Quoted from the article:

“An ongoing dispute between VIA Rail Canada and Goderich-Exeter Railway (GEXR) over track usage fees has stalled long-sought infrastructure improvements that could see increased passenger service through St. Marys and Stratford”

..Currently, the number of trains passing through Stratford-St. Marys is not enough to meet demand during peak times, he adds.

“It’s frustrating,” says the mayor. “We’ve advocated for this, VIA agrees with us and they’re at the implementation stage, and we’re stalled.”

Full article here:

http://www.stratfordgazette.com/news/article/91340

This from Paul Langan:

While residents of Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo and Acton await the decision (yes or no) regarding the westward GO Train expansion from Georgetown, GO is already calling for tenders regarding a temporary layover facility. The following was found on the GO Tender call section of their website.

http://steve.hostovsky.com/go_kitchener_quote.pdf

…. meanwhile the politicians have yet to make an official announcement. Thoughts? Thanks to Tom A/David G for the buzz.

From the Guelph Mercury comes this City of Guelph debate on GO Parking (http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/article/551217)

What strikes me as odd about this debate is the lack of vision as to who’s responsibility parking actually is. If the City of Guelph foots the bill for parking, will GO users pay for parking? Would the City share revenue with GO ticket sales to pay for parking in City parking spaces? If GO transit was to build their own lot downtown, would they allow anyone to use their lot or only GO patrons?

These are some of the sticking points that may be debated by GO and the City (or a private parking operator). Despite Vanessa Thomas’s precedent on stations w/o parking (Union Station, Hamilton)  Guelph is very much a car oriented city and there will likely be ‘GrOwing pains’. One thing is for certain, if GO commuters are left paying for City parking downtown and demand for GO service increases rapidly, there will be a lot of unhappy GO commuters looking for a solution.

In another win for the North Mainline, the Union Station to Pearson rail link has been approved for construction and will begin operation in 2015.

Link to globe article here

It is very possible that GO Train service from Kitchener and Guelph could connect to the Pearson rail link at a future Woodbine station, which gives the North Mainline an advantage for those travelling to the airport. For more information, see the Globe article above which contains an excellent illustration of  the proposed rail link. For convenience, the Globe and Mail image has been linked below (direct from the Globe site) but if it does not appear, you may need to visit the article directly.

Pearson Rail Link overview from the Globe and Mail website

The Guelph Tribune has dug into the parking issues facing the City of Guelph with regards to the proposed GO expansion. First, they discussed the ridership forecast and other details:

http://www.guelphtribune.ca/news/article/184674

Next they discuss the Parking issues:

http://www.guelphtribune.ca/news/article/184682

Of interest, they are noting that Guelph will have a direct bus connection from all points in the city, whereas in Kitchener, the distance from the bus terminal and the GO Station is considerable (2-4 KM).

Weigh your opinion by commenting on this post below..!

From contributor David Graham comes this piece he wrote in the Guelph Mercury for their Editorial board:

http://news.guelphmercury.com/Opinions/EditorialOpinion/article/519472

Where he summarizes the good things proposed for the North Mainline. However, he clearly states the next problem will be Parking in Guelph. In my words, GO Transit is effectively downloading the issue of parking to the City of Guelph until a second station is built with enough parking spaces to meet commuter demand.  I also question how GO ticketholders will acquire parking in downtown Guelph, will it be for payment, or will there be an integrated ticketing/parking solution? (This issue will likely not be decided unless the GO service is approved).

One can look at Union Station as an example where no free parking is provided.. but how many others exist? Reader comments highly encouraged..

GO published their final Environmental Assessment documents this week and within was some interesting information about VIA Rail’s planned improvements. After some heavy reading, the following was published in Appendix B:

VIA Rail plans to add six new trains to the North Mainline, London to Toronto via Kitchener and Guelph. Trains departing from London at 1155, 1505, 1755, and departing from Toronto at 1300, 1630, 1830. This plan would provide off-peak service during the afternoons, and seems to avoid GO “Rush Hour”.

Very interesting news, as if this comes to pass we stand to have 12 VIA Rail and 8 GO Transit departures and arrivals per day by 2011, more than double today’s passenger rail service.

- Steve

(Update: The link to the raw documents can be found here)

GO Transit has been built on the philosophy that people in and around the GTA Commute to downtown Toronto. This philosophy has hardly changed over the last 30 years, owing to the fact the majority of users are in fact commuting in this direction. However, times are changing. The notion that GO is considering westward trains seem to indicate a change. But we must see this through.

Waterloo region (and Guelph) are growing rapidly and independently of the GTA. Consider the Waterloo technology industry — employing tens of thousands of people, companies such as Research in Motion, OpenText, Descartes, ComDev, Intelligent Mechatronic Systems, Sandvine, amongst many others. As an employee of this industry, I must stress that the growth that is occuring in Waterloo as a result of this sectors success can only continue if we find the right talent to fill the thousands of available open positions. This often means we are forced to recruit talent from the Toronto area, where the capture rate of this talent is lowered due to commute distance and/or moving costs.

If Waterloo region and Guelph are to become a successful, independent growth engine of the Ontario economy,  we need to look outward to attract talent using transit. Let’s GO WEST and help our employers attract the talent they require.

- Steve Host

First, here is a copy of the Pic display boards, which was also linked by WaterlooWarrior in comments below, (Thanks!):

http://steve.hostovsky.com/14877_PIC_2_kitchener.pdf

Second, the comments I heard/discussed with GO/RJ Burnside personell at the PIC

• There is strong demand for bidirectional rush hour service, not only including service to Toronto, but from Toronto to Kitchener. Somehow, it would appear that they may explore the option of providing this service at the onset in 2011. Time will tell if this is feasible though.
• Guelph’s parking will be serviced using CIty parking. Some form of parking arrangement between the City and GO will need to be worked out, likely resulting in your GO ticket as your pass to free parking at City parking lots. Poltiically, this requires some form of cost sharing arrangement between the City and Go Transit that has yet to be determined. It would be interesting to see some form of Guelph Transit integration also included, if all stars could align on day one…
• Significant trackwork and improvements are proposed for Guelph, an almost 10,000 foot long ’siding track’ (Second main track), essentially upgrading the existing Siding to mainline standards to allow two trains to pass and wait at the Platform at the same time.
• A second passing track would be installed between Kitchener and Guelph, 6000 feet in length, bordering at the Breslau park and ride station
• VIA Rail is also looking to improve service on the North Mainline, and some form of cost sharing arrangement will be struck for the track improvements (this service has yet to be fully announced by the Federal government)

What’s next? Send in your comments, this is your last chance. By April, the EA will be finalized and submitted for approval. Once approved, the next step is our Provincial Government announcing the project and funding, likely complete with negotiations with municipal governments on cost sharing arrangements. 2011 is the earliest start date if all goes without a hitch. Good luck to all involved!