GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[denfromoakvillemilton]

i don't like how unrepared this all is.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

Apparently there might be an announcement by the Province at 12:30PM Monday at the Kitchener Station. Not sure what it'll be about but might be similar to what they just did for Niagara where one of the Georgetown or Mount Pleasant trains will be extended.

I'm not seeing any media advisory online yet and it could change given the legislature might come back to deal with the OPG strike issue.

Since Niagara's GO announcement was based on an agreement with CN, it would make sense that an agreement on the Kitchener Line could have been reached at the same time.

 

[nfitz]

Since Niagara's GO announcement was based on an agreement with CN, it would make sense that an agreement on the Kitchener Line could have been reached at the same time.

It would also have made sense to install a few metres of track, and some switches, so they didn't have to waste 20-30 minutes reversing a train into Hamilton station.

Surely there's nothing but politics that have stopped this fairly simply task during the over 3 years since the station opened!

 

[crs1026]

Surely there's nothing but politics that have stopped this fairly simply task during the over 3 years since the station opened!

Well, for starters, there's buried utilities that have to be moved (note yellow circle)....

It's remarkable that CN has suddenly signed on, considering how they were reported to be at loggerheads previously - on this line as well as on the Halton. My conspiracy theory is that there is a beautiful friendship forming between Open For Business zones and CN real estate ambitions somewhere in Ontario. It is hard to imagine that Ford has opened the purse strings more than Wynne might have.... but who knows.

ML appeared to be working on the whole route as a package, rather than splitting off these smaller bits. Maybe now we will see a switch installed - it's likely a bigger job than imagined, as there is another interlocking to the east that would be impacted, and the whole thing might have to be designed as one, even if only a little is put in place now. If, that is, the plan is still to add track towards Confederation.

It's a better announcement than deferral/cancellation of the Niagara expansion, but it doesn't tell much of the intentions for the route, or what the path forward is for even the Confederation part.... will the proposed additional track be built?

- Paul

 

[Allandale25]

^ Maybe as part of CN letting this train happen to Niagara CN got assurances on the Milton Logistics Terminal that the Province would reduce its opposition? Just speculating here. But I bet the Milton Logistics Terminal is way more valuable than the effort to move the timing of some local freight on this corridor.

 

[mdrejhon]

Well, for starters, there's buried utilities that have to be moved (note yellow circle)....

It's remarkable that CN has suddenly signed on, considering how they were reported to be at loggerheads previously - on this line as well as on the Halton. My conspiracy theory is that there is a beautiful friendship forming between Open For Business zones and CN real estate ambitions somewhere in Ontario. It is hard to imagine that Ford has opened the purse strings more than Wynne might have.... but who knows.

ML appeared to be working on the whole route as a package, rather than splitting off these smaller bits. Maybe now we will see a switch installed - it's likely a bigger job than imagined, as there is another interlocking to the east that would be impacted, and the whole thing might have to be designed as one, even if only a little is put in place now. If, that is, the plan is still to add track towards Confederation.

It's a better announcement than deferral/cancellation of the Niagara expansion, but it doesn't tell much of the intentions for the route, or what the path forward is for even the Confederation part.... will the proposed additional track be built?

- Paul

View attachment 167441

To refamiliarize, I've written a fairly large article about this in year 2015.

See my writings at www.raisethehammer.org/article/2720

Also, in my most recent visit to a GO Niagara public information centre, I learned that the ground in this area is about 2 meters higher than the track at West Harbour GO, so a lot of regrading needs to be done. So it's an expensive endeavour even to just add a spur.

It has to be done, in order to connect West Harbour to Confederation -- although Metrolinx has been wanting to install continuous track all the way between West Harbour and Confederation, including new rail overpass (Birch Ave...). But there should be a switch near West Harbour regardless.

 

[Allandale25]

^ So is it safe to assume equipment will be on site in a matter of days to start work on this so the track will be in place for the beginning of service?

 

[mdrejhon]

I am however, looking forward to catching the Lakeshore West Friday evening peak train from West Harbour Hamilton, to visit Niagara Falls for the weekend a couples times a year. The Niagara-Hamilton train trip is now finally possible on GO.

Also, at the very least, Hamilton work can now be a commuter target for St Catharines / Niagara Falls. That's a more manageable commute than Niagara-Union.

I even suggested the idea of backing up the train into West Harbour to Metrolinx.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Well, for starters, there's buried utilities that have to be moved (note yellow circle)....

It's remarkable that CN has suddenly signed on, considering how they were reported to be at loggerheads previously - on this line as well as on the Halton. My conspiracy theory is that there is a beautiful friendship forming between Open For Business zones and CN real estate ambitions somewhere in Ontario. It is hard to imagine that Ford has opened the purse strings more than Wynne might have.... but who knows.

ML appeared to be working on the whole route as a package, rather than splitting off these smaller bits. Maybe now we will see a switch installed - it's likely a bigger job than imagined, as there is another interlocking to the east that would be impacted, and the whole thing might have to be designed as one, even if only a little is put in place now. If, that is, the plan is still to add track towards Confederation.

It's a better announcement than deferral/cancellation of the Niagara expansion, but it doesn't tell much of the intentions for the route, or what the path forward is for even the Confederation part.... will the proposed additional track be built?

- Paul

View attachment 167441

well hopefully this brings good news on monday for the brampton line. but the utilites removal costs money

To refamiliarize, I've written a fairly large article about this in year 2015.

See my writings at www.raisethehammer.org/article/2720

View attachment 167448

View attachment 167450

Also, in my most recent visit to a GO Niagara public information centre, I learned that the ground in this area is about 2 meters higher than the track at West Harbour GO, so a lot of regrading needs to be done. So it's an expensive endeavour even to just add a spur.

It has to be done, in order to connect West Harbour to Confederation -- although Metrolinx has been wanting to install continuous track all the way between West Harbour and Confederation, including new rail overpass (Birch Ave...). But there should be a switch near West Harbour regardless.

My question to metrolinx is why hasnt prep work been done already?

 

[nfitz]

^ So is it safe to assume equipment will be on site in a matter of days to start work on this so the track will be in place for the beginning of service?

The schedule suggests that they will be backing the trains into West Harbour.

It's a better announcement than deferral/cancellation of the Niagara expansion ...

Is it? If the ridership for that 5 AM very slow train is pathetic - or even no better than the slightly faster bus it will replace - I'd think it would put the entire project at risk. No one wants to see results that show that ridership didn't increase, when they added the train.

 

[crs1026]

View attachment 167450

See that thing labelled "Signal Mast"? It's the western limit of a second interlocking - CN Hamilton (that's why the station name sign is there). Very unlikely that CN would build one interlocking so close to the next. More likely that CN would want the whole interlocking rebuilt as a single piece of plant. And, if a new track for GO is in the works, then the trackwork would have to leave room for a switch merging the two platform tracks, and then a crossover from the new track over to the existing mainline track. Etc, etc. More like 200m of track.
Quite doable, but a little more complicated to design and build.

- Paul

PS: The thing marked "Equipment" is tied to underground utilities, with buried cables or ducts - as the vertical red marker signs also indicate. Those would likely have to be dug up and moved.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

^ Maybe as part of CN letting this train happen to Niagara CN got assurances on the Milton Logistics Terminal that the Province would reduce its opposition? Just speculating here. But I bet the Milton Logistics Terminal is way more valuable than the effort to move the timing of some local freight on this corridor.

Exactly my thinking. Came here to say that and you beat me to the punch.

 

[Allandale25]

The schedule suggests that they will be backing the trains into West Harbour.

I guess that makes the most sense since there isn't a lot of time before January 7th. Will they have to do a brake test when the operating crew switches ends of the train?

 

[TransitBart]

Honest to goodness. A 2.5 hour trip. Backing up trains. This is nuts.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Honest to goodness. A 2.5 hour trip. Backing up trains. This is nuts.

Just way too long. Should have waited until the switch and tracks were done.