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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

Richard White said:
Today I took the GO train from Toronto to Niagara Falls.

The 8:51 train was jammed full of people but we made a good clip to the falls. We were only 5 minutes late upon arrival in the falls. My only beef was with WEGO not GO transit.

When we arrived in Niagara Falls, the train emptied out and there were only 2 WEGO buses for a train load of people. When my bus departed the line stretched from the VIA station to the train itself. I was the smart one who was waiting at the very front of the train and hightailed it to the bus when the doors opened.
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Pro-tip for riding WEGO: the 2 articulated Green Line buses that they park on the street in front of the station are in addition to the regular Green Line service which departs every 20 minutes from the bus terminal. They direct everyone to the extra buses because obviously they would just swamp the normal service and cause tons of delays, but if you're a knowledgeable traveller you can often avoid the crowds and the queue by taking the regularly scheduled bus.

Personally I just walk to downtown and sit in a café till the crowds die down, and take an ordinary Green Line bus down to the falls later.

As we've mentioned before, the overcrowding issue on WEGO is GO Transit's fault. There is no way that a small agency like WEGO could muster up enough buses to actually transport the 1600 people that GO dumps at once. GO desparately needs to split the morning demand between two smaller trains, rather than one 12-car train. It could be as simple as moving the 12:51 train to Niagara a few hours earlier.
Richard White said:
All in all, the service was not as bad as I thought. It was handled well though with the increase in tourists they really need to increase the number of trips. I did the math and even with the WEGO/GO Transit Promo a fully loaded GO train brings in around $25000.
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A 12-car Niagara train carries up to 1600 people. With an average fare of $5 (half the $10 day pass), that's $8000. The pass is the root cause of the train's overcrowding and lack of profitability. It's a great initiative, but it needs to be distance-based so trips to Niagara end up being at least $20 or so round trip.
 
reaperexpress said:
A 12-car Niagara train carries up to 1600 people. With an average fare of $5 (half the $10 day pass), that's $8000. The pass is the root cause of the train's overcrowding and lack of profitability. It's a great initiative, but it needs to be distance-based so trips to Niagara end up being at least $20 or so round trip
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At one point this was the case. Originally the $10 pass was not valid for Niagara Falls. They then brought in the Wego/GO combo for $25 which took off.

I recall when the service started, paying fare by distance. It was close to $40 dollars return by Presto.

Not to beat a dead horse but if people had to pay the true cost of this service it wouldn't survive. $40 return for adults would be impractical for families.

It is a tourist service through and through but the infrastructure in Niagara Falls simply cannot handle the amount of people it brings in.
 
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Richard White said:
Today I took the GO train from Toronto to Niagara Falls.

The 8:51 train was jammed full of people but we made a good clip to the falls. We were only 5 minutes late upon arrival in the falls. My only beef was with WEGO not GO transit.

When we arrived in Niagara Falls, the train emptied out and there were only 2 WEGO buses for a train load of people. When my bus departed the line stretched from the VIA station to the train itself. I was the smart one who was waiting at the very front of the train and hightailed it to the bus when the doors opened.

On the way back, I caught the 3:15 train back as opposed to the last train. It was quite empty relatively speaking. I am used to taking the 7:15 train but I am glad I took the earlier train. I had an entire upper level to myself.

All in all, the service was not as bad as I thought. It was handled well though with the increase in tourists they really need to increase the number of trips. I did the math and even with the WEGO/GO Transit Promo a fully loaded GO train brings in around $25000.

The trip itself was not so bad though I confused the US Border Guards when I crossed into the US. They asked why I was visiting the US and I replied "I am walking across to get lunch at Arbys". His response was "You are crossing an international border to get Arbys... do they not have Arbys in Canada..."

It would have been better to book a hotel room. After being there for so many years, I have seen and done everything. I could not fill the 4 hours between the 3:15 and 7:15 trains had I stayed. The sheer amount of people this year also was somewhat of a nuisance. If I had booked a hotel, I could have seen and done more without all the tourists.
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I was on the 7:15 back and it wasn't as busy as I expected...I had a quad to myself on the bike coach. I took the 12:51 trip to Niagara and it was pretty empty.

I crossed the border as well but was only given a hard time on the way back. Border guy was basically like, "Why did you take the train and then bike to the US? Don't you have a car???". Also, LOL going to Arby's in the US is totally something I'd do. Went for the Taco Bell Mexican Pizza a few weeks ago haha.
 
While browsing FB today I came across this undated, uncredited photo taken at Whytewold MB showing daytrippers headed for Winnipeg Beach. It reminded me of this discussion. For all its warts, the Niagara service is full circle to how people reached recreation a hundred or more years ago.

There were similar routes in the GTA, also….. day trains and radial service to Bala, Lake Simcoe, Eldorado Park, etc. The Long Branch Racetrack and even the Lambton Golf Course had their own special trains. Not to mention special CNE and special event excursion trains from the hinterland.

Nothing wrong with hoping ML will look for opportunities to add more such services.

- Paul

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Richard White said:
That's likely what they thought. I was fully expecting to be brought in for secondary.

I am an oddball at times.
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Not that odd. When Air Canada ran their unlimited flight passes 15 years ago, I got lunch in Chicago (Giordano's not far from O'Hare) then went for dessert in Boston (best nearby ice-cream at that time; excellent local dairy). No direct AC flights of course, so Chicago to Boston was via Toronto. Luckily, there were a lot of oddballs using those passes so customs got used to it after a couple weeks.
 
Northern Light said:
Several hours of train and transit travel, and a border crossing for Arby's? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trolling the guards........ LOL
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When my wife went to Bishops in the 90s, she and her friends used to drive over the border into Vermont on ice cream runs.
 
crs1026 said:
While browsing FB today I came across this undated, uncredited photo taken at Whytewold MB showing daytrippers headed for Winnipeg Beach. It reminded me of this discussion. For all its warts, the Niagara service is full circle to how people reached recreation a hundred or more years ago.

There were similar routes in the GTA, also….. day trains and radial service to Bala, Lake Simcoe, Eldorado Park, etc. The Long Branch Racetrack and even the Lambton Golf Course had their own special trains. Not to mention special CNE and special event excursion trains from the hinterland.

Nothing wrong with hoping ML will look for opportunities to add more such services.

- Paul

View attachment 406733
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And the cottage trains that ran from Toronto to the Gravenhurst docks to connect to the lake steamers…would there be a market for a GO train to Washago, Gravenhurst and Huntsville? I think so.
 
ViewfromtheLake said:
And the cottage trains that ran from Toronto to the Gravenhurst docks to connect to the lake steamers…would there be a market for a GO train to Washago, Gravenhurst and Huntsville? I think so.
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A century ago, there used to be trains directly into Algonquin Park. Over the years, the track was ripped up and the Highland Inn burned down. It would be nice to have a train out there again but I doubt the ROW still exists and remains useable.
 
Richard White said:
A century ago, there used to be trains directly into Algonquin Park. Over the years, the track was ripped up and the Highland Inn burned down. It would be nice to have a train out there again but I doubt the ROW still exists and remains useable.
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A lot of the ROW has been converted into walking trails
 
Richard White said:
That is an easy fix though Ontario Parks and the Ministry of Natural Resources may veto the idea.
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The ROW is dead. The line was closed, starting with the 1933 (?) abandonment of the Cache Lake Trestle. The ROW is completely unusable and rebuilding it (and the bridges that are long-gone) would not be worth it.
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