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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

felix123 said:
I don't accept that MX is faced with a unique problem. We now see the TTC as an example returning to 95% of prepandemic service, despite seeing the same challenges.
MX is just facing the same reality as any other employer with a staff shortage: in the current market they have to pay more to retain what staff they have, as it takes too long to train new hires.

And as someone who takes the LW line regularly, I find it odd that to be told that it's already approaching RER standards.
There was a very brief period when 20-ish minute off-peak frequency between Union and Oakville existed, but it has been more often than not, due to excuses x, y and z, hourly service whenever I've happened to ride on the LW. I don't know any riders who consider the service to be anything other than a commuter and ballgame train, and we've been promised incremental improvements for years. Instead, we keep backsliding, so it's difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

That said, Hamilton getting 2WAD service is better 100 or so years late than never.
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The ONE piece of credit I’ll give them on this is that the skill set in the running trades is highly valued, highly transferable and has a long lead time.

With that said, yes, I’m right there with you on the “excuse x, y and z” point, feel the backsliding as well and am both thoroughly frustrated and seriously concerned about long term intent when they make statements that seem to imply what’s going on now is anywhere near acceptable.

As far as my earlier comment, I don’t know if I’d call it “malice”, so much as a suspicion that the long existing faction in Metrolinx who feel their role is to run the largest, fullest trains possible at the lowest frequency possible is very much in ascendency at the moment. True believers in commuter style service in other words…
 
Northern Light said:
In the above, Mx gives two completely different answers as to why the service is being cut to West Harbour.

One answer is 'crewing constraints'; the other is the Hurontario LRT.

Which is it?
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But that extra 30min? Of travel time is such a deal breaker? Or is it an issue of having qualified crews?
 
Northern Light said:
In the above, Mx gives two completely different answers as to why the service is being cut to West Harbour.

One answer is 'crewing constraints'; the other is the Hurontario LRT.

Which is it?
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GO uses crew constraints for most cancelled trains now, the crews doing the weekday Niagara train haven’t gotten COVID, but the cancellation was staff sickness.
 
Willybru21 said:
GO uses crew constraints for most cancelled trains now, the crews doing the weekday Niagara train haven’t gotten COVID, but the cancellation was staff sickness.
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How does shortening the route make more crews available? Is it due to duty hours per day?

I don't understand the relation.
 
Northern Light said:
That's where I was looking. I found Stouffville was broken, the others worked for me.
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Odd - I can't get the Lakeshore West one either ... that presumably others are looking at with the Hamilton fiasco - https://www.gotransit.com/static_fi...Planning/FullSchedules/FS03092022/TABLE01.pdf

It's working for others?

Edit - looks like it's working today. Not that I believe the schedules are correct - even the old ones don't make sense looking at the Niagara Falls trains.
 
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I don't get it. The timetables still show half-hourly westbound service until the end of the evening, it's only eastbound which is cut to hourly.

So 2 + 2 tph + VIA is too much with the Hurontario LRT construction, but 2 + 1 + VIA is fine? They don't seem to be single-tracking through Port Credit given that westbound trains are scheduled at :41 past the hour and eastbound trains at :46.

https://www.gotransit.com/static_fi...Planning/FullSchedules/FS03092022/TABLE01.pdf
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The trains which terminate at Aldershot arrive at :20 past the hour and head back eastbound 50 minutes later at :10 past the next hour. If there's a shortage of train crews, why did they schedule so much time sitting around doing nothing? It only takes 30 minutes to do a round trip from Aldershot to West Harbour so with this schedule they'd still have a generous 20 minute layover if they continued to West Harbour.

I think the timetable is just totally wrong, and the westbound page hasn't been updated yet (despite being dated 3 September 2022). I think they posted it just to have something online, regardless of the fact that it would be misleading customers.

Another issue: on Table 12 (Lakeshore West - Niagara), the 17:00 westbound weekday train ends at Aldershot, while on Table 01 (Lakeshore West - Hamilton) it continues all the way to Niagara. The morning Niagara train is shown on both timetables.

Table 12
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Table 01
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In other news:

- On Lakeshore West the current 3 weekend trains/day to Niagara are maintained, rather than the 2/day described by Ford in his press conference.
- On Barrie, the current midday weekday and weekend service to Allandale is maintained.
 
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Northern Light said:
In the above, Mx gives two completely different answers as to why the service is being cut to West Harbour.

One answer is 'crewing constraints'; the other is the Hurontario LRT.

Which is it?
Click to expand...
It may very well actually be both. There may be some kind of track restriction around Port Credit in the evenings that caused Metrolinx to add another couple minutes to the schedule. If trains continued to West Harbour, that may have extended the run time past what could reasonably be accomplished with an hourly headway, without adding more trains and crews (which they don't have). I know that typically on an hourly schedule the inbound and outbound trains meet around Port Credit, so it may be that only one can proceed at a time.

In essence, they may be having to use the running time from Aldershot to West Harbour to pad the schedule around Port Credit instead. If they didn't, and the train got delayed around Port Credit, with running times being what they are it would have made the inbound trip from West Harbour delayed in leaving. If that inbound train catches the same delay at Port Credit, it's even later coming into Union. And then you just get a cascading series of delays.

Just a guess though.

WillTo said:
Why does Hamilton GO Centre get no love?
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The Hunter St tunnel. CP maintains tight control over when GO can use it. That's one of the main reasons Metrolinx has put all of their eggs into the West Harbour basket (well, that and being able to continue trips further east if desired).
 
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