Yes, you are right in that it is unreasonable to ask of them to institute a curfew, but in GO's defense I don't think that they've ever asked that of CP. Any extension to Cambridge, at least internally at GO, had always envisioned extending the double track out to Galt from Campbellville, which would be a huge net benefit to CP.
Well, we are totally in agreement that if GO would spring for more track, CP's position might be a lot different. It comes back to the cost of that investment between Milton and Galt versus the number of riders - most of whom already get on at Milton, so the incremental revenue is pretty slim.
But I think we may overestimate CP's value gained if they saw that double track put in place. Railroading is all about "stand on your head because we aren't going to spend the capital to give you shoes" - CP makes do with what it has. They recently installed the CTC at Guelph Jct...perhaps they were hoping GO would act on Galt and they could get GO to pay, but in the end they did as much as they really needed and they live with any deficiencies in the result. Not really any different than the Bala Sub (which does not have 2-way service) or the Halton (which only got 2-way when GO paid for a third track).
There was a short lived midday service to Erindale, by the way. The Mississauga-Erindale triple track is no longer viable as a passing track, due to longer trains that will now block crossings. The bigger point is, CP needs the second track outside of rush hour - for maintenance, and for operations and local service. That's why the service envelope is peak only, it limits GO to one track, which has been the deal all along. Even running equipment turnbacks at peak - which is a lot more cost effective than addding more layover capacity and buying more trains - would take away the one track that CP has for its use. Which is why that ain't gonna happen.
An old timer who was in the room tells me that when GO first negotiated for the Milton service, CP's list of needed modifications to the line was substantial. GO did a very detailed study which (I am told) demonstrated that they could run the intended service on the line pretty much as it stood, ie with the old unidirectional mbs signalling and jointed rail. It was the top brass at GO and the Province who decided that it wasn't smart to push CP to the wall on that, partly as they foresaw further expansion and partly because they wanted a relationship where they could say, "Look, we did all this for you, now we need you to...." So the study was never presented to CP, and CP got the bidirectional CTC, and GO paid for ribbon rail on one of the two main tracks, and GO helped with other modifications particularly between Lambton and Dixie. (and to Parkdale)
That proved to be a wise move .... it was hard enough to add the triple track from Royal York to Dixie in the 1980's, can you imagine the NIMBY reaction if that were proposed today? And CP gained enough capacity that GO's incremental requests over the years have mostly been accepted. Retired RTC's and Chief Dispatchers have told me that for a decade or two, they went to elaborate lengths to keep a shine on that third track, which really wasn't needed in the beginning. For a time, the third track was the highest-quality, highest-speed, CTC equipped freight car siding on the system. But now it is very much in use. And, really, CP has run a pretty reliable and committed operation - they just say no if their own interests are impacted. CP is not a charity.
- Paul
