Residents of Waterloo Region were excited to hear about the expansion of GO Train services on Thursday, but initial indications suggest that commuters may face longer waits for two-way, all-day trains during the week.
The Ontario government and Metrolinx have announced the acquisition of CN Rail land, which is aimed at constructing 40km of dedicated GO Train tracks between Kitchener and Toronto to enhance daily service in Waterloo Region.
“GO expansion is not ahead of us, it’s happening right now,” said Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay in an announcement on Thursday.
Beginning Nov. 23, Metrolinx plans to add four weekend trips from Kitchener GO to Union Station in Toronto, along with one weekday trip that will now continue to the Kitchener GO station instead of stopping at Guelph GO station.
The ultimate aim is to provide 60-minute two-way, all-day service seven days a week, with additional trains during peak morning and evening hours; however, no specific timelines have been given for when these services might start.
“My team is working every day with the industry to think about how we get to a place where you have hourly, seven-day-a-week, bi-directional service from Kitchener to Union Station with surge at peak times. I think it’s important to state, once again, that that’s our goal,” said Lindsay.
No construction timelines were disclosed during Thursday’s announcement; however, Lindsay mentioned that Metrolinx would keep Waterloo Region updated as more information becomes available.
“The construction market in North America, and indeed around the world, is in a time of volatility,” said Lindsay. “Great supply chain discontinuity, skilled trades are almost fully used across this region which is great because it means there’s lots of work to be done, but I promise you I’m not trying to be cagey when I say we need to ultimately get to market and talk to the designers of things like a 40km twin track project and the people who are going to construct it to ultimately understand what technically is possible.”
He also added that in the meantime, Metrolinx will keep looking into ways to boost GO traffic between Kitchener and Toronto.
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