Type Commuter rail Locale Greater Toronto Area Daily ridership 18,000 (2014) | System GO Train Stations 12 Website Table 31 | |
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Owners Metrolinx, Canadian National Railway | ||
Kitchener line go transit 1989 90 can car rail bilevel series iv 2313 mt pleasant to kitchener
Kitchener is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station in Toronto to Kitchener.
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Kitchener line go transit 1990 91 can car rail bilevel series v 2428 union to mount pleasant
Services
The GO Transit Georgetown line opened on April 29, 1974, becoming the second line in the GO Transit rail network. Peak-direction train service operated between Georgetown and Union Station, replacing a commuter service previously operated by CN.
Service was extended beyond Georgetown to Guelph on October 29, 1990, but was again cut back to Georgetown on to July 2, 1993.
Limited weekday midday service was introduced in April 2002, with four trains in each direction between Union and Bramalea. These trains were discontinued in 2011 to facilitate construction of the Georgetown South Expansion project.
On December 19, 2011, the Georgetown Line was renamed the Kitchener Line as service was extended to Kitchener, making one intermediate stop at Guelph. Another intermediate stop, Acton, opened on January 7, 2013.
Weekday midday service was re-introduced in September 2015, with hourly service between Mount Pleasant and Union.
Infrastructure
As a part of the GO Transit Rail Improvement Program, the West Toronto Diamond was grade separated. The Metrolinx Weston railway, which carries the Kitchener Line as well as UP Express and Via trains, was lowered into a trench to pass under CP's North Toronto main line. Trains began using the new grade separation in May 2014.
The Georgetown South railway expansion project was initiated in 2009 with Metrolinx now as its proponent. The project represented a significant increase in railway capacity, with the former 2-track railway being widened to 4 tracks, with a total of 8 tracks where the Milton line and Barrie line share the corridor. All level crossings along the corridor were eliminated with using railway or roadway underpasses. The plan would allow for an increased frequency of trains on the route, increasing service from approximately 50 per day to about least 300. It drew criticism from Weston community groups, which opposed the increased use of diesel locomotive on the basis of air pollution. They preferred instead that the corridor be electrified. The group has also requested more stations along the route.
In September 2014, Metrolinx purchased the 53 kilometres of track from Georgetown to Kitchener from CN.
Future expansion
The 2008 proposal to extend the line past Georgetown to Kitchener included some components which have not yet been realized. In addition to the now-realized stations in Kitchener, Guelph and Acton, the report proposed a station in Breslau which would serve as a Park-and-ride facility for Waterloo Region, and a layover yard in Baden, Ontario. The Breslau station received further approval in an official expansion plan in June, 2016.
The provincial initiative known as GO Regional Express Rail proposes a substantial increase in Kitchener Line service over the next decade. During peak hours, trains would run in peak direction every 30 minutes from Kitchener to Union Station and every 15 minutes from Mount Pleasant to Union Station. Electrification will be in place from Bramalea to Union Station, with trains running every 15 minutes along the electrified line throughout the day.
A new station is also proposed where the line crosses Eglinton Avenue in the Mount Dennis neighbourhood; it would interface with the western end of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT line, at Mount Dennis LRT station, and open when that line opens in about 2022.
As part of Toronto mayor John Tory's Smart Track initiative, new stations are planned where the line crosses St. Clair Avenue West and near Liberty Village.