GO Transit

[PrimeTio]

6 hours ago, nfitz said:

Not the Halton sub - GO is already using it, except the piece from Georgetown to Burlington - and as far as I know, they aren't planning service on that piece.

Isn't the troublesome bridge on the Guelph Subdivision - presumably west of Kitchener.

It’s also too heavy to fit the MP40s/50s.

[G.A]

6 hours ago, nfitz said:

Not the Halton sub - GO is already using it, except the piece from Georgetown to Burlington - and as far as I know, they aren't planning service on that piece.

Isn't the troublesome bridge on the Guelph Subdivision - presumably west of Kitchener.

Three bridges in Guelph are to be replaced. So far the big one east of Guelph Central Station is being worked on as I speak. The two that are west of GCS are scheduled to be worked on sometime soon.

 

20 minutes ago, SpadinaAve2134 said:

It’s also too heavy to fit the MP40s/50s.

That has nothing to do with that. Any bridge that can with handle a train will use whatever equiptment they have.

[smallspy]

2 hours ago, SpadinaAve2134 said:

It’s also too heavy to fit the MP40s/50s.

Supposedly the bridge at St. Marys.

 

But I've only heard of this through railfan channels, not anything official.

 

Dan

[Cityflyer]

GO Transit expansion pilot to London brings new connections to Southwestern Ontario | Metrolinx News

[PrimeTio]

54 minutes ago, Cityflyer said:

GO Transit expansion pilot to London brings new connections to Southwestern Ontario | Metrolinx News

4 hours to Toronto from London…? there’s no way

[InfiNorth]

36 minutes ago, SpadinaAve2134 said:

4 hours to Toronto from London…? there’s no way

There's something wrong there... VIA Rail is two and a quarter hours, although it's on different tracks. I would expect the trial to be London-St. Marys-Stratford-Kitchener-Express... is it going to be doing all the stops between Kitchener and Union? That seems like a very poor way to trial this. 

[PrimeTio]

2 minutes ago, InfiNorth said:

There's something wrong there... VIA Rail is two and a quarter hours, although it's on different tracks. I would expect the trial to be London-St. Marys-Stratford-Kitchener-Express... is it going to be doing all the stops between Kitchener and Union? That seems like a very poor way to trial this. 

I 100# agree with you, 4 hrs just to Toronto is a waste of time, I don’t understand what the point is of the route if it takes 4 hrs but 2 hrs in a car.

[GTAmissions1]

2 hours ago, Cityflyer said:

GO Transit expansion pilot to London brings new connections to Southwestern Ontario | Metrolinx News

The big note is purchasing an e-ticket if getting off or starting from London, St. Mary's or Stratford since Presto devices are not yet available at these locations.

4 hours between Toronto and London one-way as what others mentioned being a long trip. Taking a Megabus contracted route takes about 3 hours and 5 minutes being a different terminus with limited transit options.

[Articulated]

1 hour ago, InfiNorth said:

There's something wrong there... VIA Rail is two and a quarter hours, although it's on different tracks. I would expect the trial to be London-St. Marys-Stratford-Kitchener-Express... is it going to be doing all the stops between Kitchener and Union? That seems like a very poor way to trial this. 

Most VIA trains operating to London (continuing to Windsor) use the more direct route, and take around 2:15 to 2:30 (depending on the number of stops made). GO will not be using these tracks, so it's not a fair or accuate comparison to be using those numbers.

However, VIA trains 84/87 on the Toronto-London-Sarnia line, which use the same corridor and stops that GO will be using, are currently scheduled at approximately 3:30 between Toronto and London. Given the additional local stops GO trains will make, and additional schedule padding, an approximate trip time of 4 hours is not unreasonable (probably rounded up).

Overall with the limited schedule details being announced, I'm disappointed. GO is operating at similar times to the existing VIA trains 84/87, being arranged for commuters into Toronto. 87 departs Toronto at 5:40pm, so I'd be expecting the GO departure is within an hour of that time, leading to direct competition between the two trains rather than overall improved mobility for people in the area. There is no expansion of service to different times, say midday or even counter-peak service, and the GO trains are not replacing the still-suspended 85/88 trips along the corridor.

[drum118]

Until tracks are brought up to Metrolinx standards, service will be slow and servicing a different market. Not everyone will be going from end to end and that the idea behind this plan.

Once Woodbine station is built and if UPX service it, it will offer service to/from the airport for some riders from London. That idea goes back as far as 2008 of offering service to the airport from London and in between.

[InfiNorth]

Thanks @Urban Sky and @drum118. Just saw this Tweet from TAC about it. Really too bad, since it won't give them a good metric of who would use it if travel times were reduced. Regardless, a good step in the right direction.

 

[sdgta2008]

6 hours ago, GTAmissions1 said:

The big note is purchasing an e-ticket if getting off or starting from London, St. Mary's or Stratford since Presto devices are not yet available at these locations.

4 hours between Toronto and London one-way as what others mentioned being a long trip. Taking a Megabus contracted route takes about 3 hours and 5 minutes being a different terminus with limited transit options.

I don’t know expect London-Toronto to be all that popular, but I think London-Kitchener, and especially Stratford-Kitchener will be well utilized… depending on pricing of course. 

[Token Dispenser]

The new interior of the busses, for those who were inquiring about it. Seat dividers only separated by a small panel attached by velcro to the back of the seat. I'm sure it definitely won't be stolen or vandalised. 

As an aside this bus was denoted as DDS b. 

What is the main difference and what are the other subsets besides what was mentioned already. 

[John Oke]

With the extension into London, for the first time we'll see GO competing with both Air Canada and WestJet as they both do a few daily flights, mainly with Q400's between Toronto-Pearson and London

[lip]

1 hour ago, John Oke said:

With the extension into London, for the first time we'll see GO competing with both Air Canada and WestJet as they both do a few daily flights, mainly with Q400's between Toronto-Pearson and London

It's no competition, this wont even make any kind of noticeable dent to Air Canada of WestJet.

The way this service is being offered, along with the timing makes it clear that it's nothing more than an election bribing tactic from Ford's edict.

[InfiNorth]

13 hours ago, lip said:

It's no competition, this wont even make any kind of noticeable dent to Air Canada of WestJet.

The way this service is being offered, along with the timing makes it clear that it's nothing more than an election bribing tactic from Ford's edict.

I mean, the same could be said for all the news around HFR with VIA as well for other certain entities, but that is going places (literally). Just because it's an election bribe doesn't make it 100% bad. Not all good, but not all bad either.

[MCIBUS]

How long does it take from London to Toronto?

1)Bus?

2)Train?

[Articulated]

6 minutes ago, MCIBUS said:

How long does it take from London to Toronto?

1)Bus?

2)Train?

Both those answers depend heavily on the route taken, and the amount of stops made...

Using the highway, Toronto to London is about a 2 hour drive. Google is currently showing ETAs of 2:38-2:43 but that's because we're near the peak of rush hour.

As mentioned in previous posts, VIA on the faster train corridor currently takes 2:15 to 2:30 to go between Toronto and London. The route via Kitchener/Stratford has both lower-quality tracks and a longer distance; existing VIA trains take around 3:30 to make the trip on this corridor.

[yrt1000]

1 hour ago, MCIBUS said:

How long does it take from London to Toronto?

1)Bus?

2)Train?

Just to chime in with my experiences having done the trip many times, if you took the “direct” Greyhound bus (express, no stops between Toronto and london), you’d be looking at just over 2 hours, but it could be upwards of 3 if it was during rush hours. There were several non-express trips that made stops which could’ve taken up to 3.5-4 hours. However, with no greyhound and (to my knowledge) limited trips directly to downtown London via bus, not sure how long it takes. Really, the only option is the train. 
 

VIA Rail- you’d be looking at usually 2.5 hours. Some trips were faster if they didn’t make every stop- The weekday “express” trains 82-83 were always the fastest since they made the fewest stops, taking just over 2 hours so that was always my preferred train to take.  
 

As mentioned several times though, the GO trains will take the…scenic route through Georgetown, Kitchener, Stratford and St. Marys. I took this route on VIA once as it was the only train available and it was nearly 4 hours.
 

I think my point of this is that these days if you aren’t driving between the two cities, your best bet is VIA rail. If/when GO transit were to ever run a train using the tracks via Brantford and Woodstock instead, that would be a lot better for people looking to travel between London and Toronto. Until then- maybe a bus route from Western to Highway 407 Station? Always wondered how viable that would be 

[MCIBUS]

Thanks. The reason I asked is if read the posts about GO possibly extending service to London.

I know the GO Trains have washrooms, while their bus fleet doesn't. And what I've read in the last two post it appears traveling by bus looks at anywhere between 2-4 hour trip, depending on how many stops,route as well as traffic. WAY WAY to long to be on coach without a washroom on board.

[yrt1000]

12 minutes ago, MCIBUS said:

Thanks. The reason I asked is if read the posts about GO possibly extending service to London.

I know the GO Trains have washrooms, while their bus fleet doesn't. And what I've read in the last two post it appears traveling by bus looks at anywhere between 2-4 hour trip, depending on how many stops,route as well as traffic. WAY WAY to long to be on coach without a washroom on board.

That is a good point. No washrooms on board GO buses, so the bus idea I proposed may not work out for that reason unless you did something like a bus route from London-Kitchener, then a transfer to route 25. 
I’d make the argument that there are a few GO bus routes 3+ hours in length (i.e. route 56 from Oakville to Oshawa), but I’m doubtful there are many riders taking the bus the full route in that case as you would from London to Toronto

[Bus_Medic]

39 minutes ago, yrt1000 said:

That is a good point. No washrooms on board GO buses, so the bus idea I proposed may not work out for that reason unless you did something like a bus route from London-Kitchener, then a transfer to route 25. 
I’d make the argument that there are a few GO bus routes 3+ hours in length (i.e. route 56 from Oakville to Oshawa), but I’m doubtful there are many riders taking the bus the full route in that case as you would from London to Toronto

It may be another operator’s bus under contract:

https://www.metrolinx.merx.com/public/solicitations/1937300173/abstract?origin=0

[MCIBUS]

I don't live in the GTA so I don't know how GO Transit have  their bus & train network is set up. But I'm guessing there's not that many by bus/coach routes that are 2+hours.

I'm guessing if they do a London-Toronto(express)I'm guessing they'd contract that out to a coach company with washrooms on board.

though slightly off topic the routes here in Ottawa that are done by Commuter Lines are done mainly by LeDuc & 417 and a few others but they mainly use Inter-city coacjres with washrooms.

Like I said I don't live in the GTA so I don't know how GO is really set up?

[Kelvin3157]

Could GO transit do a bus route that could connect Hamilton-KW-London? GO doesn’t have to necessarily serve Toronto

[PrimeTio]

More photos coming out from North Bay…

 

(None Are Mine)