GO Transit route 12 'Niagara Falls-Toronto'

GO Transit route 12 (Niagara Falls) is a route operated by GO Transit that serves between Burlington GO Station and Niagara Falls VIA Station in Ontario, connected to train services from Burlington to Toronto Union Station. This is an all-day service. It is part of the Lakeshore West series of GO Transit routes.

This route has 3 branches:

12 Burlington GO Station/Niagara Falls VIA Station - Via QEW
12A Burlington GO Station/Grimsby
12C Toronto Union Station/Niagara Falls VIA Station

Route 12 and 12A are local services, serving the communities of St. Catharines, Stoney Creek and Grimsby. The 12C branch is an express service, meaning it only serves GO Transit stops at the termini. It shares common routing with other Hamilton GO Transit services that use the QEW between Hamilton and Burlington GO Station. It serves the cities of Stoney Creek and Burlington. C service, on the other hand, operates along the QEW, serving St. Catharines VIA Station (on request) and Niagara Falls VIA Station.

History

Route 12 was implemented during a board change period on June 30, 2008 to serve the community of Stoney Creek. It provides service for Stoney Creek citizens to reach the GO train at Burlington or to return.

On June 27, 2009, in coordination with the launch of the Niagara Falls rail service, the 12C branch was introduced to provide one bus trip to service Union to Niagara Falls at night.

As of September 4, 2009, the route focus was changed to Niagara Falls, with service provided to Stoney Creek before buses continued on to Niagara Falls. This change included full week service to Niagara Falls (rather than just weekend service). The 12C branch remained unchanged, providing express bus service from Toronto to Niagara Falls.

Major Stops

Regular Service/A Branch

Burlington GO Station - Northern terminus of the route. Serves bay 9. Connections with GO routes 15A and 18A; and Burlington Transit routes 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12.
Stoney Creek - Connections with Hamilton Street Railway route 2.
Grimsby
St. Catharines Fairview Mall
Niagara Falls VIA Station - Southern terminus of the route. Connections with Niagara Transit Green Line.

C Branch

Union Station - Northern terminus of branch. Connections with all GO Transit rail services, GO Transit bus station, and Yonge-University-Spadina subway.
St. Catharines VIA Station - 12C stop on request.
Niagara Falls VIA Station - Southern terminus of branch. Connections with Niagara Transit Green Line.

Service Summary

Regular service operates 7 days a week, operating from Burlington GO Station (connecting with train services) and travelling to Niagara Falls. On weekdays, westbound service starts at 7:11 AM, ending at 11:44 PM. Service is more frequent during rush hours, generally every hour (or half-hour around 7 AM and 5 PM). Trips are spread out by a couple of hours off-rush. Eastbound service starts at 5:35 AM, ending at 9:50 PM. The spread of service is generally the same as westbound services, with service focus during the morning and afternoon rushes.

A branch operates on weekdays only, providing service between Burlington GO Station and Grimsby. Westbound service starts at 8:56 AM, ending at 1:44 AM the next day. Service is infrequent, with the 8:56 AM trip being the only trip during the day, and 4 trips during late day/evening. Eastbound service starts at 4:35 AM, ending at 8:35 PM. Like the westbound service, trips are focused on rush hours, with only two trips during early morning, and 3 trips during afternoon/evening.

C branch operates once a day on weekends and holidays, 10:30 PM westbound.

Old Stoney Creek Service

Prior to route restructuring, service for Stoney Creek-Burlington GO Station occurred during the whole day, generally every hour or two both directions, with more service during peak hours. Westbound trips occurred from 4:48 AM until 10:49 PM. Eastbound bus trips operated from 7:10 AM until 1:44 AM.