Ontario strikes deal to buy land needed for GO train service enhancement
The Ford government says it has reached an agreement with CN Rail to buy the land it needs for more train tracks on the Kitchener GO Line, paving the way for the enhancement of service to and from Toronto.
The announcement is a major moment in a long process which will allow provincial transit agency Metrolinx to add more capacity to the existing route so passenger and freight trains can operate at the same time.
“Today, we’re taking two pivotal steps towards delivering two-way, all-day GO train service between Kitchener and Toronto,” Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said in a statement, also referring to the introduction of weekend service.
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For years, Metrolinx has been working toward the ultimate goal of two-way, all-day service across its train network, with several areas held back by ownership complications.
Large parts of the track GO trains run on between Kitchener and Toronto are owned by CN Rail, which allows the province to run passenger service at certain times. Without owning the track, Ontario has been at the whims of the freight schedule when trying to increase service.
The announcement on Thursday of the “agreement-in-principle” will allow Metrolinx to purchase land owned by CN along the corridor to build its own tracks. In total, the province will build 40 km of track, it said, along with signalling and other upgrades.
The government said its eventual target was to run two-way, all-day GO service across the Kitchener line at different frequencies.
It is aiming for 15-minute service on the part of the line between Toronto and Bramalea, where Metrolinx already owns the track. Trains out to Mount Pleasant GO would run every 30 minutes, and routes running to Kitchener would be every hour.
It’s not yet clear when the land will be purchased, track constructed or service ramped up.
Beginning at the end of November, however, the government will ramp up service on the track section it owns between Toronto and Bramalea.
From Nov. 23 onwards, service will be introduced every 30 minutes over the weekend, along with other service enhancements.
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