Toronto Union Pearson Express | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | MMM Group Limited
raptor
Senior Member
My Barrie train used the Strachan underpass for the first time this morning
Platform 27
Active Member
Looks like raptor was being watched:
@GTS_Project: One of the first trains to use the lowered rail corridor! #StrachanOverpass #MovetheGTHA
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EnviroTO
Senior Member
Looks like a tight fit for 4 tracks. I wonder if they factored the pipes they are hanging on the wall in their initial measurements.
raptor
Senior Member
There's plenty of room for another track, but they said they are installing 3 tracks before mid-November. I doubt we will see 4 tracks in that section anytime soon. Don't forget there will be at least 2-3 tracks on the other half of the underpass in a couple of years.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
There will be 8 tracks by 2015, 4 in each tunnel.
smallspy
Senior Member
No, there won't.
At most there will be 6, and frankly 5 is more likely. There is no need to install all of the tracks for quite some time.
Dan
Toronto, Ont.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
On the amount of new service issue, I noticed in the "hard truths" document the transit panel produced that it said that all day GO was coming to the Kitchener line in 2015.. So maybe there will be a service increase over 5 trains?
TOareaFan
Superstar
Couple of things....1) that would be a real change because as of two days ago the people at GO/ML were still telling me that the only new service would be the restoration of the previous mid day service plus "up to 5 new return trips per day".
2) So this panel that was struck to look at funding tools is actually making transit decisions/announcements?
innsertnamehere
Superstar
I don't know, I am just suggesting as that is what I read. The panel must have gotten that info from somewhere though.
Also, you are now saying that there are 5 new return trips, not just 5 trips total. I take it this would mean 5 new southbound trips as well, meaning 10 new trips overall.
Regardless, we will not know until the schedule comes out in a year and a half.
Also, you are now saying that there are 5 new return trips, not just 5 trips total. I take it this would mean 5 new southbound trips as well, meaning 10 new trips overall.
Regardless, we will not know until the schedule comes out in a year and a half.
TOareaFan
Superstar
That is what I have always said 5 new return trips...for a $1.2B investment it does not seem like much/enough.
reaperexpress
Senior Member
It is possible that both of you are correct, in that there will be 5 new return trips at times which GO considers "all day".
There are currently 8 southbound trips in the AM peak, arriving at Union between 5:30 and 10:30 AM. The 6 PM trips depart Union from 3:30 to 6:50.
If they add 5 new trips in each direction separated by a couple hours, then they are technically covering the entire day. That said, it does seem quite unlikely seeing as there would be little demand for such a minimal off-peak service. It would make far more sense to run some counter-peak service to Guelph and Kitchener. But that depends on building the second platform at Guelph Central Station so trains can cross. I think I read somewhere that they planned to build it for 2015, but I haven't heard of any work starting yet.
5 round trips does sound like very little given the scale of capacity improvement, but there is still the issue of the bottleneck through Brampton/Georgetown, where GO has to share CN's main line. And don't even get me started on the situation west of Georgetown with the GEXR.
ShonTron
Moderator
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Since then, Brampton got a second platform, and a third track between Centre Street and Halwest and between McMurchy Avenue and Mount Pleasant Boulevard, a second track through the bottleneck over Etobicoke Creek. The Credit River Bridge is almost complete. There is one less VIA round trip. Certainly the capacity improvements on Georgetown North (Bramalea to Georgetown) mean something? The only capacity problem is at Brampton Station where there are two tracks, but the second platform (providing scheduling flexibility) and the elimination of the single track bottleneck should mean many more trains to Mount Pleasant and even across to Georgetown (once work at Credit River is done).
Pushing a third track through Brampton isn't impossible at all, but a bit difficult as it means widening/replacing the Main, Union, Centre and Queen Street and Etobicoke Creek bridges, redoing the John Street and Mill Street crossings, the OBRY diamond and moving the 1907 Grand Trunk station building back.
Work is being done right now to install CTC on the GEXR/CN Guelph Sub. The next step should be welded rail and fixing Guelph Station to Guelph Junction. CTC should improve operations somewhat.
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TOareaFan
Superstar
During the nearly 40 years of hourly off peak service on Lakeshore...weren't there stretches there that were only double tracked? didn't that line have mixed rail traffic of GO/Via/Freight as well? If so, why would this line need to be more than double tracked to support it? (someone from GO sent me an email not so long ago suggesting it needed to be 4 tracks wide to support all day, 7 day, two way service).
innsertnamehere
Superstar
because freight very rarely used the tracks, and the portions it did use were 3-5 tracks wide.