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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

Hi everyone,

Hoping not to spam, but figured it would be good to post in this thread as well since ONX discussions are here, too. I'm Jack Hauen, a reporter with The Trillium in the Queen's Park Press Gallery. I'm pursuing a story about the ONxpress situation, since Metrolinx, as I'm sure you all know, won't say much. I'd like to explain to our readers what happened and what MX should learn from the breakup.

To do that, I need to speak with people who have worked or currently work for ONX or MX about their experience, anonymously. If you choose to speak with me, I'll need to verify your identity, but I would be the only one who would know it. While I know that can be scary, and I can't promise that you will never be found out, I've written several articles this way and haven't had a case of a discovered identity yet.

Please feel free to DM me here or send me an email at jack@thetrillium.ca. My number is 647-216-6071, and it's the same on Signal. And if you know of anyone who might want to chat, please pass along my information.

Thanks, everyone, for your time.

Jack
 
jackhauen said:
Hi everyone,

Hoping not to spam, but figured it would be good to post in this thread as well since ONX discussions are here, too. I'm Jack Hauen, a reporter with The Trillium in the Queen's Park Press Gallery. I'm pursuing a story about the ONxpress situation, since Metrolinx, as I'm sure you all know, won't say much. I'd like to explain to our readers what happened and what MX should learn from the breakup.

To do that, I need to speak with people who have worked or currently work for ONX or MX about their experience, anonymously. If you choose to speak with me, I'll need to verify your identity, but I would be the only one who would know it. While I know that can be scary, and I can't promise that you will never be found out, I've written several articles this way and haven't had a case of a discovered identity yet.

Please feel free to DM me here or send me an email at jack@thetrillium.ca. My number is 647-216-6071, and it's the same on Signal. And if you know of anyone who might want to chat, please pass along my information.

Thanks, everyone, for your time.

Jack
Click to expand...
Hey Jack, you should consider posting on /r/gotransit if you have the time, there's quite a few employees active on there that have spoken candidly in the past.
 

"GO trains are now running more frequently between Niagara Falls and Hamilton after a new track was added at the West Harbour station.

As of Saturday, the line has six additional trips on weekends between the two stations and four more trips on weekdays, said Metrolinx in a recent news release. "

Where are these new trips on the schdules?
 
WillTo said:

"GO trains are now running more frequently between Niagara Falls and Hamilton after a new track was added at the West Harbour station.

As of Saturday, the line has six additional trips on weekends between the two stations and four more trips on weekdays, said Metrolinx in a recent news release. "

Where are these new trips on the schdules?
Click to expand...

These aren't 'new trips' overall.

They are the existing trips now stopping at West Harbour that used to bypass it.
 
^These additional trips to West Harbour are a great improvement as Hamilton now was its own version of regional rail. Also Canada has gotten around to some fundamental zoning reform, especially around stations, so the opening of a new GO station in 2025 will have much more significance than in previous decades. Maybe now I can make it to SuperCrawl and The Cotton Factory!
 
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Northern Light said:
These aren't 'new trips' overall.

They are the existing trips now stopping at West Harbour that used to bypass it.
Click to expand...

This was something I noted earlier up.

Metroscapes said:
Sorry if this was posted already, but schedules for Niagara trains through West Harbour effective May 17 are up. (before, after)

Comparing trips 1960 (TO-bound) and 1977 (Niagara-bound) suggests, officially, a 7-8 minute time savings. Plus, two more Niagara trains stop at West Harbour now each day.
Click to expand...
 
rdaner said:
^These additional trips to West Harbour are a great improvement as Hamilton now was its own version of regional rail. Maybe now I can make it to SuperCrawl and The Cotton Factory!
Click to expand...
Are you in Niagara? If so, you might appreciate that I’ve thought GO should add some service from West Harbour to St. Catharines.

No Bayview, no Canal. Just a long straight track that CN is already willing to share, with decent population along the entire run. Could easily turn into an hourly train- it might only require one or two trainsets.
 
Metroscapes said:
Confused by this article. Goreway and Zahavy correlates with the UPX spur to Pearson. The nearest MX yard is the UPX service track east of Highway 27.
]
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Other news outlets are reporting the address as 6211 Goreway, which is at Zahavy Way. No idea what they do there. Google Maps shows a trailer and some parked cars/pickups.
 
Sunnyside said:
I’ve thought GO should add some service from West Harbour to St. Catharines.

No Bayview, no Canal. Just a long straight track that CN is already willing to share, with decent population along the entire run. Could easily turn into an hourly train- it might only require one or two trainsets.
Click to expand...
Since there's already hourly trains crossing the Bayview Jct into Hamilton, you may as well extend those same trains to St. Catharines rather than forcing a transfer at West Harbour.
 
blaixx said:
Since there's already hourly trains crossing the Bayview Jct into Hamilton, you may as well extend those same trains to St. Catharines rather than forcing a transfer at West Harbour.
Click to expand...
In an ideal world, you’re doing both (unless you get tracks through Bayview). The problem is if you just do through services, all of Hamilton-Niagara GO service revolves around this one chokepoint.

Or, you can isolate what is a much more workable section of track and population, which GO’s model has so far failed to capture. A new service can be tailored more closely to its needs, not merely what’s doable with LSW.

For being a distinct travel pattern, keeping this entirely tied to TO and the complexities therein just kills an otherwise easy win. Only ~5% here even work in TO. The Guelph-Cambridge Corridor came to the same conclusion, I’d say; Simple is better. The money can go further.
 
Sunnyside said:
In an ideal world, you’re doing both (unless you get tracks through Bayview). The problem is if you just do through services, all of Hamilton-Niagara GO service revolves around this one chokepoint.

Or, you can isolate what is a much more workable section of track and population, which GO’s model has so far failed to capture. A new service can be tailored more closely to its needs, not merely what’s doable with LSW.

For being a distinct travel pattern, keeping this entirely tied to TO and the complexities therein just kills an otherwise easy win. Only ~5% here even work in TO. The Guelph-Cambridge Corridor came to the same conclusion, I’d say; Simple is better. The money can go further.
Click to expand...
Even ignoring Metrolinx's Toronto-centric upbringing and habits, it'd be logical and practical to at least extent it to St Catharines. But the political griping that would ensue is not logical or practical.
 
Metroscapes said:
Even ignoring Metrolinx's Toronto-centric upbringing and habits, it'd be logical and practical to at least extent it to St Catharines. But the political griping that would ensue is not logical or practical.
Click to expand...
St. Catharines is admittedly an awkward cutoff point, but I think you can communicate to the public (and cities/councillors) of Niagara that this is the easiest way to get more train service in overall, and not a picky-choosy thing.

Unless you mean the political fallout of pursuing something that isn’t Toronto-centric. In which case, I’ll play my smallest violin. There are not a lot of easy wins to go around these parts and this service concept is one of them.
 
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