I wish they would put on a morning run Toronto-> Kitchener! I would be on the 6.30 am to Guelph every workday morning. I hate the drive, especially in the winter.
And return to Toronto trip that leaves Kitchener/ Guelph at around 4-5pm would be great.
That's physically impossible at the moment, due to the lack of passing tracks between Kitchener and Georgetown.
The best they could do with the current track configuration would be a counter-peak train from Guelph to Kitchener, using the 1-hour gap which exists in the current timetable.
In the morning it would depart Shirley Yard right after the 07:45 eastbound train passes by, following it to Guelph. It would depart Guelph at 08:15, arriving Kitchener at 08:32. Then it would become the existing 08:45 departure from Kitchener to Toronto.
In the afternoon the 17:21 train arriving in Kitchener would turn around and depart eastbound around 17:33, arriving in Guelph at 17:50. It would then turn back west and head to Shirley yard.
For people commuting to Guelph from the GTA, the best short-term fix would be to operate express bus service along Highway 407 from Bramalea to Guelph (via Aberfoyle and the University of Guelph), timed to meet trains arriving at Bramalea from Union (once those counter-peak trains are reinstated).
October 2021 Kitchener train weekday AM counter-peak timetable, with express bus trips added in yellow:
I wonder whether they have studied the business case as I bet there are a lot of potential customers reverse commuting. Quite a few of my colleagues at UofG actually live in the High Park area of Toronto.
They have. Here is
the business case study.
Construction is now beginning on a new Kitchener Central station with 2 platforms, a second track in Breslau, a second platform at Guelph Central, and a second track at Acton station. These improvements will enable 2-way peak service within the next couple years.
