But buses are ghetto... I rather have am empty row on a train to myself than have reclining seats on a crowded bus. Hate how politics is making waste of a well-situated existing train station in favor of building a new one in a relatively remote location. It makes as much sense as having half the Toronto-bound trains stop at Liberty Village instead.
There are several,
very, very good reasons why both stations exist.
In
GO Part 1, relevant explanation:
___________
Why are there two downtown GO stations?
This is a common question. Both Hamilton GO station and West Harbour GO stations have separate pros/cons that warrant keeping both of them concurrently, for the time being.
Hamilton GO - Hunter Street
- Corridor owned by CP
- More pedestrian friendly
- Easily accessible via B-Line
- Terminus Station
- Intercity Bus terminal
West Harbour GO - James Street North
- Corridor owned by CN
- Room for free parking
- Still very pedestrian friendly
- Through Station: Track continues to St. Catharines/Niagara
For example, drivers will find it easier to park at West Harbour GO, while downtowners and B-Line users will find it easier to go to Hamilton GO. As GO extends Lakeshore West rail service in the future, the role of West Harbour GO could become increasingly important as time passes.
The current announced plan is for
hourly all-day train service to Hamilton downtown GO station, rather than West Harbour.
However, the role of West Harbour is not necessarily set in stone. It can potentially eventually change to become the all-day service station instead, perhaps once the LRT is built, if favourable to do so. There is more servicing space at the Lewis Road Layover Facility to expand with, which may affect future decision on station role changes.
There is also the proposed
year-round GO train service to Niagara Falls, upgrading the seasonal service into a year-round commuter service.
Other service concepts such as
Niagara Express turns West Harbour GO into an important interchange station between the Toronto trains and Niagara trains.
The latter idea is a creative means of protecting Lakeshore West trains from being impacted by delays at Welland Canal. Implementation of any of these ideas will modify the importance of West Harbour GO.
Additionally, it may turn out that negotiating with one of the freight companies (CN versus CP) may end up easier than the other. It appears having both stations permits Metrolinx to hedge bets for service expansion to Hamilton, since the Hamilton freight tracks is not currently for sale.
Even Metrolinx acknowledges that the roles of the two Hamilton GO stations
may change in the future:
Metrolinx said:
CN owns the corridor west of Burlington and operates it as a main freight line, and CP owns the corridor into the Hamilton GO Centre; this will drive infrastructure requirements and the timing of electrification
and
Metrolinx said:
Additional work needed to determine the roles of the Hamilton GO Centre and the new James North station
In any case, it is possible one station will have peak service, and the other station will have all-day service. It is also possible roles can reverse later on, given the upcoming A-Line LRT, and
Hamilton waterfront redevelopment potentially creating a new CBD for commuters.
