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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

Any thoughts on what this might be?


No big guns at the presser, associate minister, Metrolinx Chief Marketing Officer and the local MPP.

Some kind of increase to the Milton Line train service I assume. Not expecting much (maybe 1 extra train each way per weekday) seeing as how CP guards that line like Gollum grasping his ring.
 
^ Would any of the track work finished last year near Bloor have assisted with adding more capacity to allow for this if it turns out to be one extra train? cc @crs1026 @smallspy

The short answer is yes, although that bit of work at Dupont was preceded a couple years back by some other bigger projects between there and Kipling which had even greater impact. So long as we are talking unidirectional peak service, CP can line ‘em up as frequently as perhaps ten minute headways at times and still have some gaps to get their freights through. The limiting factor is how many trains GO can store in its layover yard at Milton, and how many gaps CP feels it needs in the headways for its own use. (At the risk of repeating myself, at $50M a train, that kind of lavish equipment utilisation isn’t a good business proposition, but it can be done)

What the Bloor piece did specifically is give CP two alternative routings for GO trains through West Toronto, which helps flexibility if there are freights around. It also gives GO a place off CP’s main line to allow two GO trains to pass....which an optimist would say may enable some off peak two way service one day. But I’m not holding my breath.

This particular announcement has such a tiny contingent of pols that I can’t even see it being about a single added train. Maybe the Tims at Milton Station is getting a second burner....

- Paul
 
If the head marketing person is there, you can bet this is the branded stations thing lmao
 
Ok. So a thought on the new evening service to Brampton & points beyond. Couldn’t help but notice that getting off the train at Bramalea & looking for a bus connect to Bramalea City Centre, a) The 36B pulled in to the Bramalea Go bus terminal at the same time as the train, yet did not wait for anyone looking to connect off the train. The next bus on schedule is 30 minutes out.
And b) the 15 Bramalea northbound (Brampton Transit) is scheduled to do the same thing, pull in & out at the same time as the train. Again, the next scheduled bus is 30 minutes out. Can these buses not be jogged back 5 minutes to make this connection more feasible? Or at least be instructed to hold on a few minutes for anyone transferring off the train? I guess that would make too much sense.

P.S. Yes the 115 airport express is an option after hurrying all the way across the parking lot, crossing Steele’s and Bramalea Rd, then walking halfway to the next light to the bus stop. ?‍♂️

Lastly, something is going to have to be done during rush hour, especially in the pm, as cars trying to get into the kiss n ride pickup lined up right out to Steeles. Right across the entrance/exit to the new bus terminal, making it an almost impossible exercise for buses trying to get in & out of the terminal.
 
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Ontario Introducing Free Wi-Fi on GO Transit in 2020
Wi-Fi on GO trains and buses will make transit a better, more convenient experience for customers
September 4, 2019 9:00 A.M.
Ministry of Transportation

MILTON - Today, Kinga Surma, Associate Minister of Transportation (GTA), joined Parm Gill, MPP for Milton, and Mark Childs, Chief Marketing Officer for Metrolinx, at Milton GO Station to announce that the Ontario government is bringing free Wi-Fi to GO buses and trains next year.
Metrolinx has signed an agreement with Icomera Canada Inc. to connect all 1,475 GO buses and trains to Wi-Fi beginning in 2020.
"We're excited to share this news with GO customers," said Associate Minister Surma. "Our government is delivering on its promise to make life easier for people by giving them the opportunity to stay connected to family, friends and colleagues while travelling to work, school or appointments."
Beginning spring 2020, commuters on a GO bus or train will be able to stay connected with their mobile devices with a free, reliable, high-quality, wireless internet connection.
"More and more people depend on their phones to be able to work, study and keep in touch with friends and family during their daily commute," said MPP Gill. "Bringing Wi-Fi to GO trains and buses will make traveling by GO a better, more convenient experience for people in Milton."
"We know our customers want to stay connected to make the most of their journey time while traveling with us," said Mark Childs. "That is why we are very excited to announce we will deliver Wi-Fi on our trains and buses. Our new partnership with Icomera is for great Wi-Fi and great on-board entertainment experiences. This is another exciting and important delivery for our customers."
Quick Facts
  • Metrolinx has partnered with Icomera, a global leader in providing wireless Internet connectivity for public transit, for the necessary infrastructure and equipment to provide Wi-Fi on the GO Transit fleet, which includes 532 buses and 943 train coaches.
  • GO Transit Wi-Fi will include Internet access and free entertainment content through a modern, user-friendly portal.
  • Customers will begin to see Wi-Fi on buses and trains starting in the spring of 2020. The full rollout is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2020.
 
^ Will be interesting to see how the wifi signal strength and reliability compares to VIA's wifi. Maybe this company will be using more modern equipment? cc @ShonTron
 
^ Will be interesting to see how the wifi signal strength and reliability compares to VIA's wifi. Maybe this company will be using more modern equipment? cc @ShonTron

Indeed. My guess is that Via's poor quality signal is mainly due to the rural areas their trains pass through, conditions that the (mostly) GTA confined GO trains won't have to deal with.
 
Wifi is pretty low on my list of things I care about on transit though...

When commuting between Kitchener and Union, internet access is part of your survival toolkit.

Example, one of the cold days last winter where the train was delayed 2 hours, I watched youtube via tether. If I didn't have a decent amount of data, that might not have been possible.

Or to do work. Regardless, being connected makes better use of that time that is otherwise wasted.
 
The UP Express wifi has been OK-ish. Certainly better / more useful than the TTC's wifi.

Wifi is pretty low on my list of things I care about on transit though...

Wifi on municipal transit may be less useful than wifi on GO though. On municipal transit, you're more likely to be standing and bouncing around. On GO, you're much more likely to be able to pull out your laptop and work on something.

I've taken my laptop out on a GO train quite a bit, but I don't recall ever taking it out on a bus or subway train.
 
Have they changed how they're going to limit Wi-Fi use? If I recall correctly, the pilot was 500MB per month per Presto Card, meaning you had to enter your Presto Card number to log onto the network (through a web interface like most free Wi-Fi's).
 
Regarding the kitchener line 2:53 Go Train. I was trainspotting at Bloor Go today and saw it deadheading back to union. I thought it would stay at mount pleasant until 20:00 but apparently not. About 20 minutes later the train from kitchener came by.
So that's 6 deadheads on the kitchener line

The 5:38 am mount pleasant deadheads from somewhere.
7:55 and 8:27 bramalea are both deadheads from union
14:53 deadheads back to union after it's done
A train deadheads to become the 20:00 mount pleasant
And the 20:53 union to mount pleasant deadheads after.

Also the 8:55 WB and the 9:55 EB (same train) uses a 12 car train since it's a Lakeshore east through run.
 
Have they changed how they're going to limit Wi-Fi use? If I recall correctly, the pilot was 500MB per month per Presto Card, meaning you had to enter your Presto Card number to log onto the network (through a web interface like most free Wi-Fi's).

It would be practical if they charged for it. Regular commuters may be willing to pay a monthly subscription for more data and I can see Metrolinx doing such a thing. For the infrequent user I can see them having a cap of 500 MB but having other tiers based on the level of subscription.

It would make sense really as ads cannot pay for everything. Pay more for faster, ad free service.. it makes sense for regular long distance commuters.
 

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