[innsertnamehere]

I wonder if an extension to Uxbridge with a layover yard north of the town is also in the long term plans? GO owns the rails, I just hope they are planning far ahead and have an appropriate agreement in place with York-Durham Heritage railway.

My understanding is that York-Durham railway leases the ROW from GO for next to nothing - and the lease can be terminated whenever GO feels like it. YDHR may still be able to operate, depending on how GO opts to extend service. I doubt GO will be seeing weekend service to Uxbridge any time soon, so the weekends will presumably be open windows for operating for the forseeable future. The existing tracks however are in extremely poor condition, most of the corridor travels below 20mph. When / if an extension happens, the corridor is going to have to be ripped up and replaced.

You also have the issue of ridership - Uxbridge is hemmed in by the greenbelt and relatively little potential for growth, and existing GO ridership is rather poor. Plus with RER now, it would have to be an electrified extension, increasing costs even further.

I grew up in Uxbridge, I would love the town to see GO train service, but I just don't see it happening. GO plans to rebuild Lincolnville GO as a "real" station on the west side of 10th line in order to expand the existing yard even further into the existing parking lot in the long term to expand train capacity, not extend service to Uxbridge.

 

[smallspy]

I wonder if an extension to Uxbridge with a layover yard north of the town is also in the long term plans? GO owns the rails, I just hope they are planning far ahead and have an appropriate agreement in place with York-Durham Heritage railway.

Very long term, GO plans to run up to Uxbridge - but there is no finite timeline for doing so.

There was some concern that the huge ridership growth on the line about 10 years ago were going to necessitate the extension of the service to Goodwood or Uxbridge simply to allow for more storage of additional trains, but they seem to have backed off of that for now.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[Fritter]

I wonder if an extension to Uxbridge with a layover yard north of the town is also in the long term plans? GO owns the rails, I just hope they are planning far ahead and have an appropriate agreement in place with York-Durham Heritage railway.

I've wondered how the physical extension would occur given the current layout of Linconville. The current Linconville tracks are off the mainline to Uxbridge, and to me, it would be quite difficult to reconnect the north end of the station tracks back to the main line. I'm curious if Uxbridge extension trains would by-pass Linconville, or would a new mainline platform for Linconville be constructed?

 

[innsertnamehere]

lincolnville's platforms are going to be rebuilt on the west side of 10th line in the next couple of years.

 

[lenaitch]

My understanding is that York-Durham railway leases the ROW from GO for next to nothing - and the lease can be terminated whenever GO feels like it. YDHR may still be able to operate, depending on how GO opts to extend service. I doubt GO will be seeing weekend service to Uxbridge any time soon, so the weekends will presumably be open windows for operating for the forseeable future. The existing tracks however are in extremely poor condition, most of the corridor travels below 20mph. When / if an extension happens, the corridor is going to have to be ripped up and replaced.

You also have the issue of ridership - Uxbridge is hemmed in by the greenbelt and relatively little potential for growth, and existing GO ridership is rather poor. Plus with RER now, it would have to be an electrified extension, increasing costs even further.

I grew up in Uxbridge, I would love the town to see GO train service, but I just don't see it happening. GO plans to rebuild Lincolnville GO as a "real" station on the west side of 10th line in order to expand the existing yard even further into the existing parking lot in the long term to expand train capacity, not extend service to Uxbridge.

I believe growth is also limited by the York-Durham Sewage System (is it even connected to the network?) I lived in Goodwood up until 1990 when the ROW was still operated by CN and the line was in tired condition back then. Even short freights would often have to double the relatively steep grade east of the 4th conc. because of weed-fouled track.

 

[ShonTron]

I believe growth is also limited by the York-Durham Sewage System (is it even connected to the network?) I lived in Goodwood up until 1990 when the ROW was still operated by CN and the line was in tired condition back then. Even short freights would often have to double the relatively steep grade east of the 4th conc. because of weed-fouled track.

1991 was when the last CN freight train left Lindsay. The closure of the Union Carbide plant there put an end to rail service; CN applied to abandon the track as far as Stouffville. Happily, GO Transit took over the corridor as far as Brock Road to protect for future GO service to Uxbridge; this was essential for the extension to Lincolnville.

 

[innsertnamehere]

I believe growth is also limited by the York-Durham Sewage System (is it even connected to the network?) I lived in Goodwood up until 1990 when the ROW was still operated by CN and the line was in tired condition back then. Even short freights would often have to double the relatively steep grade east of the 4th conc. because of weed-fouled track.

It isn't hooked up to the lake, no. The town lets off affluent into the Uxbridge Brook, and right now is extremely tight on sewage capacity, though I believe they are in the process of expanding the system to allow a few thousand extra people. The town isn't going to turn into the next Stouffville any time soon though, it may grow from 12,000 to the 15-17k range, but none more than that.

 

[Garuda]

lincolnville's platforms are going to be rebuilt on the west side of 10th line in the next couple of years.

With news like this, I can tell GO is preparing for an eventual extension to Uxbridge. But how will the west side platform connect with the parking? They’ll have to build an above ground walkway over the layover and the tracks to connect. I don’t see the parking area being relocated.

I one day hope to see GO trains running to Lindsay. I know this isn’t even on the books, but for such a strong railway city history, I hope to see trains once again coming into Lindsay.

 

[innsertnamehere]

Parking area is going to be relocated. The existing station area is going to then be used for even further expansion of the Lincolnville yard. I believe the plan is to turn Lincolnville into a "real" station with an actual station building and a standard platform, etc.

 

[Fritter]

I one day hope to see GO trains running to Lindsay. I know this isn’t even on the books, but for such a strong railway city history, I hope to see trains once again coming into Lindsay.

As with many old right of ways, a relaid track will not be able to get right into Lindsay anymore. Houses now occupy the right of way just east of Angeline St. in Lindsay

 

[TOareaFan]

I tell ya, that lady that got on my train this morning (8:02 out of Brampton) was hotter than hot mad about "having to stand every fricken day" and how on her daily calls to GO she is told "your train does not warrant expansion".

She is obviously a talker.....because she is well aware (and letting everyone know) that the point at which there are standees has moved from Malton to Bramalea.

She sure was mad....I wanted to tell her that the promise of 12 car trains had been broken in silence but I really didn't want her to get any madder than she already was.

One thought that came to me today (mostly because she was close to strangling those two guys over there that were taking up a whole 4 seat area because of their suitcases) was that the kitchener line situation may be getting worse without it showing up in GO's ridership stats because of luggage. Like every other line (I presume) there were always some people who were travelling with luggage as they were connecting with a VIA train out of union.....but with the Kitchener line now also connecting with the UP express in Weston....I am noticing a growing number of EB people getting off with luggage at Weston. You really want to be mad at people like those two guys today but, really, where are they supposed to put their luggage on a GO train?

 

[Garuda]

As with many old right of ways, a relaid track will not be able to get right into Lindsay anymore. Houses now occupy the right of way just east of Angeline St. in Lindsay

Which was a poor decision by council back in the 90’s. If I was planning a station, I’d build it near the west Highway 35 overpass over the right of way. Any new rail through the urban centre will require expropriation.

I don’t think trains will be able to go downtown again but I think a line that runs along the south side of the urban built up area that takes advantages of the existing overpasses along Highway 35 (like the east side) should be protected. But that won’t happen for at least 20 years. There are more important projects (like RER) along the corridor to focus on.

I lived in Lindsay for a year and biked many of the old rights of way.

 

[dowlingm]

I am noticing a growing number of EB people getting off with luggage at Weston. You really want to be mad at people like those two guys today but, really, where are they supposed to put their luggage on a GO train?

They should be getting off at Malton and getting a convenient transfer from there to the airport. Instead UPX has to be given oxygen by directing people the long way via Weston.

 

[TOareaFan]

They should be getting off at Malton and getting a convenient transfer from there to the airport. Instead UPX has to be given oxygen by directing people the long way via Weston.

There is no convenient transfer at Malton for them.....but even if there were, it would not change the point I was making........there is a growing number of people riding the kitchener trains taking up more room per person because their luggage situation does not fit well within a GO train.

 

[reaperexpress]

There is no convenient transfer at Malton for them.....but even if there were, it would not change the point I was making........there is a growing number of people riding the kitchener trains taking up more room per person because their luggage situation does not fit well within a GO train.

There isn't a convenient transfer at Malton, but maybe the answer is that there should be. Going from Malton to Pearson via Weston is an incredibly roundabout route.

Brampton Transit's route 115 Airport Express operates Bramalea Terminal - (just outside) Bramalea Station - (just outside) Malton Station - Pearson Terminal 1. Although it would probably add 5 minutes to the trip time, maybe the bus should actually go into the bus terminal at Bramalea or Malton, with a timed connection from eastbound trains, so people stop taking the ridiculous route via Weston. People with luggage will definitely be dissuaded by the current transfers which both include a decent walk in pedestrian-hostile areas.

Between the two stations, my preference would be for Bramalea, given that it has important bus connections such as GO Route 30 from Kitchener and Route 48 from Guelph/Meadowvale. It would also siphon off the riders at the busiest station, rather than after.