Nearly 150 new and extended GO train trips to begin Aug. 31

Aug. 15, 2019
The new service will save commuters in the GTHA time and represents an eight percent increase in service compared to this time last year.

Metrolinx will begin running nearly 150 additional or extended GO train trips weekly throughout the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area (GTHA) on Aug. 31, which represents an eight percent increase in the number of trains in service from a year ago.  

"We're delivering on our promise to expand transit in Ontario by offering more service, more trains and more choice for GO customers," said Ontario Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney. "For GO Transit, this means an expansion program that will transform GO into a comprehensive two-way, all-day rapid transit system with service every fifteen minutes on core segments of the network."

The 84 new weekly GO train trips will serve the Kitchener, Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West GO train lines, additionally 65 weekly trips will be extended across the Lakeshore West and Kitchener lines, including reinstating evening train service on the Stouffville line. The new train service includes 50 weekly train trips on the Kitchener line, bringing late-night weekday service between Kitchener GO and Toronto’s Union Station and hourly weekday evening service between the City of Brampton and Union Station.

"These changes are another major step in our GO expansion program. The new express option for Kitchener will save customers 20 minutes in their daily commutes. We're doubling rush-hour service for West Harbour GO, and weekend Niagara service will now run all year," said Metrolinx President and CEO Phil Verster. "Offering nearly 150 new and extended weekly GO train trips means our customers have more options to travel when they want to go."

Giving riders options for getting where they want to go and when they want to go is a cornerstone of the GO expansion program, which Metrolinx sums up with a phrase: One region, connected.

Highlights of the new and extended service include:

• The existing 6:00 p.m. trip on the Kitchener line from Union Station will now run express to Bramalea GO before continuing to Kitchener GO. Customers travelling to Bloor, Weston, Etobicoke North and Malton GO stations can take a new 5:45 p.m. trip from Union Station.

• On the Lakeshore West line, there will be new year-round weekend GO train service between Niagara Falls and Union Station.

• Customers travelling out of West Harbour GO will have twice as many options during weekday rush-hour periods, with three existing trips extended to serve the station and a new 4:45 p.m. trip from Union Station running express to Clarkson GO before serving all stops to West Harbour GO.

• Fifteen new weekly trips on the Lakeshore East line will be offered midday.

• Evening train service on the Stouffville line from Union Station, which was suspended for important construction work along the corridor, will be reinstated and extended to Mount Joy GO.

"The new midday, peak and evening services we're adding across the GO Transit network will make taking the GO more reliable and give customers more choice when planning their trips," said Ontario Associate Minister of Transportation (GTA) Kinga Surma. "We're building a transportation system that puts people first by offering them transit options that fit their schedule, whether they're meeting up with family and friends, staying late at the office or wanting to get home early."

About the Author

Mischa Wanek-Libman | Editor in Chief

Mischa Wanek-Libman serves as editor in chief of Mass Transit magazine. She is responsible for developing and maintaining the magazine’s editorial direction and is based in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Wanek-Libman has spent more than 20 years covering transportation issues including construction projects and engineering challenges for various commuter railroads and transit agencies. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content. 

She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and serves as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.  

She is a graduate of Drake University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a major in magazine journalism and a minor in business management.