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Anyone have a prediction as to when VIA will pull off the NML officially?
My guess is April. Ridership will drop off a cliff except for weekends. Unless GO starts weekend trips and VIAs ridership will be non existent.
That said, VIA running an express service from London with stops at Stratford, Kitchener , Guelph, Brampton and finally Weston would be popular for air travellers post pandemic. I would pick VIA over GO if I had luggage and the train stopped at Weston.
 
yup. GO is aiming for 1.5 hour kitchener service in the next few years, no reason the remaining track can't be upgraded to get 1-1.25 hour travel times from London to Kitchener resulting in a 2:30-2:45 travel time overall. That's fine for a commuter service, with upgrades for VIA focusing on the southern corridor through Brantford to improve those travel times for regional travel. A sub 2-hour trip on VIA and 2:45 trip on GO through Kitchener is pretty acceptable to me.
 
It's baby steps. The track upgrades to allow a quicker journey will come. At least something is happening.
They also will want to buy the ROW before upgrading the tracks so they can pay their own price and not CN's for track work. I wonder if this service is a preliminary deal while they negotiate a deal to buy the full ROW.
 
I'm wondering with this, assuming the pilot works out and upgrades are done would the Baden station/Yard still be necessary, or could they maybe construct a yard in say Stratford.
 
I'm with the people who say the corridor improvements should come first. This is going to give trains in London a bad reputation that won't easily disappear. Liberals talked about high speed rail on this corridor, the Conservatives are delivering something that would be absolutely painful to use. Those seats are not designed for a four hour trip. Humans are not design for a four hour commute each way.

I couldn't imagine sitting in those GO seats for that long. Those seats are so uncomfortable, plus if you have two taller people sitting in-front of you, there goes your leg room! As you pointed out the seats are not designed for long hauls, it's commuter rail.

When i was staying in Guelph a few years back. I took VIA rail to Toronto, the leg room and comfy seats, plus coffee service, made it worth the extra 10 to 20 bucks depending what day i took the train.
 
Is this confirmed? I assume they're going to install Presto machines at the new stations...
From Metrolinx news Link:
How to buy tickets

All customers leaving from or going to London, St. Marys, or Stratford will need to pay their fare with GO e-tickets. PRESTO is not available for these trips.

GO customers will need to buy their e-ticket online here before getting on board. Similar to a movie or concert ticket, they are sent by email and must be activated using a smartphone five minutes prior to boarding.

Tickets will be available for purchase later this fall, closer to the start of service.
 

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