According to sources, GO Train ridership between Acton and Kitchener is up to a few hundred a day, I’m told about 500.  This is good news if true. Continued ridership growth means GO will get serious about further investments.

About 30 minutes can be shaved off a GO train commute, possibly even 15 minutes more if express to union are implemented.

Politics and money will surely play a role in what happens, but in no particular order here is what could happen:

• At-grade crossings in Guelph cost GO 10+ minutes – close/underpass all roads in Guelph would cost $40M
• At grade crossings in Kitchener – Weber St is already in progress, others will cost about $40-60M.
• Fix Breslau Bridge – $20-40M (This is the slow point just outside of Kitchener)
• Add CTC signals to entire line ($20M ?)
• Change a departure to Express (Express from Georgetown to Toronto and vice/versa would be ideal!) – $0?

Some of this is expensive, some of this isn’t. It’s up to GO to prioritize what is next but it will be the money that makes it happen. Ridership growth will only help make it happen – faster trains = more riders.

From this list it seems clear that changing one of the GO departures – perhaps the under utilized train to Express may help people jump on it and increase ridership from the west at the expense of riders from the east..

http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1134549/cn-sells-oakville-burlington-ont-line-segment-to-metrolinx-for-go-transit-commuter-rail-service

Action Station has opened for business – If you wish to drive to Acton there is parking ! Photo to come soon.

With the addition of Acton  - schedules were pushed back two minutes (earlier departures) in order to account for the extra time to pick up or drop off passengers.

Is the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines broke? The highway 69 expansion to Sudbury has been delayed in part (large part) beyond 2016 – and the current sections to be completed by 2016 are being funded by the Building Canada fund:
So not only are the ONTC passenger trains cancelled and the fire sale of the ONTC to proceed – but highway projects also on the backburner (mind you, the highways will just be delayed until a later date to be determined)

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/pubs/highway-construction/northern-highway-2012/expansion-projects-2012-2016.shtml#s3

Also – Could this November 2010 report have been the one that killed ONTC?

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/corporate-services/des-reports-865.htm

“ONTC runs mixed passenger/freight trains along the northern portion of its track in an effort to supplement revenues. Further, a more extreme proposal to reduce costs was made in December 2000 when ONTC recommended to the Government of Ontario that the rail service be terminated and replaced by the existing express bus service[14]. Presently, the bus service is slightly less expensive, faster and more flexible than rail service. For example, there are four times as many bus trips as there are trains.”

“Finally, all the communities along the ONTC are connected by road to the surface transportation system, and have access to alternative means of transportation. This part of the funding program is not aligned with TC’s strategic objectives and is therefore not considered to be cost-effective.”

If the North is getting shafted – it’s only a matter of time they start looking at the South (Go Transit, etc) – VIA Rail is already on the Feds radar as per previous posts.

$300 million is the cost in 2007 dollars and the province does not have an estimate on what the cost is today - and only a fraction of the required properties have been acquired.

GO Trains were bought to Kitchener/Waterloo for 1/20th of the cost ($18 million).  For this price we could have all day two way service and double track.

http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/local/article/849842–province-puts-it-in-writing-new-highway-7-a-go

This op-ed in the Montreal Gazette summarizes the current Conservative Governments stance on passenger rail:

http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Peter+Hadekel+outlook+passenger+rail+seems+bleaker/7683845/story.html

Kitchener “one of” communities to be affected most by VIA Rail cuts

http://www.therecord.com/news/canada/article/850824–kitchener-one-of-communities-to-be-affected-most-by-via-rail-cuts

Waterloo Region Council approved $1.39 million contribution to GO Transit -

http://www.exchangemagazine.com/morningpost/2012/week47/Thursday/12112101.htm

Note: Kitchener-Waterloo/Cambridge/Brampton/Halton Hills residents, this is the only nearby Train stop to us.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NOVEMBER 2, 2012

Grey Cup 100 Train Tour Presented by RONA Touches Down in Guelph

The Grey Cup 100 Train Tour is an epic 4,100 kilometre journey that will carry the Grey Cup trophy to communities across Canada in celebration of this year’s 100th Grey Cup.

The tour will ultimately visit more than 100 communities across Canada before delivering the Grey Cup, in late November, to Toronto for the 100th Grey Cup game and festival.

You are invited to tour the train, wrapped in iconic Grey Cup images and featuring a high tech showcase car for the Grey Cup itself, a museum car that captures a century of Grey Cup history, and a team car that celebrates today’s teams and athletes and the CFL’s bright future.

Entry is free.

The Grey Cup 100 Train Tour is at 35 Woolwich Street, Guelph on Sunday, November 4, 2012 from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

When:             Sunday, November 4, 2012

12:00 p.m. event opens. 1:00 p.m. ceremony

Where:          35 Woolwich Street, Guelph

About the Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League is our league. The Grey Cup is our national championship and Canada’s largest annual single sporting event. We are proudly preparing for the 100th Grey Cup in 2012. The celebration will span the country and culminate in a tremendous festival and game in Toronto this November. We invite all Canadians to be a part of it.

-30- Media contacts:

Carley Smith

Communications Officer

Canadian Football League

416-999-5355

Csmith@cfl.ca<mailto:Csmith@cfl.ca>

Tonight is the VIA Rail town hall meeting in downtown Kitchener , hosted by the Region of Waterloo. All are encouraged to attend, and also to write their MP and MPP to protest the reduction in rail services in Canada:

When Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012 from 7 to 9 p.m.

http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/gettingaround/resources/VIARailTownHallMeeting.pdf

Thankfully, for the most part we were largely unaffected by the  issue I am about to discuss – Sarnia/Guelph trains were slightly affected by the King Rd underpass project.

Simply put – A new underpass is being constructed at King Rd just east of Aldershot. Most VIA trains on the South Mainline were cancelled for *thanksgiving day weekend* due to CN’s schedule of the work during the holidays. CN would not give VIA the time of day on their purpose built shoo fly track (to run-around the construction) and VIA re-routed only a handful of trains through Guelph/London to get around everything.

So for the three busiest days of the travel season, most trains were cancelled or switched to a bus.

Here’s why:

http://cms.burlington.ca/Page9311.aspx

Surely as a reader of this site you are perplexed at the future of Rail Transit in Canada – VIA Rail cuts, The “Northlander”  ends, with much more to come.

Want to get involved? Then visit this event arranged by Transport Action Canada:

Event:

Place TBD – watch this link for more on where this meeting will be held:

http://nationaldreamrenewed.com/town-hall/kitchener-waterloo-cambridge-town-hall-meeting-on-the-future-of-passenger-rail-in-canada/