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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

Apologies if this is not the right forum for this, but looking to see if anyone has any insight on the Union to Peterborough service? Looking to go to Peterborough on Saturday and a bit confused by the offerings.

They say it'll take 3h13 to get there. 1 hour on the train to Oshawa, then an 1h3 min layover and a 1h10 bus from Oshawa to Peterborough. The train arrives to Oshawa at :13 past the hour and the bus leaves at :16 past the hour...but the trip planner says you can't make the transfer in those 3 mins and have to wait an entire hour for the next bus. Does the bus really bolt before the train people can get on? That just seems wacky that they wouldn't move the schedule a couple mins so that it lines up! Anyone have any experience with this? Am I really sitting at the Oshawa GO station for 1h03???

(And of course I've thought of just chancing it to see if I can catch the earlier bus, but there's no train at 9:13am, and no bus at 10:16am. So I either leave at Union 8:13am and hope I can get the 9:16am bus, which if I miss it, I'm in Oshawa for 2 hours until the 11:16am bus...OR, I leave at 10:13am and hope to catch the 11:16am bus but if I miss it I take the 12:16pm and get in at 1:26pm which really cuts into the day since I'm coming back around 5:00pm... and I'm visiting the in-laws which is why I have to go...)

Is there anyone with any experience on this route that can shed some light on this? Thanks!!
 
Yup. If you sit on the closest car to the front of the train that transfer should take you all of 30 seconds. The bus terminal is right beside the platform in Oshawa.
 
ndawgg said:
Apologies if this is not the right forum for this, but looking to see if anyone has any insight on the Union to Peterborough service? Looking to go to Peterborough on Saturday and a bit confused by the offerings.

They say it'll take 3h13 to get there. 1 hour on the train to Oshawa, then an 1h3 min layover and a 1h10 bus from Oshawa to Peterborough. The train arrives to Oshawa at :13 past the hour and the bus leaves at :16 past the hour...but the trip planner says you can't make the transfer in those 3 mins and have to wait an entire hour for the next bus. Does the bus really bolt before the train people can get on? That just seems wacky that they wouldn't move the schedule a couple mins so that it lines up! Anyone have any experience with this? Am I really sitting at the Oshawa GO station for 1h03???

(And of course I've thought of just chancing it to see if I can catch the earlier bus, but there's no train at 9:13am, and no bus at 10:16am. So I either leave at Union 8:13am and hope I can get the 9:16am bus, which if I miss it, I'm in Oshawa for 2 hours until the 11:16am bus...OR, I leave at 10:13am and hope to catch the 11:16am bus but if I miss it I take the 12:16pm and get in at 1:26pm which really cuts into the day since I'm coming back around 5:00pm... and I'm visiting the in-laws which is why I have to go...)

Is there anyone with any experience on this route that can shed some light on this? Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Those bus trips to Peterborough have a "hold" symbol in their schedule, and should wait for the train and you.
 
ndawgg said:
They say it'll take 3h13 to get there. 1 hour on the train to Oshawa, then an 1h3 min layover and a 1h10 bus from Oshawa to Peterborough. The train arrives to Oshawa at :13 past the hour and the bus leaves at :16 past the hour...but the trip planner says you can't make the transfer in those 3 mins and have to wait an entire hour for the next bus. Does the bus really bolt before the train people can get on?
Click to expand...

I think I see the issue. It's become disconnected from the train trip so the "h"old has nothing to hold for. Since there is no integrated hold, the trip search adding some walk/wait time and missing the bus. Practically, I expect the driver still holds for the train but the online schedule does not know that.


Double check your times though as the Peterborough bus does not run every hour; if you do miss the connection on Saturday then it may be a 2 hour wait.


Here is the schedule for September 5th, where you can see they've integrated with the train again. I think whomever made the Covid schedule adjustments just made a mistake while rushing to make April changes.


And an older schedule from August 2019 with train integration.

Error | GO Transit

www.gotransit.com www.gotransit.com
 
I think go transit should at least look into a brantford-cambridge route to at least connect the waterloo region with hamilton if they can’t do the hamilton-kitchener or guelph service. Maybe extend the 15 to cambridge that seems like a good idea.

This is how long it takes to get there with transit (ugh), compared to driving
26D0BDCB-EA7B-43BD-B15A-F35205545DF7.jpeg
67F39703-A33B-429C-85CD-31096040E28D.jpeg
 
MX is gonna, eventually, do a great job linking everywhere to TO. If they're smart they're already looking at rail lines that bypass Toronto entirely, like mentioned above. The track is there and as soon as any RER is done the users will be there too.
 
lenaitch said:
Which rail lines bypass Toronto?
Click to expand...
I imagine I'm using the wrong terminology. I mean track that's laid that could be used or at least have alternate track placed alongside for the most part. Looking at a map I'm misremembering just how many gaps there are but it'd be doable. I'm getting very fantasy-map-ish now though.
 
ShonTron said:
You should be fine for making the connection. I suggest boarding the train at the car closest to the locomotive (east side) as that will get you closest to exit and the bus loop at Oshawa.
Click to expand...

I agree. You should be fine to make the connection. I guess the bus doesn't wait to make the connection with the train, and that's why they give you the 1 hr layover. Say for example there is a delay on the train, the bus wouldn't wait it would just leave at it's scheduled time. That's what I believe at least.
 
mickael said:
MX is gonna, eventually, do a great job linking everywhere to TO. If they're smart they're already looking at rail lines that bypass Toronto entirely, like mentioned above. The track is there and as soon as any RER is done the users will be there too.
Click to expand...

I support MX making Hamilton a mini-hub in it's system with lines from Niagara, Milton, Guelph, Brantford, maybe even Port Colborne. It would be a good use for the deisel locos that get replaced by whatever gets used in the RER system. I just don't know if Hamilton has the CBD density to support even a proto regional rail system.
 
Woodbridge_Heights said:
I just don't know if Hamilton has the CBD density to support even a proto regional rail system.
Click to expand...

It will; its got a good sized tower boom of its own in DT Hamilton.

When the central railyard relocates (and it will); Hamilton's waterfront will also see a boom.
 
The problem with Hamilton is that West Harbour is too far from the core, and it's too difficult to use Hamilton GO given CPs famous issues with GO.

Hamilton's downtown employment levels are slowly increasing, but they are experiencing a boom in apartment construction. Regional rail needs employment increases to work however and that isn't happening at a rate to make it justifiable.

I wonder if CN plans to relocate their Hamilton yard when they build their new facility in Milton.
 
News from Metrolinx on the new Kennedy platform...
"The new platform is shorter in length than the current platform and door restrictions will be in place for trains that have more than six coaches."

I'm not too up-to-date on this. Is this a temporary platform? Surely, they didn't just build a platform not compatible with their monster trains?
 
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