WB62
Senior Member
This is what’s happening, every non-Niagara Falls train going to and from Confederation is based out of Lewis Road, although it’s not hourly.
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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)
- Thread starter drum118
- Start date
This is what’s happening, every non-Niagara Falls train going to and from Confederation is based out of Lewis Road, although it’s not hourly.
SkylineHorizons
Active Member
Then that confirms it. The Galt sub is single track territory past Guelph jct. that stretch of track before Milton GO is just about the only spot where a long westbound freight could wait on the main without blocking any crossings further on. So it wasn't so much as the GO train having priority over the freight, it's just that the freight wasn't going anywhere at all, the eastbound GO train just had a window to squeeze out at that point. I've been on unscheduled equipment moves like that in the past, sometimes you get luck and don't have to wait for any other trains, but there's been times I've waited hours for freights to clear.
chrisw
Active Member
Hamilton Go Centre only gets weekday train service. 4 trips during each rush hour.
There's quite a few constraints, I'm not an expert on it.
LNahid2000
Senior Member
Mainly a single track tunnel in downtown Hamilton which is owned by CPKC.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
So a 17-18 minute travel time to West Harbour? That's pretty brutal. I thought I remembered it being planned to be more like 8-9 minutes. That's an average speed of like 30km/h between the stations!
That also means there is a 34-minute travel time from Confederation to Burlington GO station.. that only takes ~10 minutes to drive between (maybe 15-20 minutes in rush hour).
No wonder they only built 100 parking spaces.. nobody will be using it. If I lived in Stoney Creek would just keep driving to Burlington GO which has far higher service levels and is far faster, even with bad traffic on the skyway.
Hamilton Centre GO is limited by the tunnel. Ironically the tunnel is actually built for two tracks - but has a curved ceiling which means it can't accommodate modern train heights with a 2-track configuration. I often wonder how much it would cost Metrolinx to "square off" the tunnel and enable a dedicated GO track into the station to enable regular all-day service to Hamilton Centre. It's certainly a far more centrally located and more useful station for the city.
The tunnel is less than 600 metres long - they could probably just close Hunter St for a year or two to dig it up, fix it, and rebuild the street.
That also means there is a 34-minute travel time from Confederation to Burlington GO station.. that only takes ~10 minutes to drive between (maybe 15-20 minutes in rush hour).
No wonder they only built 100 parking spaces.. nobody will be using it. If I lived in Stoney Creek would just keep driving to Burlington GO which has far higher service levels and is far faster, even with bad traffic on the skyway.
Hamilton Centre GO is limited by the tunnel. Ironically the tunnel is actually built for two tracks - but has a curved ceiling which means it can't accommodate modern train heights with a 2-track configuration. I often wonder how much it would cost Metrolinx to "square off" the tunnel and enable a dedicated GO track into the station to enable regular all-day service to Hamilton Centre. It's certainly a far more centrally located and more useful station for the city.
The tunnel is less than 600 metres long - they could probably just close Hunter St for a year or two to dig it up, fix it, and rebuild the street.
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Bordercollie
Senior Member
Have you tried to drive to Niagara from Oakville on a Saturday at noon? It could take you two hours to get from Oakville to Niagara falls. And that's in good weather. Imagine if it's snowing?
It's not about quick travel Times. It's about not having to drive and a consistent schedule.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
You aren't going from Niagara to Oakville though. You are just going from Centennial to Fairview - 10 kilometres.
I'm sure some will use Confederation to avoid it as the skyway is regularly congested with fairly variable travel times, but you would need a 10-minute trip to take over 30-minutes for it to actually be faster to use Confederation GO. And my experience is that the Skyway is very rarely that congested.
The skyway is most congested on weekends and not weekday rush hours - typically you would be looking at maybe 5-10 minutes of traffic on the skyway in the morning and 2-5 minutes in the afternoon coming home.
Bojaxs
Senior Member
What's the reason for the GO train being so slow between Confederation and West Harbour? Too many at grade crossings?
Between this and the Bayview junction, I agree with other posters sentiments that riders in the Stoney Creek area will probably continue to drive down to Aldershot & Burlington to avoid the slow speed restrictions for the GO the train in Hamilton.
Between this and the Bayview junction, I agree with other posters sentiments that riders in the Stoney Creek area will probably continue to drive down to Aldershot & Burlington to avoid the slow speed restrictions for the GO the train in Hamilton.
ScreamingViking
Active Member
A long time ago the stories about it said something about foundations for large apartment towers abutting the tunnel would make for a difficult expansion/renovation. I think there have probably been far more difficult ones in Canada... would add to cost, but maybe there's a case for it if CP is amenable.
It is a shame and also that there is no good opportunity to extend service to the east. At least the GO service (and bus facility) put life back into the building -- the timing is murky to me now, but it sat empty for a few years after TH&B passenger services were ended and CP bought that railway, and I think there was fear we'd lose it to demolition.
Clarity -- Passenger services ended in 1981, and the building stopped being used by late-1990: http://www.trainweb.org/hamtransithist/hunter.html
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dowlingm
Senior Member
Which gives me pause when this forums discusses GO purchasing the Grimsby Sub
Bojaxs
Senior Member
I just went on Google maps to look at this bridge.
Google streetview has this dated in 2012, but I imagine the bridge is still the same. Still has the CN logo on it. Bridge definitely looks rough. Hopefully MX gives us a before and after.
ownthesky
Active Member
My gut feeling is that Confederation is built for transit oriented development. It's 2km's of strip malls and car dealerships South of there, Eastgate Mall has a massive development planned, and Hamilton is creating some express buses along that corridor that extend deep into the escarpment neighborhoods to get people to Confederation (and the LRT) in minutes. Grimsby (god knows when that will happen) will probably be the archetypical park and ride commuter station.
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dowlingm
Senior Member
Except there is a smelly transfer station near Confederation - if the province wants that TOD to be successful in the near term they need to find a big chunk of what Hamilton needs to relocate the worst part of that https://bayobserver.ca/garbage-operations-at-kenora-transfer-station-could-be-relocated/
Bojaxs
Senior Member
I feel it's the complete opposite. Confederation will be a park & ride with good bus connections/ infrastructure. Grimsby station is close to downtown. Too small for any sizeable parking lot.
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dowlingm
Senior Member
You remember the plan for Grimsby station is not to use the current VIA stop, right? The GO station municipal plan is for 3km west, at Casablanca Boulevard.