Rail service across the Golden Horseshoe is getting a big boost.
Premier Doug Ford says his government is adding over 300 new weekly trips to GO Transit’s rail service across the GTA.
Calling it the “largest GO train expansion in more than a decade,” Ford says the service increase will expand two-way, all-day GO service for the Milton, Lakeshore West, Lakeshore East, Kitchener, and Stouffville rail lines.
Beginning April 28, weekend trips that usually leave every half-hour will begin departing every 15 minutes between the Oakville GO Station, Union Station, and Durham College Oshawa Go Station.
The service expansion will also push the final train to Niagara Falls from Toronto back an hour, giving visitors from Niagara more time to visit the capital.
During the week, that final trip will depart half an hour earlier.
Milton will get an extra trip to Toronto during the morning rush hour, and an extra return trip in the afternoon.
Evening train service will be added to the Stouffville line, operating seven days a week.
Lastly, every second UP Express train going to and from Pearson Airport will be non-stop between Union Station and the airport, expediting the trip seven days a week.
“This is the single biggest enhancement of GO rail service since 2013, bringing the total number of weekly rail trips to 2,307,” said Phil Verster, president and CEO of Metrolinx.
Monday’s GO Expansion project comes as part of the province’s ongoing regional transportation plan to increase the amount of all-day service throughout southern Ontario and better connect the province.
According to Metrolinx, over $11 billion has already been invested in improving GO Transit’s infrastructure by acquiring newer, faster trains, renovating existing stations and by adding all day, two-way service.
The crown corporation says it had 3,500 weekly trips servicing the region in 2019 and expects that number to be closer to 10,000 by the time all of the expansion projects are complete.
