mdrejhon
Senior Member
My most eager interest in the new Metrolinx updates, is in the Hamilton sphere of RER.
All of this is extremely important work in my opinion;
Electrification to Burlington (committed, unless cancelled in election 2018)
- 15-min service, from the 2015-original-announced $13.5 billion RER plan
....The multibillion dollar question is when does the shovels hit the ground, given election 2018 politics. The proper dominoes begin falling into place only when this happens.
Electrification between Burlington and Aldershot (mixed messages)
- Most maps now show electrification to Aldershot
- However, public information consultations said study is only to Burlington
- Now recent documents assumes electrification to Aldershot
Confederation GO station / Niagara GO extension
- Confederation GO completion delayed from 2019 to 2021.
- They are expecting Confederation/StCat service by 2021, and Niagara by 2023.
- I have repeatedly told Metrolinx they really need to focus on finishing West Harbour trackage to allow through-service. Ideally, the 2018 Niagara summer seasonal should stop -- but currently the Niagara summer seasonal GO trains trundle past Hamilton without stopping. mere centimeters away from a new train station.
All-day hourly trains to Hamilton, ON
- These are expected to be up and running at the time of Hamilton LRT (2024).
- Currently, station most likely to get this is the downtown GO, but Metrolinx has historically hedged West Harbour as the potential all-day station (explained in my old Go Article #1)
- For Downtown GO: This likely will require trackwork in the corridor (even if the tunnel remains shared track with creative freight scheduling agreement with CP) -- plenty of space for up to 2 extra tracks right up to the station tunnel.
- For West Harbour: The work currently being done actually exceeds the 2011 Niagara ESR for achieving hourly 2-way service -- there is an extra rail bridge over the canal. In theory, half-hourly 2-way service is theoretically doable to West Harbour after the extra trackwork committed is completed (including rearranging the Bayview junction switches).
- In a pinch if you had to activate hourly ASAP, West Harbour is probably currently easier to activate today than Hamilton Downtown, unless they laid some extra track on the CP side right up to the tunnel (once done, the single-track tunnel, shared with freight, will not prevent hourly 2-way GO service)
Proposed: Extension of 15-min 2-way trains all the way to Hamilton, ON
- This is mentioned in Metrolinx 2041 as a project to happen after 2025
- We need this frequency before replacing the 20-minute Hamilton 16 express; we don't want a downgrade to hourly 2-way service if Hamilton 16 Expresses are cancelled at that time (ala Stoufville line style where GO buses got cancelled to a lot of complaints) -- that was a stick of dynamite, but Hamilton complaints would be thermonuclear in comparison, so Metrolinx can't even *think* of cancelling the Hamilton 16 express until 15-min electric RER service is extended to Hamilton.
- Some hardball negotiations with CN/CP is going to happen. Eventually. Major outcomes could include rail-to-rail grade separation.
- New tech might end up becoming a pre-requisite for extension to Hamilton. Dual mode electric-hydrogen locomotive? Or plain EMU with a small battery to allow the trains to taxi across catenary-free CN/CP tracks when changing tracks. Just only the Metrolinx track would be electrified, and a small battery can allow briefly taxiing a EMU GOTrain across a freight track without a rail-to-rail grade separation. A simple 300 meter gap of no catenary is no problem for Tesla-sized tiny batteries on each EMU coach -- for a tiny air gap hop from a catenary-equipped Metrolinx track needing to cross catenary-free freight-tracks back into a catenary-equipped station. Pantographs on both ends of an EMU might actually even do a sufficient job, if the train is long enough to touch catenary on both ends of a ladder switch crossing three or four tracks (with only left/right having catenary, middle tracks being catenary-free freight tracks).
- Assuming construction is well under way for both Hamilton LRT and electrification of Lakehore, I predict Hamilton electrification to be major politics in either the 2022 or 2026 elections, lobbying for the extension. Candidates, forewarned!
The Big Move is not going as fast as many of us would like, but contains many sensible transit plans when executed, optimized, and deployed properly, and many projects are now under construction or committed, and it's important Election 2018 should not kill the momentum of the proper/good much-needed parts of the Big Move.
All of this is extremely important work in my opinion;
Electrification to Burlington (committed, unless cancelled in election 2018)
- 15-min service, from the 2015-original-announced $13.5 billion RER plan
....The multibillion dollar question is when does the shovels hit the ground, given election 2018 politics. The proper dominoes begin falling into place only when this happens.
Electrification between Burlington and Aldershot (mixed messages)
- Most maps now show electrification to Aldershot
- However, public information consultations said study is only to Burlington
- Now recent documents assumes electrification to Aldershot
Confederation GO station / Niagara GO extension
- Confederation GO completion delayed from 2019 to 2021.
- They are expecting Confederation/StCat service by 2021, and Niagara by 2023.
- I have repeatedly told Metrolinx they really need to focus on finishing West Harbour trackage to allow through-service. Ideally, the 2018 Niagara summer seasonal should stop -- but currently the Niagara summer seasonal GO trains trundle past Hamilton without stopping. mere centimeters away from a new train station.
All-day hourly trains to Hamilton, ON
- These are expected to be up and running at the time of Hamilton LRT (2024).
- Currently, station most likely to get this is the downtown GO, but Metrolinx has historically hedged West Harbour as the potential all-day station (explained in my old Go Article #1)
- For Downtown GO: This likely will require trackwork in the corridor (even if the tunnel remains shared track with creative freight scheduling agreement with CP) -- plenty of space for up to 2 extra tracks right up to the station tunnel.
- For West Harbour: The work currently being done actually exceeds the 2011 Niagara ESR for achieving hourly 2-way service -- there is an extra rail bridge over the canal. In theory, half-hourly 2-way service is theoretically doable to West Harbour after the extra trackwork committed is completed (including rearranging the Bayview junction switches).
- In a pinch if you had to activate hourly ASAP, West Harbour is probably currently easier to activate today than Hamilton Downtown, unless they laid some extra track on the CP side right up to the tunnel (once done, the single-track tunnel, shared with freight, will not prevent hourly 2-way GO service)
Proposed: Extension of 15-min 2-way trains all the way to Hamilton, ON
- This is mentioned in Metrolinx 2041 as a project to happen after 2025
- We need this frequency before replacing the 20-minute Hamilton 16 express; we don't want a downgrade to hourly 2-way service if Hamilton 16 Expresses are cancelled at that time (ala Stoufville line style where GO buses got cancelled to a lot of complaints) -- that was a stick of dynamite, but Hamilton complaints would be thermonuclear in comparison, so Metrolinx can't even *think* of cancelling the Hamilton 16 express until 15-min electric RER service is extended to Hamilton.
- Some hardball negotiations with CN/CP is going to happen. Eventually. Major outcomes could include rail-to-rail grade separation.
- New tech might end up becoming a pre-requisite for extension to Hamilton. Dual mode electric-hydrogen locomotive? Or plain EMU with a small battery to allow the trains to taxi across catenary-free CN/CP tracks when changing tracks. Just only the Metrolinx track would be electrified, and a small battery can allow briefly taxiing a EMU GOTrain across a freight track without a rail-to-rail grade separation. A simple 300 meter gap of no catenary is no problem for Tesla-sized tiny batteries on each EMU coach -- for a tiny air gap hop from a catenary-equipped Metrolinx track needing to cross catenary-free freight-tracks back into a catenary-equipped station. Pantographs on both ends of an EMU might actually even do a sufficient job, if the train is long enough to touch catenary on both ends of a ladder switch crossing three or four tracks (with only left/right having catenary, middle tracks being catenary-free freight tracks).
- Assuming construction is well under way for both Hamilton LRT and electrification of Lakehore, I predict Hamilton electrification to be major politics in either the 2022 or 2026 elections, lobbying for the extension. Candidates, forewarned!
The Big Move is not going as fast as many of us would like, but contains many sensible transit plans when executed, optimized, and deployed properly, and many projects are now under construction or committed, and it's important Election 2018 should not kill the momentum of the proper/good much-needed parts of the Big Move.
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