion was running those small trains a much shorter distance....so, again, is it not cheaper to run a, say, 4 car shuttle service between some point in Brampton (likely Bramalea but further in if you can) on, say, a 30 minute frequencies to Weston. This kind of service likely uses less resources (ie. less crew, less vehicles, less fuel) and does not duplicate/canablize ridership from existing service (eg UP) than trying to run hourly, 10/12 car trains all the way to Union.....all while giving the riders a better overall service because they now have half hourly service rather than hourly.

 

[Jonny5]

^in an update to that story....no one has been arrested yet but they are looking for people

https://twitter.com/femwriter/status/767714177507024896

Ah. I am glad to read that as the whole CBC story made no sense. Why would they jump out of the train "on approach" to the station and not wait a few seconds for it to stop? Unless there was a serious danger in their car it's very odd. No surprise on the inaccuracy given how CBC News has declined in the past year to be little more than a clickbait blog.

 

[smallspy]

Del Duca has to announce it again! That's why it's still embargoed on the GO Transit service changes page.

Drill down a little bit further on the GO site. All of the new schedules have been uploaded.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[nfitz]

The service changes - apart, perhaps, from the new Brantford and Cambridge routes - are minor and unexciting. One new train trip to Milton, extension of existing trains to Kitchener, and maybe one more new trip on that corridor.

There's 4 trains a day now from Kitchener GO rather than 2, and 18 buses a day rather than 1.

Surely hourly bus service from Kitchener to Bramalea is a significant change.

 

[drum118]

I imagine there is some saving (albeit minor) in fuel cost just cause the weight of the train being pulled is less....but my total question/suggestion was running those small trains a much shorter distance....so, again, is it not cheaper to run a, say, 4 car shuttle service between some point in Brampton (likely Bramalea but further in if you can) on, say, a 30 minute frequencies to Weston. This kind of service likely uses less resources (ie. less crew, less vehicles, less fuel) and does not duplicate/canablize ridership from existing service (eg UP) than trying to run hourly, 10/12 car trains all the way to Union.....all while giving the riders a better overall service because they now have half hourly service rather than hourly.

You are looking at this the wrong way and no RR would do what you want or say.

It makes no different if there a 100 gal or 1,000 gal fuel saving on your line, the operation cost will remain the same.

Spend a week watching the ridership at each stations all day to see what it is daily and that will tell you if 30 minute service can be justify. I haven't nor will I do it. Time to close the book on this.

 

[drum118]

Ah. I am glad to read that as the whole CBC story made no sense. Why would they jump out of the train "on approach" to the station and not wait a few seconds for it to stop? Unless there was a serious danger in their car it's very odd. No surprise on the inaccuracy given how CBC News has declined in the past year to be little more than a clickbait blog.

Four males jump off GO train near Danforth Station, one hurt
Police responded to a call Sunday night and arrested three males on scene.

 

[Megaton327]

I'd heard multiple people on this forum say they had inside knowledge that the 4 Barrie weekend trains each way during the summer were not going to be terminated on labour day this year, but would instead stay on permanently, as a ramp-up to AD2W next year...unfortunately GO has posted their schedules for the Fall and the Barrie weekend trains are cancelled, as usual. Not sure what happened there.

 

[nfitz]

There was some speculation - I don't recall anything with certainty - at least not recently.

 

[smallspy]

I'd heard multiple people on this forum say they had inside knowledge that the 4 Barrie weekend trains each way during the summer were not going to be terminated on labour day this year, but would instead stay on permanently, as a ramp-up to AD2W next year...unfortunately GO has posted their schedules for the Fall and the Barrie weekend trains are cancelled, as usual. Not sure what happened there.

The original plans at the beginning of the year were to keep those trains running after Labour Day, but that plan was changed in June for whatever reason - likely crewing. The new plan has the trains starting at the beginning of January.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

There's 4 trains a day now from Kitchener GO rather than 2

This is the second time I've heard it here, but I'm still not finding where that is on the service changes page...

 

[Jonny5]

Four males jump off GO train near Danforth Station, one hurt
Police responded to a call Sunday night and arrested three males on scene.

"It would have taken an incredible amount of force to open the door,” said Aikins, who added that GO Transit trains have a safety feature that immediately halts a train when “a door is open a little."

I accidentally pushed open the doors of a moving train with what at the time felt like surprisingly little force. It was a few years ago, but I doubt there is any difference in the mechanisms now.

 

[RoyalJames]

This is the second time I've heard it here, but I'm still not finding where that is on the service changes page...

GO Posted then took down the new schedule BUT I saved the PDF Sked. I'll post shortly but it will be 4 trains, 1 express in AM and 1 Express in the PM from Bramalea, 3 all stops.

 

[crs1026]

The original plans at the beginning of the year were to keep those trains running after Labour Day, but that plan was changed in June for whatever reason - likely crewing. The new plan has the trains starting at the beginning of January.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

I hope that's not the reason. I have been questioning whether ML has a robust staffing plan since...... well, for longer than it takes to qualify a class of locomotive engineers. And we have the Stouffville and Barrie upgrades finishing in a year or two. And Bramalea.

- Paul