GO Transit
Encyclopedia
GO Transit is an inter-regional public transit system
in Southern Ontario
, Canada
. It primarily serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area
(GTHA) conurbation
, with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe
. GO carries over 57 million passengers a year using an extensive network consisting of diesel
train and coach bus service, enhanced by convenient connections with other regional transit providers such as the Toronto Transit Commission
(TTC) and Via Rail
.
Canada's first such public system, GO Transit began regular passenger service on May 23, 1967, under the auspices of the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. Since then, it has grown from a mere two train lines to seven, and numerous buses and bus routes. It continues to expand its service, infrastructure and ridership with much success. It has also been constituted in a variety of public-sector configurations, today existing as an operating division of the provincial crown agency
Metrolinx, a body with overall responsibility for integrative transportation planning within the GTHA.
Cities in and around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) experienced huge expansions in the 1950s, influenced by growth in immigration and industrialization. Much of the existing commuter service was provided by Canadian National Railway
, and it faced mounting pressure to expand its service beyond lakeshore trains it ran between Hamilton
in the west, and Danforth in the east, to Toronto; however, CN lacked the financial and physical capital to do this. Real improved commuter service was not considered until the 1962 Metropolitan Toronto and Region Transportation Study, which examined land use and traffic in the newly created Metropolitan Toronto. The idea of GO Transit was created out of fear of becoming lost in years of planning; it was "approached as a test, but recognized to be a permanent service."
s in push-pull configuration on a single rail line along Lake Ontario
's shoreline. All day GO Train service ran from Oakville to Pickering with limited rush hour train service to Hamilton. The experiment proved to be extremely popular; GO Transit carried its first million riders during its first four months, and averaged 15,000 per day soon after. This line, now divided as 'Lakeshore East' and 'Lakeshore West', is and will continue to be the keystone corridor of GO Transit. Expansion of rail service continued in the 1970s and 1980s, aimed at developing ridership in with the introduction of the Georgetown line in 1974, and the Richmond Hill line in 1978. The Milton GO Train line opened in 1981, followed by the Bradford and Stouffville lines a year later, establishing the 7 rail corridors that today's rail service is based upon.
Other than establishing new rail corridors, GO Transit introduced bi-level railcars in 1979, in order to increase the amount of passengers carried per train. In that same year, the current GO concourse at Union Station was built to accommodate these additional passengers. GO Bus service also started out in 1970 as an extension of the original Lakeshore train line. It eventually became a full-fledged network in its own right, feeding rail service and serving communities beyond the reach of existing trains. Towards the end of 1982, Ontario Minister of Transportation and Communications James W. Snow
announced the launching of GO ALRT
(Advanced Light Rail Transit), an interregional light rail
transit program providing $
2.6 billion (1980 dollars) of infrastructure. Although this plan did not come to fruition, certain key objectives from it were established in other ways: additional stations were built, all-day service to Whitby and Burlington was established, and networks of buses and trains interconnected the network.
GO extended limited rush hour train service on the Bradford, Georgetown and both Lakeshore East lines, and off-peak service on the Milton line in 1990. Train service was also extended to Burlington on the Lakeshore West line in 1992. But the era of continuous growth came to end as ridership shrank as a result of the early 1990s recession. In a series of cost-cutting measures, then-Ontario Premier
Bob Rae
announced a "temporary" reduction in spending on services, causing all the expansions of the 1990s to be reduced or eliminated.
1 billion was invested in 12 GO rail projects and the GO bus network, which adding many kilometres of new track, grade separations to prevent competition with CN and CP freight traffic, and other general service improvements. This was later dwarfed by a further slate of new GO infrastructure proposed in MoveOntario 2020
, the provincial transit plan announced by Premier Dalton McGuinty
in the leadup to the 2007 provincial election
. With significant re-investment in regional transit, GO experienced significant growth in its train network: all day service was restored to Oshawa in 2006 and Aldershot in 2007, and service was expanded to the south of Barrie in 2007, and to Lincolnville in 2008.
GO Transit also went through three major reconfigurations. In January 1997, the province announced it would hand over funding responsibility for GO Transit to the GTHA municipalities. In exchange, the province would assume certain other funding responsibilities from municipal governments. However, the Greater Toronto Services Board was abolished on New Years Day 2002, and responsibility was given back to the province. The Greater Toronto Transportation Authority was created in 2006, with the responsibilities of co-ordinating, planning, financing and developing integrated transit in the GTHA. This agency would then become merged with GO Transit in 2009 under the name Metrolinx. GO Transit would continue as an operating division alongside two other major initiatives: the Air Rail Link from Union Station to Pearson Airport, and Presto card.
, Bolton
, Pickering
, Brantford, Bowmanville, Peterborough
and Uxbridge
. To date, an excursion train serves St. Catharines and Niagara Falls on weekends in the summer, and announcements have been made to extend The Georgetown line to Kitchener. Improvements are being made to Union Station, which is the busiest passenger transportation facility in Canada
, and is expected to have its current passenger traffic double in the next 10 to 15 years. Improvements include new roof and glass atrium, covering the tracks platforms and railway tracks, new staircases, additional vertical access points, and general visual improvements of the platforms and concourses. The City of Toronto, the owner of the station proper, is also working with private sector partner Osmington
to expand station space.
In partnership with the City of Mississauga, GO is developing a bus rapid transit
(BRT) system after much success with its Highway 407 express buses, launched in the fall of 2000. Metrolinx also announced plans in January 2011 to electrify
the Georgetown & Lakeshore rail lines, and the Air Rail Link.
, the City of Hamilton
, and the surrounding Regions of Halton, Peel, York, and Durham. GO Transit also reaches beyond the GTHA into Niagara and Waterloo
Regions, and Peterborough, Simcoe, Dufferin, and Wellington
Counties.
In total, GO trains and buses serve a population of 7 million in a 11000 square kilometres (4,247.1 sq mi) area radiating in places more than 140 kilometres (87 mi) from downtown Toronto. Present extrema are Hamilton and Waterloo
to the west; Orangeville
, Barrie, and Beaverton
to the north; Peterborough
and Newcastle
to the east; and Niagara Falls
to the south.
The GO system map shows seven train routes (listed below), all departing from Toronto's Union Station
and mostly named respectively after the outer terminus of train service. These trains serve all stations during peak weekday rush-hour. During off-peak times and weekends, only the Lakeshore lines between Oshawa and Aldershot. The remaining train lines are served during off-peak by GO buses, nicknamed train-buses, that run between Union Station and the other train stations.
Although colours are assigned in a consistent fashion to each line in all official media, in colloquial parlance lines are only ever referred to by their names.
The Lakeshore East and West rail lines frequently operate on an interlined basis: most off-peak and some peak-period trains provide through service between stations east and west of Toronto. With this exception, however, direct movement between the various "legs" is quite limited. While several GO buses run on orbital routes that connect multiple legs, all rail-based interchange from one line to another (with the aforementioned exception of the Lakeshore lines) requires switching trains at Union Station. (Trains on multiple routes pass through or by each of the Bloor, Danforth and Scarborough railway stations, but each station is assigned to a single corridor and only accordingly-routed trains stop there.)
built by Bombardier Transportation
. These coaches, easily identifiable by their elongated-octogon shape, were originally designed for GO in the 1970s, and are now used by a number of other commuter railways
across the continent. They have a seating capacity of 162 people per coach, or 1,944 per train. The coaches are primairly pulled/pushed by MPI MP40 locomotives, which replaced most of the older EMD F59PH and are rarely used since. The new MP40 locomotives are more powerful, allowing them to pull 12 coaches instead of 10.
Most GO Train routes operate only in peak rush-hour
periods towards Union Station, which accounts for over 90% of its train ridership. To date, the only off-peak train service exists on parts of the Lakeshore lines; hourly trains operate on weekdays off-peak hours and weekends between Aldershot and Oshawa. Each train runs with a three-person crew. Two engineers drive the train and handle related operations. The third crew member is the customer service ambassador who deals with passenger service issues, stationed in the accessibility coach in the middle of the train. CN crews used to operate all lines other than the Milton Line until a deal was reached with Bombardier Transportation
in 2007. CP crews continue to operate the Milton line as before.
Although it has always owned its locomotives and coaches, GO's trackage was originally owned entirely by Canada's two major commercial railways: the large majority by the Canadian National Railway
(CNR) and the remainder by Canadian Pacific Railway
(CPR). In 1988, GO extended part of the Lakeshore East line onto its first-ever section of self-owned purpose-built trackage. Since 2000, GO has incrementally acquired further trackage from the two commercial railways in order to improve service. As of March 2011, Metrolinx owns 61% of the rail corridors on which GO trains operate.
, which can seat 57 people. As of April 2008, GO began operating 22 Enviro 500 double-decker buses built by Alexander Dennis
. All of the buses are equipped with bike racks. These buses run exclusively on GO's Highway 407 and Highway 403 corridor on the Oakville GO Station branch. They feature reclining seats and other amenities. Once GO receives more, it will provide service to York Region.
Each train route has a corresponding GO Bus service for the times (and directions) when (and where) the trains are not operating. These accept the same tickets as the trains and in many cases serve the same stations. For example, buses operate from Toronto to Milton, and from Aldershot station in West Burlington to Hamilton, at all times except the weekday evening peak when trains are available. Some train routes are similarly extended by buses at all times, as noted in the list of routes, with through buses when the trains do not run. Thus buses to Guelph
operate from Georgetown in the evening peak, and from Toronto at other times. Buses serving downtown Toronto operate to a terminal adjacent to Union Station
.
Other GO Buses are independent of rail services. Some parts of the route network use expressways (such as the frequent Toronto–Hamilton express bus via the Queen Elizabeth Way
) while others are more local in character. Toronto Pearson International Airport
is served by two routes: one from Brampton
to Yorkdale
and York Mills
subway stations
, and one to Richmond Hill Centre (Yonge & Highway 7).
The Toronto Transit Commission
(TTC) provides the most connections with GO Trains and convenient connections can be made between the trains and TTC buses, streetcars
, and subway
trains. The GO concourse at Union Station
is adjacant to the Union subway station
, allowing it and three other GO bus terminals to connect to the Yonge-University Spadina line. GO Train stations are also directly connected or close to four Bloor-Danforth line stations, and one bus terminal is located on the Scarborough RT. All GO Train stations within the City of Toronto are adjacent to TTC bus or streetcar routes. Outside of Toronto, connections with 14 other municipal transit services remain purely bus-based to date.
At least 96% of the train ridership is to and from Union Station in downtown Toronto, while about 70% of all bus passengers travel to and from the City of Toronto. The average trip taken by a passenger is 33.5 kilometres long. 80% of train riders and 60% of bus riders have a car available for their trip, but choose public transit anyway.
The Presto card is available on all GO trains and buses throughout the entire system. It is a unified smart card
-based payment system for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area similar to the MetroCard used by the New York MTA
and the Oyster card
used by Transport for London
in the United Kingdom. Presto is a sister operating division under Metrolinx, and is available on a number of other local transit agencies in the GTHA. There are also discounted fares available for passengers who use local transit to connect with a GO bus or train.
The entire network is free of barriers, and all fares and access to the network are structured on an "honour system
". However, all passengers may be subject to random inspections by a "proper authority" to prove that they have paid a fare. This system is designed to reduce costs and improve efficiency, and the integrity of this system is protected by Metrolinx's By-law No. 2.
, with approval from the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services
.
In addition to By-law No. 2, they have the authority to enforce other laws under police powers such as the Criminal Code of Canada
, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
, the Youth Criminal Justice Act
, Safe Streets Act, Liquor License Act, Mental Health Act, and Trespass to Property Act. GO Transit Special Constables are outfitted with forage caps with a hat badge and a black band, shirts displaying the Transit Safety shield, a black vest with “Transit Safety” printed across the front and back, black pants with a reflective gray stripe, and a duty belt. GO Transit operates a 24-hour transit safety dispatch centre that is able to dispatch Police and Special Constables to all areas served by GO. Customers are also encouraged to report any crimes on GO property to Transit Safety dispatch, or 911
.
GO Transit also employs Provincial Offences Officers (internally known as Customer Attendants) to enforce and assist with the proof-of-payment
system.
Since 1991, there has only been one GO train accident that substantiated a report by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada
. On November 17, 1997, an empty train collided with another train waiting to depart Union Station with over 800 passengers on board. The empty train's locomotive engineer was at the opposite end of the train, and the conductor at the leading end failed in his attempts to relay the situation to the engineer or apply the emergency brake. The two trains then collided at a speed of 19 kph, causing a partial derailment and minor injuries to fifty-four passengers and two crew members. The subsequent report made recommendations that included making emergency brakes more accessible, and that the locomotive engineer must always control the train from the leading end.
As of 2007, GO has a workforce of 1,447 personnel. In its earlier years, much of GO Transit's staff were actually employed by private companies and worked for GO under contract. Today, all staff are employees of GO Transit, with the exception of train maintenance personnel, conductors and engineers, who are contracted from Bombardier Transportation or Canadian Pacific Railway.
Unionized staff are part of Amalgamated Transit Union
Local 1587, and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Local 235, and generally based in Toronto
.
Exclusive Advertising is responsible for 4,350 train interior poster faces and 1,760 digital monitors throughout the system.
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
in Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It primarily serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area
Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area
The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area is composed of the metropolitan areas of the Canadian cities of Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario. The GTHA includes the census metropolitan areas of Toronto, Hamilton and Oshawa....
(GTHA) conurbation
Conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
, with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe
Golden Horseshoe
The Golden Horseshoe is a densely populated and industrialized region centred around the Greater Toronto Area at the western end of Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Georgian Bay. Most of it is also part of the Quebec City...
. GO carries over 57 million passengers a year using an extensive network consisting of diesel
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
train and coach bus service, enhanced by convenient connections with other regional transit providers such as the Toronto Transit Commission
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
(TTC) and Via Rail
VIA Rail
Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....
.
Canada's first such public system, GO Transit began regular passenger service on May 23, 1967, under the auspices of the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. Since then, it has grown from a mere two train lines to seven, and numerous buses and bus routes. It continues to expand its service, infrastructure and ridership with much success. It has also been constituted in a variety of public-sector configurations, today existing as an operating division of the provincial crown agency
Crown agency (Ontario)
A Crown agency is the title used to describe a Crown corporation in the Canadian province of Ontario.This name is applied to any board, commission, railway, public utility, university, manufactory, company or agency, which is owned, controlled, or operated by the Queen in Right of Ontario, or else...
Metrolinx, a body with overall responsibility for integrative transportation planning within the GTHA.
Early days
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
, and it faced mounting pressure to expand its service beyond lakeshore trains it ran between Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
in the west, and Danforth in the east, to Toronto; however, CN lacked the financial and physical capital to do this. Real improved commuter service was not considered until the 1962 Metropolitan Toronto and Region Transportation Study, which examined land use and traffic in the newly created Metropolitan Toronto. The idea of GO Transit was created out of fear of becoming lost in years of planning; it was "approached as a test, but recognized to be a permanent service."
Creation, growth and recession
Government of Ontario Transit (later abbreviated as 'GO Transit') began as a three-year experiment on May 23, 1967 running single-deck diesel multiple unitDiesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
s in push-pull configuration on a single rail line along Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
's shoreline. All day GO Train service ran from Oakville to Pickering with limited rush hour train service to Hamilton. The experiment proved to be extremely popular; GO Transit carried its first million riders during its first four months, and averaged 15,000 per day soon after. This line, now divided as 'Lakeshore East' and 'Lakeshore West', is and will continue to be the keystone corridor of GO Transit. Expansion of rail service continued in the 1970s and 1980s, aimed at developing ridership in with the introduction of the Georgetown line in 1974, and the Richmond Hill line in 1978. The Milton GO Train line opened in 1981, followed by the Bradford and Stouffville lines a year later, establishing the 7 rail corridors that today's rail service is based upon.
Other than establishing new rail corridors, GO Transit introduced bi-level railcars in 1979, in order to increase the amount of passengers carried per train. In that same year, the current GO concourse at Union Station was built to accommodate these additional passengers. GO Bus service also started out in 1970 as an extension of the original Lakeshore train line. It eventually became a full-fledged network in its own right, feeding rail service and serving communities beyond the reach of existing trains. Towards the end of 1982, Ontario Minister of Transportation and Communications James W. Snow
James W. Snow
James Wilfred Snow was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1985, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of William Davis and Frank Miller. Snow was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.He was born in Esquesing Township,...
announced the launching of GO ALRT
GO ALRT
GO ALRT was a light rail system proposed by GO Transit during the 1980s.The program was announced in 1982. The plan originally consisted of two lines in the Greater Toronto Area moving in an east-west direction...
(Advanced Light Rail Transit), an interregional light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
transit program providing $
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
2.6 billion (1980 dollars) of infrastructure. Although this plan did not come to fruition, certain key objectives from it were established in other ways: additional stations were built, all-day service to Whitby and Burlington was established, and networks of buses and trains interconnected the network.
GO extended limited rush hour train service on the Bradford, Georgetown and both Lakeshore East lines, and off-peak service on the Milton line in 1990. Train service was also extended to Burlington on the Lakeshore West line in 1992. But the era of continuous growth came to end as ridership shrank as a result of the early 1990s recession. In a series of cost-cutting measures, then-Ontario Premier
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
announced a "temporary" reduction in spending on services, causing all the expansions of the 1990s to be reduced or eliminated.
Reconfiguration and revival
All day train service was restored from Burlington to Whitby, and peak service was finally brought to Oshawa in 2000, but this would be only one indicator of things to come. Many expansion projects were created in the mid-2000s under the GO Transit Rail Improvement Plan, or GO TRIP. $Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
1 billion was invested in 12 GO rail projects and the GO bus network, which adding many kilometres of new track, grade separations to prevent competition with CN and CP freight traffic, and other general service improvements. This was later dwarfed by a further slate of new GO infrastructure proposed in MoveOntario 2020
MoveOntario 2020
MoveOntario 2020 is a plan proposed by the Government of Ontario that would fund 52 rapid-transit projects throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area in Ontario, Canada.-History:...
, the provincial transit plan announced by Premier Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
in the leadup to the 2007 provincial election
Ontario general election, 2007
The Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10, 2007 to elect members of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular...
. With significant re-investment in regional transit, GO experienced significant growth in its train network: all day service was restored to Oshawa in 2006 and Aldershot in 2007, and service was expanded to the south of Barrie in 2007, and to Lincolnville in 2008.
GO Transit also went through three major reconfigurations. In January 1997, the province announced it would hand over funding responsibility for GO Transit to the GTHA municipalities. In exchange, the province would assume certain other funding responsibilities from municipal governments. However, the Greater Toronto Services Board was abolished on New Years Day 2002, and responsibility was given back to the province. The Greater Toronto Transportation Authority was created in 2006, with the responsibilities of co-ordinating, planning, financing and developing integrated transit in the GTHA. This agency would then become merged with GO Transit in 2009 under the name Metrolinx. GO Transit would continue as an operating division alongside two other major initiatives: the Air Rail Link from Union Station to Pearson Airport, and Presto card.
Future
Although not provided for in MoveOntario 2020, GO Transit has also identified possible rail service extensions to many areas, including the Niagara Region, Waterloo RegionRegional Municipality of Waterloo
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is a regional municipality located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, and the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot, and North Dumfries. It is often referred to as the Region of Waterloo or just...
, Bolton
Bolton, Ontario
Bolton is the most populated community in the town of Caledon, located in the Region of Peel, approximately 50 kilometres northwest of Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. In regional documents, it is referred to as a 'Rural Service Centre'. It has 26,478 residents in 8,721 households...
, Pickering
Pickering, Ontario
Pickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, the largest metropolitan area in Canada.- Early Period :...
, Brantford, Bowmanville, Peterborough
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
and Uxbridge
Uxbridge
Uxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...
. To date, an excursion train serves St. Catharines and Niagara Falls on weekends in the summer, and announcements have been made to extend The Georgetown line to Kitchener. Improvements are being made to Union Station, which is the busiest passenger transportation facility in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and is expected to have its current passenger traffic double in the next 10 to 15 years. Improvements include new roof and glass atrium, covering the tracks platforms and railway tracks, new staircases, additional vertical access points, and general visual improvements of the platforms and concourses. The City of Toronto, the owner of the station proper, is also working with private sector partner Osmington
Osmington
Osmington is a village and civil parish in the District of West Dorset within Dorset, England, situated on the Jurassic Coast northeast of Weymouth. The village has a population of 609.To the east is Osmington Hill.-History:...
to expand station space.
In partnership with the City of Mississauga, GO is developing a bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
(BRT) system after much success with its Highway 407 express buses, launched in the fall of 2000. Metrolinx also announced plans in January 2011 to electrify
Railway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
the Georgetown & Lakeshore rail lines, and the Air Rail Link.
Service area
The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) consists of the City of TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, the City of Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, and the surrounding Regions of Halton, Peel, York, and Durham. GO Transit also reaches beyond the GTHA into Niagara and Waterloo
Regional Municipality of Waterloo
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is a regional municipality located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, and the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot, and North Dumfries. It is often referred to as the Region of Waterloo or just...
Regions, and Peterborough, Simcoe, Dufferin, and Wellington
Wellington County, Ontario
Wellington County is a county located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Guelph, a city which is politically independent, but Guelph's status as the seat means it houses the county's administrative offices...
Counties.
In total, GO trains and buses serve a population of 7 million in a 11000 square kilometres (4,247.1 sq mi) area radiating in places more than 140 kilometres (87 mi) from downtown Toronto. Present extrema are Hamilton and Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
to the west; Orangeville
Orangeville, Ontario
Orangeville is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, and the seat of Dufferin County.-History:Before European settlers, Orangeville was thought to be a native hunting ground...
, Barrie, and Beaverton
Beaverton, Ontario
Beaverton is a community in Brock Township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada.Originally part of Thorah Township in Ontario County, Beaverton was first settled in 1822. The settlement is located on Lake Simcoe at the mouth of the Beaver River...
to the north; Peterborough
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
and Newcastle
Newcastle, Ontario
Newcastle is a community in the Municipality of Clarington in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. The Town of Newcastle was also the original name of what is now Clarington....
to the east; and Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903...
to the south.
The GO system map shows seven train routes (listed below), all departing from Toronto's Union Station
Union Station (Toronto)
Union Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto, located on Front Street West and occupying the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district. The station building is owned by the City of Toronto, while the...
and mostly named respectively after the outer terminus of train service. These trains serve all stations during peak weekday rush-hour. During off-peak times and weekends, only the Lakeshore lines between Oshawa and Aldershot. The remaining train lines are served during off-peak by GO buses, nicknamed train-buses, that run between Union Station and the other train stations.
Although colours are assigned in a consistent fashion to each line in all official media, in colloquial parlance lines are only ever referred to by their names.
The Lakeshore East and West rail lines frequently operate on an interlined basis: most off-peak and some peak-period trains provide through service between stations east and west of Toronto. With this exception, however, direct movement between the various "legs" is quite limited. While several GO buses run on orbital routes that connect multiple legs, all rail-based interchange from one line to another (with the aforementioned exception of the Lakeshore lines) requires switching trains at Union Station. (Trains on multiple routes pass through or by each of the Bloor, Danforth and Scarborough railway stations, but each station is assigned to a single corridor and only accordingly-routed trains stop there.)
Rail
GO Transit's rail services carry the large majority of its overall ridership. Passengers are carried by Bi-Level coachesBombardier BiLevel Coach
Bombardier BiLevel coaches are bilevel passenger cars designed to carry up to 360 passengers for regional railways. These carriages are easily identifiable; they are double-decked and are shaped like elongated octagons.-History:...
built by Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
. These coaches, easily identifiable by their elongated-octogon shape, were originally designed for GO in the 1970s, and are now used by a number of other commuter railways
Commuter rail in North America
Commuter rail services in the United States, Canada, and Mexico provide common carrier passenger transportation along railway tracks, with scheduled service on fixed routes on a non-reservation basis primarily for short-distance travel between a central business district and adjacent suburbs and...
across the continent. They have a seating capacity of 162 people per coach, or 1,944 per train. The coaches are primairly pulled/pushed by MPI MP40 locomotives, which replaced most of the older EMD F59PH and are rarely used since. The new MP40 locomotives are more powerful, allowing them to pull 12 coaches instead of 10.
Most GO Train routes operate only in peak rush-hour
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
periods towards Union Station, which accounts for over 90% of its train ridership. To date, the only off-peak train service exists on parts of the Lakeshore lines; hourly trains operate on weekdays off-peak hours and weekends between Aldershot and Oshawa. Each train runs with a three-person crew. Two engineers drive the train and handle related operations. The third crew member is the customer service ambassador who deals with passenger service issues, stationed in the accessibility coach in the middle of the train. CN crews used to operate all lines other than the Milton Line until a deal was reached with Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
in 2007. CP crews continue to operate the Milton line as before.
Although it has always owned its locomotives and coaches, GO's trackage was originally owned entirely by Canada's two major commercial railways: the large majority by the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
(CNR) and the remainder by Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
(CPR). In 1988, GO extended part of the Lakeshore East line onto its first-ever section of self-owned purpose-built trackage. Since 2000, GO has incrementally acquired further trackage from the two commercial railways in order to improve service. As of March 2011, Metrolinx owns 61% of the rail corridors on which GO trains operate.
Bus
For bus services, GO Transit primarily operates single-level coach buses and double-decker buses. A majority of the buses in the fleet are single-level D4500 coach buses built by MCIMotor Coach Industries
Motor Coach Industries International Inc. is an American bus manufacturer based in Schaumburg, Illinois, and is a leading participant in the North American coach bus industry. It has various operating subsidiaries:...
, which can seat 57 people. As of April 2008, GO began operating 22 Enviro 500 double-decker buses built by Alexander Dennis
Alexander Dennis
Alexander Dennis Limited is the largest bus builder in the United Kingdom. It incorporated the three last surviving bus manufacturers which started bus production before World War II: Dennis, Alexander and Plaxton.- History :Alexander Dennis was formed as TransBus on 1 January 2001, after the...
. All of the buses are equipped with bike racks. These buses run exclusively on GO's Highway 407 and Highway 403 corridor on the Oakville GO Station branch. They feature reclining seats and other amenities. Once GO receives more, it will provide service to York Region.
Each train route has a corresponding GO Bus service for the times (and directions) when (and where) the trains are not operating. These accept the same tickets as the trains and in many cases serve the same stations. For example, buses operate from Toronto to Milton, and from Aldershot station in West Burlington to Hamilton, at all times except the weekday evening peak when trains are available. Some train routes are similarly extended by buses at all times, as noted in the list of routes, with through buses when the trains do not run. Thus buses to Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
operate from Georgetown in the evening peak, and from Toronto at other times. Buses serving downtown Toronto operate to a terminal adjacent to Union Station
Union Station (Toronto)
Union Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto, located on Front Street West and occupying the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district. The station building is owned by the City of Toronto, while the...
.
Other GO Buses are independent of rail services. Some parts of the route network use expressways (such as the frequent Toronto–Hamilton express bus via the Queen Elizabeth Way
Queen Elizabeth Way
The Queen Elizabeth Way, commonly abbreviated as the QEW, is a 400-Series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The freeway links Buffalo, New York and the Niagara Peninsula with Toronto. It begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western shore of Lake Ontario, ending...
) while others are more local in character. Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...
is served by two routes: one from Brampton
Brampton
Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.Brampton may also refer to:- Canada :* Brampton, a city in Ontario** Brampton GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the city- United Kingdom :...
to Yorkdale
Yorkdale (TTC)
Yorkdale is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on William R. Allen Road just south of Highway 401. It opened in 1978 in what was then the Borough of North York, and was named for the nearby Yorkdale Shopping Centre, to...
and York Mills
York Mills (TTC)
York Mills is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 4015 Yonge Street at Wilson Avenue/York Mills Road...
subway stations
Toronto subway and RT
The Toronto subway and RT is a rapid transit system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of both underground and elevated railway lines, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission . It was Canada's first completed subway system, with the first line being built under Yonge Street, which opened in...
, and one to Richmond Hill Centre (Yonge & Highway 7).
Stations and connections
GO Bus service uses 17 bus terminals, with numerous intermediate stops and ticket agencies, in addition to providing off-peak and express services to GO Train stations. The terminals have a wide range of owner/operator/user relationships; GO owned facility with exclusive use or shared with local service; municipal transit operation shared by GO; intercity terminal shared with Greyhound, Coach Canada, etc. There are also routes that serve universities and colleges during the school year.The Toronto Transit Commission
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
(TTC) provides the most connections with GO Trains and convenient connections can be made between the trains and TTC buses, streetcars
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
, and subway
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
trains. The GO concourse at Union Station
Union Station (Toronto)
Union Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto, located on Front Street West and occupying the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district. The station building is owned by the City of Toronto, while the...
is adjacant to the Union subway station
Union (TTC)
Union Station is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the Toronto subway and RT. Opened in 1954 along with the first twelve subway stations of Toronto, it is located between the Yonge Street and University Avenue sections of the line at 55 Front Street West between Bay Street and York...
, allowing it and three other GO bus terminals to connect to the Yonge-University Spadina line. GO Train stations are also directly connected or close to four Bloor-Danforth line stations, and one bus terminal is located on the Scarborough RT. All GO Train stations within the City of Toronto are adjacent to TTC bus or streetcar routes. Outside of Toronto, connections with 14 other municipal transit services remain purely bus-based to date.
Ridership
GO runs 180 train trips carrying 180,000 riders, and 1,973 bus trips carrying 37,000 riders daily. This adds up to 217,000 passengers throughout the entire system on a typical weekday, and 57 million riders annually. GO Transit achieved its one billionth passenger mark on October 11, 2006. GO says that their ridership growth has continually exceeded expectations.At least 96% of the train ridership is to and from Union Station in downtown Toronto, while about 70% of all bus passengers travel to and from the City of Toronto. The average trip taken by a passenger is 33.5 kilometres long. 80% of train riders and 60% of bus riders have a car available for their trip, but choose public transit anyway.
| Number of Passenger Trips (2010) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rail corridors | |||
| Corridor | Riders | % | |
| Lakeshore West | 14,849,600 | 26.01% | |
| Milton | 7,348,200 | 12.87% | |
| Georgetown | 4,634,200 | 8.12% | |
| Barrie | 3,462,500 | 6.06% | |
| Richmond Hill | 2,330,700 | 4.08% | |
| Stouffville | 3,597,900 | 6.30% | |
| Lakeshore East | 11,818,800 | 20.70% | |
| Subtotal | 48,041,900 | 84.14% | |
| Bus Service | |||
| All routes | 9,056,100 | 15.86% | |
| Total - GO System | 57,098,000 | ||
Fares
Fares on the GO Transit network are based on the distance travelled between two specified points, and the type of passenger using the ticket. Passenger categories exist for adults, students, seniors, children, and groups. Tickets are also sold for single, two and ten-ride trips, or passes for one day or one month. Tickets can be used on a GO train, bus, or a combination of both. They can be purchased at train stations, bus terminals, ticket agencies, or on GO buses.The Presto card is available on all GO trains and buses throughout the entire system. It is a unified smart card
Smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...
-based payment system for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area similar to the MetroCard used by the New York MTA
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...
and the Oyster card
Oyster card
The Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems across London including London Underground, buses, the Docklands...
used by Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
in the United Kingdom. Presto is a sister operating division under Metrolinx, and is available on a number of other local transit agencies in the GTHA. There are also discounted fares available for passengers who use local transit to connect with a GO bus or train.
The entire network is free of barriers, and all fares and access to the network are structured on an "honour system
Honor system
An honor system or honesty system is a philosophical way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor, and honesty. Something that operates under the rule of the "honor system" is usually something that does not have strictly enforced rules governing its principles...
". However, all passengers may be subject to random inspections by a "proper authority" to prove that they have paid a fare. This system is designed to reduce costs and improve efficiency, and the integrity of this system is protected by Metrolinx's By-law No. 2.
Special Constables
GO Transit hires Transit Safety Officers, who are designated Special Constables that patrol transit property. They are responsible for ensuring passenger safety and protection, enforcing relevant laws or by-laws, offering customer assistance, conducting fare inspections, and supporting local police, fire and ambulance, while also promoting railway safety. Under the Police Services Act, Transit Safety Officers are appointed by the Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial PoliceOntario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
, with approval from the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services
Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services is responsible for law enforcement services in the Canadian province of Ontario, including the Ontario Provincial Police, correctional centres, detention centres/jails The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (French:...
.
In addition to By-law No. 2, they have the authority to enforce other laws under police powers such as the Criminal Code of Canada
Criminal Code of Canada
The Criminal Code or Code criminel is a law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada. Its official long title is "An Act respecting the criminal law"...
, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is Canada's federal drug control statute. Passed in 1996 by the Chrétien government, it repeals the Narcotic Control Act and Parts III and IV of the Food and Drug Act and establishes eight Schedules of controlled substances and two Classes of precursors...
, the Youth Criminal Justice Act
Youth Criminal Justice Act
Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act is a Canadian statute, which came into effect on April 1, 2003. It covers the prosecution of youths for criminal offences...
, Safe Streets Act, Liquor License Act, Mental Health Act, and Trespass to Property Act. GO Transit Special Constables are outfitted with forage caps with a hat badge and a black band, shirts displaying the Transit Safety shield, a black vest with “Transit Safety” printed across the front and back, black pants with a reflective gray stripe, and a duty belt. GO Transit operates a 24-hour transit safety dispatch centre that is able to dispatch Police and Special Constables to all areas served by GO. Customers are also encouraged to report any crimes on GO property to Transit Safety dispatch, or 911
911
Year 911 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.-Africa:* Rebellion of the Kutama Berbers against the Fatimid Caliphate...
.
GO Transit also employs Provincial Offences Officers (internally known as Customer Attendants) to enforce and assist with the proof-of-payment
Proof-of-payment
Proof-of-payment or POP is an honor-based fare collection approach used on many public transportation systems. Instead of checking each passenger as they enter a fare control zone, proof-of-payment requires that each passenger carry a ticket or pass proving that they have paid the fare. Ticket...
system.
By-law No. 2
GO Transit By-law No. 2 is a document of rules and regulations governing actions of passengers and employees while on GO Transit property, which includes land, facilities, trains, buses, and other structures. Besides issues relating to fares, the by-law specifies permissible and prohibited actions such as staying in designated safe areas, commercial or distribution activities, parking, and other personal actions that promote or endanger the safety of passengers. It covers items like paying fares, parking, general behaviour, fines, and rule enforcement. These rules can be enforced by a "proper authority" which is defined as "an employee or agent of GO Transit wearing a GO Transit uniform [or] carrying an identification card issued by GO Transit, a GO Transit Special Constable, or a municipal police officer." Any contravention of the by-law can result in a fine under the Provincial Offences Act.Incidents
On December 8, 1975, an eastbound GO train collided with a TTC bus that was stalled on a crossing at Danforth Road. Nine passengers on the bus were killed.Since 1991, there has only been one GO train accident that substantiated a report by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Transportation Safety Board of Canada
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada , officially the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board is the agency of the Government of Canada responsible for maintaining...
. On November 17, 1997, an empty train collided with another train waiting to depart Union Station with over 800 passengers on board. The empty train's locomotive engineer was at the opposite end of the train, and the conductor at the leading end failed in his attempts to relay the situation to the engineer or apply the emergency brake. The two trains then collided at a speed of 19 kph, causing a partial derailment and minor injuries to fifty-four passengers and two crew members. The subsequent report made recommendations that included making emergency brakes more accessible, and that the locomotive engineer must always control the train from the leading end.
Staff and administration
As a division of Metrolinx, GO Transit is governed by the Metrolinx Board of Directors and Executive Group. As part of the executive group, GO has a President and three Vice Presidents:- Gary McNeil, President
- Judy Knight, Vice President, Capital Infrastructure
- Greg Percy, Vice President, Operations
- Mary Proc, Vice President, Customer Service
As of 2007, GO has a workforce of 1,447 personnel. In its earlier years, much of GO Transit's staff were actually employed by private companies and worked for GO under contract. Today, all staff are employees of GO Transit, with the exception of train maintenance personnel, conductors and engineers, who are contracted from Bombardier Transportation or Canadian Pacific Railway.
Unionized staff are part of Amalgamated Transit Union
Amalgamated Transit Union
The Amalgamated Transit Union is a labor union in the United States and The Amalgamated Transit Union Canadian Council in Canada, representing workers in the transit system and other industries...
Local 1587, and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers is an AFL-CIO/CLC trade union representing approx. 646,933 workers as of 2006 in more than 200 industries.-Formation and early history:...
Local 235, and generally based in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
Exclusive Advertising is responsible for 4,350 train interior poster faces and 1,760 digital monitors throughout the system.