GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[steveintoronto]

Wow, CN must still be playing hardball at Bramalea?

Good reference to that with examples is in a couple of posts lately. I bite my finger as I type on how many posters drank the Kool-Aid on the previous 'promises'.

If the Cons were really serious about improving things "For the People, yada, yada, yada"...they'd be at the table with CN and CP and other players (with deep pockets) to finance and build the 407 Freight Bypass. "The People" don't care who pays for it, they just know they need it yesterday, let alone today or tomorrow.

 

[Northern Light]

More funding (more trains?)

https://twitter.com/femwriter/status/1042775026087280641?s=19

From that link:

We used existing resources & fleet & it’s what we could work out with current resources. (No additional funding).

The government is crowing about service they aren't paying for! LOL

Just wow.

We did have to put up w/Del Duca before. But this is not an auspicious start.

 

[innsertnamehere]

From that link:

We used existing resources & fleet & it’s what we could work out with current resources. (No additional funding).

The government is crowing about service they aren't paying for! LOL

Just wow.

We did have to put up w/Del Duca before. But this is not an auspicious start.

It will cost more to operate this - staff, fuel, increased maintenance. They could just do it using existing infrastructure - meaning no new trains, no new station upgrades, no new train yards, etc.

The rest will come with time as the required trains arrive and infrastructure upgrades are built.

 

[Fritter]

That really diminishes the value of the service improvement if your train disembarks and your then waiting 30m for a bus.

Actually it would be no more than 15 minutes until the next local transit bus. If you have a train arrival at 00 and 30 with local connections, but the trains at 15 and 45 without, then no more than 15 minutes to wait.

 

[smallspy]

What's required on LSW to do the same (15m)?

That would depend on how far you want those trains to run. With the current track configurations and track utilization, you *might* be able to get the 15 minute service all the way to Burlington. That will require an additional 3 trainsets and crews to staff them.

Merely get the current round of construction done?

In theory, no additional infrastructure would be needed to take it to Burlington. Just an agreement with CN regarding dispatching.

Get the new service track in place from Willowbrook to Union?

Not necessary.

Surely they don't need track 4 yet.

Not as yet, at least to get to Oakville. But eventually, yes.

I take as a given they do require an extra track beyond Oakville.

Again, not just yet. What is more important is a place with which to stash those trains off of the mainline. Trains can be turned around on the mainline, but at the expense of track capacity.

More funding (more trains?)

https://twitter.com/femwriter/status/1042775026087280641?s=19

More funding for operations and staffing. There's more than enough equipment already.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[smallspy]

Two questions:

1) so service on LSW and LSE remain at every 30 minutes on weekends?

Yes. I've not had any indication when this schedule might be extended to the weekends.

2) is that extra train on Kitchener in addition to the one that started running a couple of weeks ago or is it just a re-announcement of something that has already been announced and is in fact already running?

This is that same train that started running at the beginning of September.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[TOareaFan]

^thx

 

[steveintoronto]

So more details at the Globe:

[...]It was Mr. Yakabuski’s first media event since taking the job, and he declined to make the government’s position clear on a number of issues.

Asked whether the Tories would maintain the current schedule for electrifying the rail lines and honour the previous government’s commitment to lower GO fares on short trips – a key way to build ridership in Toronto – he said only that they were conducting an audit of government spending. Asked about a light-rail project on Finch Avenue, in the northwest of Toronto, he spoke vaguely about a commitment to improving transit.

The service increases had been planned for months and hints of the coming changes were evident through the late summer. The government agency Metrolinx, which operates GO Transit and a number of local transit providers in the GTA, was running what it calls “ghost trains” through the rail corridor at Union Station to test the higher frequencies.

Along with the boost on the Lakeshore lines, GO will also add a new train from Malton in the northwest of the city to downtown Toronto in the morning and lengthen four rush-hour trains on the Kitchener line, boosting the number of seats.

The increases formally announced Thursday are one piece of a much larger effort by Metrolinx to improve its offerings. The number of trains running has jumped some 20 per cent since Mr. Verster arrived about 12 months ago, part of a multi-year effort to wring as much performance as possible out of the agency’s existing infrastructure.

“What’s great about this is that journey timing becomes easier for our customers,” Mr. Verster said. “You arrive, you can travel. This is one of the biggest objectives we have with railways, is to get the frequency up, and when the frequency is there it becomes attractive as a mode of transit.”
[...]
Some of the increases are being will be achieved by splitting trains, so one with 12 cars becomes two six-car trains. Although this increases the number of trains without changing the number of available seats, such splitting allows the fleet to be used more efficiently.
[...]

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/can...ain-service-on-lakeshore-east-and-west-lines/

THIS:
"Some of the increases are being will be achieved by splitting trains, so one with 12 cars becomes two six-car trains. Although this increases the number of trains without changing the number of available seats, such splitting allows the fleet to be used more efficiently."

This is *exactly* what a number of us were touting years ago in this and other strings, but told that it wasn't possible due to (take your choice) 'Brake tests' 'assembly time in the yard' 'crewing problems' 'scheduling' 'available pathings' etc, etc.

So what has radically changed to allow the obvious? Have TC regs changed on making/breaking trainsets? Someone has a lot of explaining to do on this, because there's those F59s that were to be sold off (after recent refits) (or it may be too late, they might have gone) and *present* possibility (had some had their druthers) for an AD2W Bramalea to Union (or further) frequent 3 DD coach consist (the limitation might be cab cars and/or disability coach availability) running the 15 min stopgap between longer consists to begin "SmartTrack Prequel". Ideally, this would be replaced once electrified with RER vehicles. UPX pathings continue to be grossly underutilized by about 66%. I'm led to believe the signalling is good for even less than 5 min headways. So 7.5 min should be fine. Union terminal would be a constraint, but that's relatively easy to address. Bramalea is almost ready for some kind of AD2W service (on top of the present late morning/early afternoon service to Mt Pleasant).

If the emphasis is to be on (gist) "Existing infrastructure" then there's a heck of a lot more than can be done, especially now the cat is out of the bag on 'splitting trains'.

 

[Streety McCarface]

"Ontario's Government for the People" Yikes...of course, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting. The ghost trains were clear indications of this coming.

What intrigues me most is if the emphasis will continue to be on GO rather than "subways, subways, subways".

I honestly think it'll be a bit of both. Ford won't give up on underground transit so easily. What intrigues me is whether the Rail Deck Park will be supported by him ("it's a GO subway!")

That was my reaction too. This may be more of a paper exercise than a practical one, and indicates more toward the need for getting RER (in actuality) up and running for the frequent mid-day service.

The added run from Malton is a bit of a puzzler. I'm stifling myself from blurting out 'UPX extended' as a way to handle that better, but I digress...

I'm surprised it's not starting from Georgetown or even Kitchener. It's kind of useless to everyone that doesn't leave from Malton or Etobicoke north, and surely those stations aren't busy enough to fill one 5,000 passenger train. Could it be shifting traffic off existing trains so that another Kitchener express can be run?

So more details at the Globe:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/can...ain-service-on-lakeshore-east-and-west-lines/

THIS:
"Some of the increases are being will be achieved by splitting trains, so one with 12 cars becomes two six-car trains. Although this increases the number of trains without changing the number of available seats, such splitting allows the fleet to be used more efficiently."

This is *exactly* what a number of us were touting years ago in this and other strings, but told that it wasn't possible due to (take your choice) 'Brake tests' 'assembly time in the yard' 'crewing problems' 'scheduling' 'available pathings' etc, etc.

So what has radically changed to allow the obvious? Have TC regs changed on making/breaking trainsets? Someone has a lot of explaining to do on this, because there's those F59s that were to be sold off (after recent refits) (or it may be too late, they might have gone) and *present* possibility (had some had their druthers) for an AD2W Bramalea to Union (or further) frequent 3 DD coach consist (the limitation might be cab cars and/or disability coach availability) running the 15 min stopgap between longer consists to begin "SmartTrack Prequel". Ideally, this would be replaced once electrified with RER vehicles. UPX pathings continue to be grossly underutilized by about 66%. I'm led to believe the signalling is good for even less than 5 min headways. So 7.5 min should be fine. Union terminal would be a constraint, but that's relatively easy to address. Bramalea is almost ready for some kind of AD2W service (on top of the present late morning/early afternoon service to Mt Pleasant).

If the emphasis is to be on (gist) "Existing infrastructure" then there's a heck of a lot more than can be done, especially now the cat is out of the bag on 'splitting trains'.

Why not three 4 car trains? We don't even need 6 car trains for midday service.

I'd give the UPX another 5 or so years to let ridership mature a bit more, and for potential fare integration to be considered. 33% occupancy is actually really good given the bad rep the train has and the limited market it serves.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

New Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West schedules up! As was said in this thread before, the 3 trains an hour (the extra train) on LSW only go as far as Oakville.

 

[steveintoronto]

Why not three 4 car trains? We don't even need 6 car trains for midday service.

I was referring to the Georgetown Corridor, including the UPX pathings. There's the consideration of thrust-to-weight-ratio and acceleration time, and the F59s are modest in available power compared to the later stablemates, but they'd still sprint nicely with only three carriages to pull. Three or four, the concern of available consists will be determined by cab cars and handicap access. It is not beyond fantasy to have some of the older cab cars (now being used as regular coaches) rebuilt into cab-car/handicap combined coaches for shorter consists. Due to the short consist length, cab/handicap combo cars will still line up at the raised platforms with lots of clearance behind for two or more coaches.

If the Cons want to maximize what is already extant, there's a lot that can be done. As to what is waiting in the 'refurbishment line' at this time I have no idea. Other posters will be very up on the latest details of that, and especially if any older cab cars are still in it.

 

[mdrejhon]

Nice metro frequencies on Lakeshore East for a full 12 hours.

Stares longingly at Hamilton 15-minute frequency (Metrolinx 2041 RTP) and hourly (2025 plan).

Hopefully 15-minute Lakeshore East whets a lot of appetites to keep up momentum of GO RER and add transit expansions at many LE stations.

 

[mdrejhon]

Oh man, I just noticed some interesting schedule quirks.

Lakeshore East Quirks

Nice schedule, with two good quirks and one bad quirk:

Two Superexpresses Towards Union
There are two nonstop superexpesses that are likely repositioning trans that now run in revenue service. 45min Oshawa-to-Toronto! I remember my 47-min speedy nonstop Hamilton GO train ride.

Weird Hourlong Gap
Then there is a near-1-hour wait suddenly at 17:41 thru 18:38 at the end of 15min service frequency -- for countercommuters -- before it goes back to regular 30-min evening frequency:

A few Superexpresses From Union to Oshawa
In the morning, three speedy countercommutes to Oshawa is available.
Plus one train that expresses to Pickering in just 30 minutes.

These appear to be "repositioning" trains that are now enabled into revenue service.
Normally deadheading trains that has conveniently become new nonstop expresses.

Hopefully announcements are clear so people don't board these by accident to go to intermediate stations.

 

[steveintoronto]

the 3 trains an hour on LSW only go as far as Oakville.

Nice metro frequencies on Lakeshore East for a full 12 hours.

Stares longingly at Hamilton 15-minute frequency (Metrolinx 2041 RTP) and hourly (2025 plan).

Hopefully 15-minute Lakeshore East whets a lot of appetites to keep up momentum of GO RER and add transit expansions at many LE stations.

Those two morning runs Union to Mimico look desperate. Must be the prior 'deadheads' they're talking of. I don't quite get the utility of it.

I'm also puzzled by the '20 min freq' for the LSW leg. I'm seeing 15 min in my read of most of the weekday timetable, but I must admit to staring at it for too long.

Edit due to cross posting with @mdrejohn:

Oh man, I just noticed some weird schedule quirks.

Makes me feel better, as I can't quite fit what I'm seeing with what's being stated.

 

[TransitBart]

News Release

Ontario's Government for the People Announces Largest GO Train Service Increase in Five Years

Seriously - if any of the people in this government had read any history, they would realize that things of the "people" used to be associated with communists. People's Republic of China...

Just sayin'. That's how it sounds to me.

But these folk are proudly conservative and right of centre. We shall see.