Government of Ontario, CN Rail reach Agreement-in-Principle to purchase land to construct dedicated GO tracks on Kitchener Line

The government of Ontario has reached an Agreement-in-Principle with CN Rail to purchase land to construct dedicated GO tracks on the Kitchener Line. The Agreement-in-Principle coincides with additional GO train service that will be added to the Kitchener Line in November, including 18 new weekend trips between Bramalea GO and Union Station, as well as the first weekend service to Kitchener.  

"Today, we’re taking two pivotal steps towards delivering two-way, all-day GO train service between Kitchener and Toronto," said Ontario Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria. "Under Premier [Doug] Ford’s leadership, our government is delivering the largest transit expansion in North America to tackle gridlock, keep workers on the job and support economic growth.” 

According to the government of Ontario, the project will add 40 kilometers (24.9 miles) of new, two-way track and includes track re-alignments, signal upgrades, bridge work and platform expansion along the corridor. Improvements on the Kitchener Line include 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles) of new track and infrastructure upgrades to the Bloor, Weston, Malton, Bramalea and Guelph stations. 

“This is a transformative moment for Kitchener and our shared vision with the government of Ontario to fully-realize two-way, all-day GO service for our community and all municipalities served by the Kitchener Line,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “The Agreement-in-Principle with CN Rail, along with upcoming GO Transit service increases, marks a major leap forward in our collective efforts to connect our Innovation Corridor, from Kitchener to Toronto, through reliable, efficient transit. This will reduce commute times and unlock new opportunities for economic growth, job creation and quality of life for our residents.” 

When complete, the new Kitchener Line will enable two-way, all-day service, seven days per week to Bramalea GO, 30-minute two-way, all-day service, seven days per week to Mount Pleasant GO and 60-minute two-way, all-day service, seven days per week to Kitchener GO. 

GO Transit train service will be expanded on the Kitchener Line on Nov. 23. The service increases include: 

• 18 new weekend trips between Bramalea GO and Union Station, which will enable service every 30 minutes. 
• Four existing weekend trips will be extended from Mount Pleasant GO to Kitchener GO, enabling weekend service to Kitchener for the first time. 
• Two new weekday trips between Bramalea GO and Union Station. 
• Two existing weekday trips will be extended to Bramalea GO (previously Malton GO). 
• One existing weekday trip will be extended to Kitchener GO (previously Guelph Central GO).  

“A critical part of expanding GO service in this Region is working collaboratively with freight partners like CN to separate freight and passenger traffic,” said Metrolinx President and CEO Michael Lindsay. “This Agreement-in-Principle allows us to continue to do precisely that, bringing more infrastructure and ultimately more service to the Kitchener corridor. In the past five years, weekly trips on the Kitchener corridor have more than doubled, from 215 trips in 2019 to 444 weekly trips today."